A 12th-century palazzo on Calle Larga de l'Ascensione — the oldest documented hotel in Venice, founded as a Knights Templar resting house, today a Leading Hotels of the World 5-star sixty seconds from St Mark's Square with a private water-gate on the lagoon.
"The longest hotel-pedigree in Venice, fully expressed: a Knights Templar house since 1118, a hotel since the 1500s, a Baglioni since 2002, and the only five-star within sixty seconds of Piazza San Marco where the room number is older than every American city."
The building at San Marco 1243 has been documented as a hostelry since 1118, when the Knights Templar opened it as a resting house for pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land. The Templars left in 1311; the property continued operating in some form of hospitality function for the seven centuries that followed, becoming what is reasonably described as Venice's oldest documented hotel. The Luna name appears in records from the 1500s. The Baglioni Hotels & Resorts group — Italian luxury chain founded 1974 by Roberto Polito — acquired the property in 2002 and operates it as a Leading Hotels of the World five-star, with a 2018–2020 comprehensive renovation completed under house designer Rebecca Weir.
Ninety-one rooms across five floors run from Classic and Deluxe categories at 25–30 square metres up through Junior Suites, Executive Suites, and Premium Suites with views over the lagoon, the Royal Gardens, or the Piazzetta. Decoration is deliberately Venetian-traditional: red-and-gold damask wall fabrics, antique writing desks, original Murano-glass chandeliers in every room, and Carrara marble bathrooms. The Marco Polo Suite is the headline unit — 80 square metres on the top floor with a balcony facing the Bacino San Marco, the dome of Santa Maria della Salute directly visible across the water. The Doge Suite occupies the corner above the water-entrance.
The Salone Marco Polo is the hotel's ceremonial space — a 17th-century ballroom with frescoes attributed to pupils of Tiepolo, used today as the breakfast room and for private events. Canova restaurant on the lagoon-facing side offers Venetian fine dining under a 14th-century beamed ceiling. Caffè Baglioni is the all-day room. The hotel maintains a private water-gate on Rio della Luna, allowing arrivals by water taxi or hotel motorboat directly into the lobby — a feature shared by only a handful of San Marco-side properties.
The position is the central proposition. The hotel sits on Calle Larga de l'Ascensione, the short street running from the western edge of Piazza San Marco toward the Royal Gardens — a sixty-second walk from the Basilica's main entrance, two minutes from Harry's Bar, three minutes from the Doge's Palace, four minutes from the Vallaresso vaporetto stop. For travellers who want to stay inside Venice's most famous square without the price of the Gritti or the Danieli, the Baglioni Luna is the answer with the longest history attached.
A Venetian honeymoon at the Baglioni Luna is the historically literate version. The Marco Polo Suite frames Santa Maria della Salute through its balcony arch; the private water-gate means a gondola or motoscafo can collect newlyweds from inside the building; the Salone Marco Polo handles the rehearsal-dinner-equivalent meal under Tiepolo-school frescoes. The Cipriani is grander on the water but the Luna is closer to the Basilica and a third less expensive at the suite level.
Anniversary stays scale through the inventory cleanly: a Deluxe Lagoon View for a quiet long weekend, a Junior Suite for a milestone year, the Marco Polo or Doge Suite for a major one. Canova at dinner is restrained Venetian fine dining without the operatic gestures of some San Marco competitors; breakfast under the Tiepolo-school ceiling in the Salone Marco Polo is the morning event the hotel is best known for.
The Marco Polo Suite balcony — Santa Maria della Salute framed across the basin, evening light from Punta della Dogana — is the proposal sightline. The hotel's concierge has done enough of these to time the room turn so that the suite is ready with whatever is required; the private water-gate means the post-yes gondola is at the door without crossing public ground. If the answer is yes, dinner at Canova or a private table in the Salone Marco Polo finishes the evening.
San Marco 1243
Calle Larga de l'Ascensione
30124 Venezia, Italy
Piazza San Marco 60 sec; Harry's Bar 2 min; Doge's Palace 3 min; San Marco Vallaresso vaporetto 4 min
91 rooms across 5 floors
Classic Doubles from €620/night
Deluxe Lagoon View from €920/night
Junior Suites from €1,400/night
Marco Polo Suite from €4,200/night
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Documented hostelry since 1118; Luna name 1500s; Baglioni since 2002; renovation 2018–2020
Canova restaurant
Caffè Baglioni
Salone Marco Polo (Tiepolo-school frescoes)
Private water-gate on Rio della Luna
Murano chandeliers in every room
Leading Hotels of the World
From €620/night. Lagoon-facing categories book three to four months ahead for spring; six months for Carnival (February) and the Biennale openings (April / June / September depending on year).
Book This Hotel →The 1475 Doge Andrea Gritti residence on the Grand Canal, Marriott Luxury Collection, Club del Doge restaurant.
14th-century Palazzo Dandolo on Riva degli Schiavoni — Marriott Luxury Collection — three palazzi in one.
Five Grand Canal palazzi knitted into one Marriott property opposite Santa Maria della Salute.