Palazzina Grassi

"Philippe Starck's Venetian, the design-led anniversary alternative."

Why Palazzina Grassi for an anniversary

Palazzina Grassi is the contemporary-design alternative in the Venice palazzo cluster, Philippe Starck redesigned the 16th-century Palazzina Grassi (a former private residence adjacent to the Palazzo Grassi contemporary-art museum on the Grand Canal) in 2009 as a 26-room boutique hotel. Twenty-six rooms only, the upper-tier Royal Suite Palazzina (with private terrace and Grand Canal view) is the flagship. The asset is the design coherence, Philippe Starck's interior translates the historic Venice palazzo aesthetic into a contemporary visual language (mirrored ceilings, Venetian-glass chandeliers re-imagined in neon, the Starck signature visual playfulness against the 16th-century architecture). The Krug Lounge (the canal-side cocktail terrace, sponsored by Krug champagne) and the in-house Spa Palazzina handle the anniversary spaces. Palazzina Grassi is the right pick for the contemporary-design anniversary couple where the Starck-Venetian aesthetic is the asset over the traditional palazzo heritage, the trip's photograph is the Starck mirrored interior, and the Palazzo Grassi contemporary-art museum (next door, owned by François Pinault) is the cultural-day asset.

Best room to request

Royal Suite Palazzina (the Grand Canal-facing flagship) or Junior Suite for the entry-level Starck-design option.

The wider context

Palazzina Grassi sits within our broader Top 20 Hotels in Venice for an Anniversary list. It scored an aggregate 9.6/10 across the three editorial criteria, competitive against the field but, on an anniversary-specific factors, the angle above is what earned its rank. For the alternatives in the same Venice neighbourhood, see San Marco, Grand Canal and adjacent. For a different city entirely, see the related lists below.

If the dates are locked in, secure the room around the three-month mark. Suites with the prime view angle sell through first; for peak months, availability is measured in months rather than weeks. It is the terrace and plunge-pool suites, the rooms this rank rests on, that book up soonest.

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Further reading