contact: info@bownsbest.com
contact: info@bownsbest.com
If you are tired of hotels which are bland and corporate, the Metropole in Venice is for you. Not only is it comfortable and well-located. It has Character - with a capital ‘C’. Character is difficult to define. But when you encounter it, you recognise it immediately. In a world in which too many hotels are simply dull, the Metropole stands out as a precious ruby. The owner and General Manager, the charming and vivacious Gloria Beggiato (pictured, with your correspondent), runs her establishment with enormous panache, and so presides over a luxury establishment of the best sort.
Upon entering, you are immediately surrounded by a gorgeous confection of crimson velvet, shimmering gold and sparkling crystal. This is the Metropole’s style. If I might be permitted a sweet comparison, it is like walking into a box of the finest dark chocolates (and I do love my chocolates). These sumptuous surroundings are entrancing. And there is more. There is the hotel’s astonishing collection of artefacts. This is displayed in the illuminated cabinets which are in every nook and cranny of the property. Fans, visiting-card cases, candlesticks, evening bags, corkscrews, crucifixes, hair brushes… there must be hundreds – no, thousands – of them. The Metropole, then, is no ordinary place.
My Junior Suite on the third floor was far from ordinary, too. Number 341 (see the hotel website for the prices for specific dates) was a lovely apartment, with walls covered in turquoise silk, a high beamed ceiling and wall lights of Murano crystal. In the hall were fitted wardrobes and a private safe, and in the bedroom was a four-poster bed with a walnut and parcel-gilt frame. From the two windows the delightful view was of roof-tops, domes and church towers. The bathroom, startlingly, was covered in a mosaic of gold. The Metropole is the sort of hotel which remembers one’s preferences, so the bed had been made wonderfully soft for my ailing back.
But where was the television? All hotel rooms nowadays have television sets, and I was sure there must be one – even if I seldom avail myself of such a machine. Then I looked into the mirror on the wall. Could its heavy gilt frame contain more than the silvered glass? It could, and it did. I pointed the remote control and pressed a button and there was the magical picture. I entirely approved of this clever conceit.
From this welcoming apartment I sallied forth to enjoy the delights of Venice. The Metropole has a privileged location on the Riva degli Schiavoni. From its front door the view is straight across the water to the monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore, and St Mark’s Square is but a brief stroll to the right. Equally important for me is its close proximity to the church of San Zaccaria, which houses my favourite painting in Venice, the Sacra Conversazione by Giovanni Bellini. It is always a joy to be able to go to Mass and gaze at this masterpiece.
I wondered whether Sigmund Freud had done the same. He stayed at the hotel in the 1890s, only a few years after it had opened. It changed its name to the Metropole in 1939, and has been run since the 1970s by the Beggiato family. The original building on this site had a chapel, in which Antonio Vivaldi gave music lessons and, it is suggested, composed The Four Seasons. The great man’s church is right next door. So the Metropole – quite apart from the patronage of your correspondent – has some serious claims to fame.
Perhaps that is why people seem to enjoy working here. Those who manned the concierge desk were particularly helpful, and even found me a packet of plasters when I somehow managed to cut my finger. Indeed, I am pleased to say that every member of staff I encountered - like the charming ladies at breakfast - was full of charm and good humour. Such courtesy is particularly important in the mornings, when I am at my most frail. Installed at a large round table in the elegant breakfast room, I tucked into croissants (warmed for me) with marmalade from Wilkin & Son of Tiptree in the County of Essex, and jolly good comestibles from the buffet - Kellog’s corn flakes, scrambled eggs, ham, tomatoes, pineapple, melon and chocolate cake - all washed down by coffee in silver pots and, as ever, my concluding cups of cappuccino.
More food and drink of high quality can be found in the hotel’s Oriental Bar & Bistrot, an atmospheric setting of panelled walls and plush red seating at the front of the building. I went there for dinner and was looked after very well indeed by its manager, Marco Salvadori. He recommended to me a fine red wine from Verona (2017 Valpolicella Ripasso Morandina, PRÀ - 90€), a bottle of dense black fruit and enticing alcohol. The other 170 offerings on the list run in price from 40€ for a local pinot grigio to 2,500€ for the 2013 vintage of the Vosne-Romanée from Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair. I noted some good clarets - like 2001 Margaux (1,100€) and 2001 Latour (1,350€) and tempting super-Tuscans - like 2014 Masseto (1,400€) and 2016 Ornellaia (550€).
A set meal can be had for 35€, but I tucked into 3 courses from the carte ( for which you should allow around 75€). Seared scallops with Jerusalem artichoke and black truffle revealed a kitchen which knows how to cook with precision and flair, and my main course of braised veal cheek with mashed potatoes and baby spinach (together with an ‘extra’ of superb fried onions) showed it can also cook rich dishes full of robust flavours to satisfy the heartiest of trenchermen. Both these courses prompted me to purr with pleasure. And the puddings - with names like “Chocolate triumph” and “Crunchiness” delighted both my eye and my palate - as well as my sweet tooth. You will eat well at the Metropole.
After dinner I walked to St Mark’s Square, casting en route a side glance at the Bridge of Sighs. Standing before the basilica, I asked myself whether there could be a lovelier spot on earth for a post-prandial stroll. My answer was in the negative. And then it was back to my comfortable room at the Metropole – Venice’s Hotel of Character.
Riva degli Schiavoni 4149, Castello 30122, Venice, Italy.
Telephone +39 041 520 5044
Fax +39 041 522 3679
Email: venice@hotelmetropole.com
See the hotel website for the prices of rooms for specific dates and for special offers.