Aman Venice | Venice

Aman Venice: a 16th-century palazzo on the Grand Canal

Venice – From the boat, you step directly through the water gate into the palazzo. The Aman Venice welcomes you to the Palazzo Papadopoli, a Renaissance palace on the Grand Canal, Venice's main waterway. Behind the facade are 24 rooms and suites, historic halls, and two private gardens.

The hotel is located in the San Polo District, the smallest of Venice’s six districts. You’ll stay surrounded by frescoes and contemporary furniture, dine in the garden by the water, and explore the city on foot or by boat. This profile shows which rooms are right for your stay, what’s included in the price, and how to get there.

Who owns the Palazzo Papadopoli, and how did it become Aman Venice?

To this day, the palace belongs to a family that lives there: the Counts of Arrivabene Valenti Gonzaga, who inherited it in 1922 and have retained the upper floors as their private residence. Since 2013, Aman Venice has occupied the two bel étages below. This means the property is not a hotel that has moved into an empty palace, but rather a hotel with the owners living two floors above.

It all began with merchants. The Coccina family, a merchant family that had emigrated from Bergamo, began construction of the palace around 1560 and completed it by about 1570. The architect is believed to be Giangiacomo dei Grigi, a 16th-century Venetian architect from a well-known family of stonemasons. The Coccinas were not only wealthy, they also had good taste: in 1571, Paolo Veronese painted the family portrait „The Coccina Family Before the Virgin“ for them. The house’s entire collection of paintings was sold in 1745 to the Elector of Saxony for 100,000 zecchini—the paintings now hang in the Dresden Picture Gallery.

After the Coccina family died out, the Venetian patrician family Tiepolo purchased the palace in 1748; their name is still part of the address today: Tiepolo Street is the name of the alley on the landward side. In the 19th century, the house changed hands several times until, in 1864, it passed to the brothers Niccolò and Angelo Papadopoli, bankers of Greek origin from the island of Corfu. They gave the palace its current name and carried out the most extensive renovation to date.

The Renovation of 1874 and the Garden

For the renovations in 1874 and 1875, the Papadopoli family hired the architect Girolamo Levi and the Venetian interior designer Michelangelo Guggenheim. The two added neoclassical elements to the facade, built a new wing, and furnished rooms in historical styles, ranging from the Quattrocento to the Rococo to Chinoiserie. The grand staircase dates from the same period. And because the Papadopolis had neighboring buildings demolished to make way for this, what is now one of the house’s most distinctive features came into being: two connected private gardens, one of which lies directly on the Grand Canal.

From the 1970s through 2005, the palazzo housed the Italian Institute of Marine Sciences. This was followed by restoration work to convert it into a hotel: the Dottor Group, which specializes in historic buildings, undertook the work, and the lighting design was created by the Milan-based studio Piero Castiglioni. In 2013, the property opened as the first Aman in Italy, initially under the name „Aman Canal Grande Venice.“ A year later, George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin were married here—and ever since, even those who aren’t otherwise interested in Venetian architecture have come to know the palace.

Behind the brand is the Aman Group, headquartered in Baar, Switzerland. Vlad Doronin is the chairman, chief executive, and sole owner; he took over the group in 2014 and has been its sole owner since 2015. Aman operates 35 properties in 20 destinations worldwide; its sister property in the Dolomites, the Aman Rosa Alpina in St. Kassian, is about a three-hour drive away.

The Aman Venice is located between the Rialto Bridge and the Accademia Bridge

The palazzo stands on the north bank of the Grand Canal, almost exactly halfway between the Rialto Bridge and the Accademia Bridge, the city’s two most famous bridges. The Aman is thus one of the eight palaces that Venice itself classifies as monumental—buildings with double serliana facades, loggias facing the water, and obelisks on the roof. The obelisks are not mere ornamentation: in Venice, they signified the residence of a fleet captain.

From the Water Gate, you can reach the heart of the city in just a few minutes without ever crossing a major thoroughfare. A short walk through the alleys of San Polo takes you to the Mercato di Rialto, the fish and vegetable market by the Rialto Bridge; it takes a quarter of an hour to get to St. Mark’s Square. The nearest stop for the vaporetto—as Venice’s public water bus is called—is San Silvestro On Line 1—it’s right on the canal, just a few steps from the palace. If you’d rather arrive by boat than on foot, ask the concierge to call one for you.

San Polo itself is the smallest of Venice’s six districts and one of the liveliest: artisan shops, wine bars, the morning market, and, just a few alleys away, the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari with its Titian altars. If you’re visiting the city for the first time, you’ll find our itinerary for 3 Days in Venice A daily schedule that's easy to follow from home.

Architecture and Art at the Palazzo Papadopoli

The basic design concept behind the house can be summed up in one sentence: The art remains bold, while the furniture takes a back seat. The person responsible for the interiors is Jean-Michel Gathy, the Belgian interior designer behind numerous Aman properties, who, with his firm Denniston Gathy left the frescoes, stucco ceilings, and terrazzo floors untouched and paired them with understated, dark furniture, much of it made of wenge wood. The result is a Rococo palace in which nothing appears over-the-top.

The architectural elements revealed by the restoration are well worth seeing. The halls on the bel étage feature ceiling frescoes by Giambattista Tiepolo, the most important Venetian ceiling painter of the 18th century, created this work around 1750. His son Giandomenico Tiepolo contributed carnival scenes, including „Il ciarlatano“ (The Charlatan) and „Il minuetto“ (The Minuet). In the Guarana Room There is a ceiling fresco by Jacopo Guarana, a Venetian fresco painter from the same century, combined with chartreuse-colored silk from the Rubelli textile mill.

The works of Cesare Rotta: He painted frescoes in the ballroom, the stairwell, the yellow and blue salons, and the room that now houses the bar—where the ceiling features an Olymp surrounded by stuccowork celebrating art and science. The most notable single piece is found in a guest room: The Sansovino Room has a 16th-century fireplace based on a design by Jacopo Sansovino, the architect who shaped Renaissance Venice. There is also leather wallpaper from Córdoba, a library with leaded-glass cabinets, and Murano chandeliers in nearly every room.

It continues outside. The Garden Terrace On the Grand Canal is one of the few private gardens that actually border the canal; behind it lies the Pergola Garden with old trees, a lawn, and a Gothic draw well. And right at the top, on the fifth floor, sits a altana – That’s the name in Venice for the wooden rooftop terrace above the rooftops. From there, the view stretches across the rooftops and, on clear days, all the way to the Alps.

Rooms and Suites at Aman Venice

The 24 rooms and suites are divided into nine categories, and no two are alike—which is only natural for a palace whose rooms were never originally designed as hotel accommodations. Even the smallest room measures 47 square meters, while the largest suite measures 103. The categories are distinguished by three factors: the view, the size, and the amount of original features in the room.

The view divides the house into two halves. One looks out onto the Grand Canal and the garden terrace; the other looks out onto the two private gardens—quieter, greener, and yet never silent, even in a car-free city, because the water laps against the garden walls. The categories with the suffix Grand Canal The names refer to the canal, the Palazzo Bedrooms and the Palazzo Chamber Fresco to the garden.

The original character is what makes a large room special. In the Papadopoli Stanza Canal Grande There is a fireplace, and in the bathroom, a round ceiling fresco featuring cherubs arches over the bathtub. The Sansovino Room was once the Hall of the Four Doors and has retained its wood paneling, painted frieze, and carved ceiling. And the Alcova Tiepolo Suite, the largest room in the house, features frescoes by Giambattista Tiepolo, gilded ceilings, and two marble fireplaces, and spans 103 square meters with separate sleeping and living areas.

For families and larger groups, the property groups apartments into categories. The Grand Canal Apartment It consists of a suite, a chamber, and a stanza, and measures 226 square meters with three bedrooms. Even larger is The Coccina's Apartment At 290 square meters: the entire fourth floor, accessible via a private elevator, featuring frescoed ceilings, a fireplace, and views of both the Grand Canal and the garden.

Where do you eat and drink at Aman Venice?

Three locations, three very different atmospheres: the restaurant Arva for Venetian cuisine, The Bar in the frescoed lounge for aperitifs and cicchetti, and The Palazzo Kitchen Table as an eight-seat Chef’s Table. All three are also open to guests who are not staying at the hotel—reservations can be made by calling +39 041 2707714. At the helm is Executive Chef Matteo Panfilio, who consistently bases his cuisine on lagoon and market ingredients.

Arva: The Cuisine of the Harvest

The name comes from Latin and means „cultivated land.“ Accordingly, the kitchen operates according to the principle of harvest cuisine, cuisine inspired by the harvest: seasonal ingredients from the Venetian Lagoon and surrounding regions, fish from the Adriatic Sea sourced from trusted partners, olive oils from Tuscany and Liguria, and artisanal pasta. The menu features pasta and risotto, fish and seafood, as well as small plates to share. Arva is listed in the Michelin Guide.

Meals are served in the dining rooms overlooking the garden and the Grand Canal; from May through October, dining is also available outdoors in the Grand Canal Garden – al fresco in a private garden by the canal, a setting you’ll hardly find anywhere else in Venice. It’s open daily from noon to 10 p.m., with the dinner menu available starting at 7 p.m. On Sundays, brunch is served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., which the restaurant can combine with a spa treatment upon request.

The Bar: Olympus on the ceiling, gin in the glass

The bar is located in the Red Salon, which Sala Rossa, which formerly served as a gallery for contemporary art. Above the guests hangs Cesare Rotta’s ceiling fresco depicting Mount Olympus; the walls are adorned with silk, and Murano glass hangs above. The space is inspired by Lord Byron, the English poet who lived in Venice around 1818 and is considered one of the city’s most famous residents. Bar Manager Antonio Ferrara It boasts one of the city's largest gin collections.

The Signature Card is called Reflections and it's a great idea: six drinks, each named after one of the palace's six most distinctive halls and inspired by its character— Armonia for the Sala Rossa, Meditation for the Blue Salon, Indomitable for the yellow one, Incanto for the Guarana Room, Anima for the library and Devotion for the Tiepolo Room. In addition, there are cicchetti, those little Venetian appetizers that you’d normally eat standing at the bar. It’s open daily from noon to midnight; in the summer, the aperitivo moves to a wooden bar in the garden. If you’d like, you can take a mixology class to learn how the drinks are made.

The Palazzo Kitchen Table: Ten Courses for Eight Guests

On the ground floor of the palace is an open, teppanyaki-style counter with eight seats. There, Matteo Panfilio serves a ten-course tasting menu based on the concept of the omakase follows—„I’ll leave it up to you,“ the Japanese way of saying to let the chef choose. The cooking is Venetian nonetheless: purple artichokes from Sant’Erasmo, the lagoon’s “vegetable island,” wild herbs from the coast near Cavallino on the eastern edge of the lagoon, and freshly caught seafood from the Adriatic Sea.

The technique is Japanese. The teppanyaki grill seals in the flavors and juices of the ingredients using high heat, while the yakiniku grill adds smoky notes and a subtle caramelization; light sauces and sparing use of seasoning allow the natural flavors to shine through. The menu is accompanied by wine pairings from the house wine list, which, upon request, can include rare vintages from the restaurant’s own Master’s Collection can be expanded. Dinner is served Tuesday through Saturday in a single seating at 7:30 p.m.; reservations must be made in advance.

The Aman Spa in the garden wing of the Palazzo

The spa is located on a mezzanine on the third floor of the garden wing and features three softly lit treatment rooms, each with its own changing and bathing area; one of them includes a soaking tub. There is also a fitness room whose windows look out over the city’s tiled roofs—personal training sessions can be booked. It is open Monday through Thursday from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Like the restaurant and bar, the spa is also open to guests who are not staying at the hotel.

The treatment menu is divided into three categories, which Aman Grounding, Nourishing and Purifying are: grounding, nourishing, and cleansing. These are the foundations of the individual treatments—massages, facials, deep tissue work, and cranial therapy. The thermal treatments utilize mineral water, thermal salts, and bentonite clay from Salsomaggiore Terme in Emilia-Romagna, a spa town whose water comes from a prehistoric sea. The line behind it is called The Temple of Health; in treatment Lissaggio Temple of Health Exfoliating thermal salt is combined with argan oil, and a lymphatic drainage technique is applied.

Two applications fall outside the usual scope. The restorative cryotherapy uses targeted cold therapy: It lowers the temperature in specific areas of the body, relieves tension in the neck and shoulder area, reduces swelling, and prepares the tissue for the manual treatment that follows. It is incorporated, among other treatments, into a 90-minute Cryo Deep Tissue Massage, a 90-minute Thermal Anti-Age Facial, and a 30-minute Jet Lag Express Facial with a cooling mask —the latter is just the thing after a long flight.

The second distinctive feature is the sound work in the Tiepolo Room. There, a musician provides a live musical accompaniment to the 60-minute relaxation or deep-tissue massage using a Celtic harp, tubular bells, and an ocean drum; the voice and instruments follow the therapist’s movements. Combined with a reflexology massage, this becomes one of the most unusual treatments offered by a city hotel in Italy. For facial care, the hotel uses Aman Essential Skin, and there's also this dietary supplement Aman Sva in our online store.

What can you experience in Venice from the Aman Venice?

The company organizes private tours led not by tour guides but by experts—art historians, architects, chefs, and engineers. The idea behind this is simple: Venice is best explained by someone who knows what they’re talking about, and it can be visited at times when no one else is around. The tours are customized, and reservations are made through the concierge.

Four formats are confirmed for the lineup. In the Chef's Morning You'll go with the head chef to the Mercato di Rialto, where the fishmongers start setting out their wares early in the morning, and watch as the day's shopping takes shape. The Lagoon Aperitivo It's an afternoon boat ride through small canals toward Giudecca, the long, narrow island across from St. Mark's Square, and on into the lagoon, with Venetian snacks served on board. Venice of the Artisans It takes you to workshops that no one from the outside would recognize as such: to glassblowers in Murano, to the silk weavers at Rubelli, and to a gondola builder. And in a two-hour session with a master perfumer, you’ll blend your own fragrance, which a mixologist at the bar will then turn into a cocktail.

In addition, there are the classic ways to get around by water. Gondola rides and private boat tours on traditional Venetian boats are arranged through the hotel, and you can even arrive at the Water Gate by gondola. If you want to see the islands of the lagoon, you’ll find the route in our itinerary for 5 Days in Venice. And for travelers who like to combine a city with mountains: The sister property in the Dolomites is a three-hour drive away, and the hotel arranges combined stays.

Weddings and Events at Palazzo Papadopoli

When you host an event at Aman Venice, you’ll be celebrating in eight different spaces, each with its own story—from the ballroom on the first beletage to the Altana on the fifth floor, which seats twelve people. The largest room is the main salon on the second bel étage, with 110 seats; the largest venue of all is the garden terrace on the Grand Canal, which seats 120 guests al fresco. In Venice, arriving by boat is simply part of the experience; guests can even arrive by gondola through the water gate. To learn how to organize such a celebration in the city, check out our guide to Getting Married in Venice.

What's included at Aman Venice?

The stay includes daily breakfast, beverages from the minibar (including alcoholic drinks), coffee and tea in the room, a guided tour of the historic palazzo, and access to the rooftop terrace. Room service is available 24 hours a day; however, this does not constitute complimentary meals. Orders are subject to the prices and terms listed on the room service menu. Transfers, private tours, and spa treatments can be booked separately; some packages may already include these services.

How much does a night at Aman Venice cost?

Here's a specific price example: For two adults in the Palazzo Bedroom, a room with a garden view, costs per night from October 15 to 16, 2026, at the rate of Standard Daily Rate €2,420, including 10 % VAT. Breakfast, drinks from the minibar, a guided tour of the Palazzo, and access to the rooftop terrace are included; the city tourist tax is additional. This example applies to this date and the rates as of September 13, 2026. Rates may vary for other travel dates, room categories, and booking conditions.

The best way to compare your stay is by looking at the total price for all nights, the included services, and the cancellation policy. You can get the current rate by booking directly, by calling +39 041 2707714, or by using the request form at the bottom of this page.

For extra beds and stays with children, the terms depend on the selected rate and room occupancy. Please specify the children's ages in your request and have the total price confirmed. If you're staying longer, you can take advantage of the package Extend Your Stay Depending on availability and offer terms, guests staying four nights or more receive a fourth night free of charge. In addition, there is the Venetian tourist tax, which for a five-star hotel in the historic center is approximately €5 per person per night and is charged for a maximum of five consecutive nights; Children under the age of ten are exempt. The admission fee for day visitors is separate: As of July 27, 2026, neither payment nor an exemption request is required. For later travel dates, please check the applicable rules in the City Portal on Access Fees. If the fee is reinstated, please also be sure to follow the guidelines in effect at that time for overnight guests.

When is the best time to visit Venice?

The most pleasant months are April through early June and September through early November: mild enough for the garden, quiet enough for the alleys. The Aman Venice is open year-round, and every season has its own charm. In the height of summer, life moves outdoors, and then in the Grand Canal Garden Dining al fresco and enjoying an aperitivo served at the wooden bar in the garden—an offering available from May through October.

Winter is the most Venetian time of the year. Between November and February, the museums are empty, the light lies low over the water, and in February, the Carnival brings the city to life. The “acqua alta,” the seasonal flooding, occurs mainly in the fall; rubber boots are all you need to get around the city then, and in the palazzo itself, the guest rooms are located on the bel étage. Major events on the calendar include the Art Biennale and the Architecture Biennale, the Venice Film Festival in early September, and the Festa del Redentore in July, featuring fireworks over the Bacino di San Marco—the harbor basin in front of St. Mark’s Square—and it’s worth booking early for all of these events.

From Venice to the Dolomites: Extend Your Stay at Aman Venice

Three hours' drive north of Venice stands the group's second Italian property, the Aman Rosa Alpina In St. Kassian in Alta Badia—51 rooms and suites, a 1,684-square-meter spa, and the Pizzinini family, who have been hosting guests there since 1939. Aman arranges stays at both properties upon request, and the combination works both ways: the palazzo and the mountains, the lagoon and the cliffs—all in one week.

If you’d rather stay in the Veneto region, everything is within easy reach: Padua is a half-hour train ride away, Verona is an hour and a half away, and the Valpolicella vineyards lie north of Verona, with Lake Garda beyond them. You can find more homes like this in our selection of Top Hotels in South Tyrol.

Our Take on Aman Venice

The Aman Venice is a place for travelers who don’t just want to check Venice off their list, but to truly experience it. Art history enthusiasts will find frescoes by two generations of Tiepolo, a Sansovino fireplace, and halls that are usually accessible only with an admission ticket. Those seeking tranquility have two private gardens and a rooftop terrace where no one is jostling for space. And those arriving by water enter the city through a water gate rather than a revolving door.

This property is particularly well-suited for couples who are staying in the city for a few days and want to explore it at their own pace, for travelers seeking culinary experiences who specifically head to Arva and the Chef’s Table, and for families for whom one of the two apartments offers the most relaxing option. The Palazzo is also one of the city’s top venues for weddings or milestone celebrations. We feature other properties in this league in our overview of the Top Hotels in Italy before.