Undisputedly Venice’s sexiest hotel with its 289 mirrors, cool dim lights, and the atmosphere of a member club, the Palazzina is the first hotel created by the renowned French designer Philippe Starck in Italy (his genius is behind some of the most iconic “objects” of the XXI century such as Alessi’s Juicy Salif and Steve Jobs’s Venus yacht, just to name a couple).

Five Stars, part of the Design Hotels network, since its opening in 2009, it has become famous for the most glamorous parties of the Film Festival and Art Biennale circuit, “home” to celebs such as Leonardo di Caprio, Madonna, Al Pacino, James Franco, Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp (the suite, the first room portrayed in the photo gallery, where the actor stayed while filming the movie The Tourist was renamed JD Suite in his honor).

Hidden in Calle Grassi, close to Campo Santo Stefano, the sixteenth-century palace immediately reveals a mysterious charm: with no signs or indications on the front door, the hotel’s unconventional allure is well exemplified by two bull heads sculptures by glass artist Aristide Najean who collaborated with Starck also for the creation of the beautiful Murano glass chandeliers that adorn the lobby and the central salon.

For the interior, Starck has paid a tribute to the Venetian heritage by using materials such as mahogany wood (a tribute to gondolas), glass, as well as four thousand bricks recovered from an old farmhouse in Laguna and hand-selected one by one to adorn the walls of the palace. For the 16 rooms and 6 suite apartments, the French designer has created an extremely sleek design featuring total white curtains, carpets, and sofas, Fornasetti’s abat-jours lights and chairs, backlit mirrors, and the iconic black mask that Starck has chosen to decorate the bedrooms’ lampshades and that has also become the hotel’s logo.

Since 2010, Palazzina is also Krug Champagne Ambassador hosting the only Krug Lounge in Italy in the two rooms overlooking the Grand Canal and in the Krug Terrace on the second floor during the warm season. The Lounge Bar and the Restaurant are located in the magnificent baroque room on the ground floor framed by 19th century columns and two design tables of over seven meters each: one made in mirror, used as a bar where you can enjoy fab cocktails, and one in marble, the only show-cooking kitchen in Venice, where you can enjoy watching the brigade preparing the dishes.

The menu includes local traditional dishes as well as international “bestsellers” mainly based on local, top quality ingredients where everything – from pasta to bread, from desserts to even many liquors, such as vermouth – is strictly homemade.

The Secret

For the realization of all the (wonderful!) Mirrors of the Palazzina, Starck chose Barbini, an ancient family of glass masters present in Murano since the second half of the 16th century. They are famous for having collaborated, at the court of Louis XIV, with the Manufacture Royale des glaces de miroirs in Paris who created the famous Gallery of Mirrors in Versailles.

Useful Info

Palazzina // Venice by Starck
San Marco 3247
30124 Venezia
Tel. +39 041 5284644

Lunch: 12.00 — 14.30
Brunch: every Sunday from 12.30 with DJ Set (set menu 45 euro including a glass of Moët & Chandon champagne)
Dinner: 19.00 — 22.30, Saturday Night with DJ Set
First courses: 20 — 42 euro
Second courses: 26 — 40 euro