A private-island Venetian resort on Isola di San Clemente — 196 rooms across the restored 12th-century monastery and Renaissance courtyard buildings on 15 acres of landscaped gardens, ten minutes from Piazza San Marco by complimentary boat, with two outdoor pools and the only restored 12th-century chapel functioning as a hotel reception room in Italy.
"A 12th-century monastery, fifteen acres of landscaped gardens, and an entire Venetian island that the public cannot reach — only the hotel's own boats, water taxi, or private transfer can land here. The Venice trip designed around 900 years of monastic seclusion with St. Mark's basilica ten minutes away."
Isola di San Clemente sits in the Venice lagoon between Giudecca and the Lido, eight hundred metres south of San Marco. The island's recorded history begins in 1131 when the Venetian merchant Pietro Gattilesso financed the construction of a monastery and the church of San Clemente; through nine centuries it served, in turn, as a hospice for pilgrims to the Holy Land, a religious house of various orders, a Lazaretto during the plague of 1630, a women's psychiatric hospital from 1844, and finally as an unused property in state ownership through the late twentieth century. Comprehensive restoration work began in 2000; the property opened in 2003 as the San Clemente Palace, was renovated again under Permira ownership, and was rebranded San Clemente Palace Kempinski in 2016 — Kempinski's only Italian property.
The 196 keys (incl. 24 suites) sit across multiple courtyard buildings — the original monastery wing (Superior and Deluxe rooms with original beamed ceilings preserved), the formal Renaissance courtyard buildings (Lagoon and Island View categories), and the suite inventory in the upper-floor positions with private terraces overlooking either the lagoon, the gardens, or the basilica's twelve-century chapel. Categories ascend through Junior Suite (Garden, Lagoon View), one-bedroom suites in named configurations, and the multi-bedroom suite categories that handle the family booking. Bathrooms throughout are stone with rain showers; the Kempinski signature service programme runs from check-in.
The defining differentiator beyond the private island is the property's two outdoor pools — the heated swimming pool surrounded by gardens, and a smaller pool by the spa — plus the dedicated three-hole golf academy course (the only hotel golf in central Venice), tennis courts, and a jogging path that traces the island's perimeter. Five restaurants run on-property: Acquerello (the formal restaurant for fine dining), Insieme by Massimiliano Alajmo (consultancy from the three-Michelin-star Le Calandre), La Dolce (the Italian-Mediterranean all-day dining room), the Pool Bar, and the Lobby Lounge. The Merletti Spa — named for the Burano lace tradition — runs eight treatment rooms with the indoor pool, sauna, hammam, and aesthetic treatment programmes; one of the most considered hotel spas in the lagoon at the level above the Cipriani.
The hotel's restored 12th-century chapel of San Clemente is the most photogenic public room in the property — frequently used for private weddings (San Clemente is one of two Venetian hotels with a working ceremonial chapel; the other is Belmond Cipriani's). Complimentary boat shuttles run every 30 minutes between the hotel's private mooring and the San Marco dock at the foot of the Riva degli Schiavoni — a 10-minute crossing. The proposition is direct: 900 years of monastic seclusion, fifteen acres of landscaped gardens, two pools, the historic chapel, and a complimentary boat to the basilica's doorstep. For Venice trips that want the island-resort experience but at meaningfully lower money than the Cipriani, San Clemente is the principal answer.
For the Venice wellness retreat, San Clemente's combination — Merletti Spa, two outdoor pools, jogging path around an entire private island, gardens for outdoor yoga, and the 12th-century chapel for meditation — has no contemporary peer in the lagoon. Four- and seven-night programmes are scheduled around the spa team's rotation. The complimentary boat to St. Mark's lets you punctuate the wellness days with city access without breaking the resort rhythm.
The Venice family trip works much better at San Clemente than at any in-city palazzo hotel — children have fifteen acres of garden, two pools, a tennis court, the bicycle programme, and the three-hole pitch-and-putt. Two-bedroom suites are the right inventory; connecting Junior Suites work for slightly older children. The complimentary 30-minute boat brings the family into San Marco for a half-day of city tourism and back to the resort for lunch.
A milestone Venetian anniversary on a private island plays differently from one in a Grand Canal palazzo. Lagoon View Suites for the standard booking; the Royal Suite for a major one. Acquerello at dinner under the original monastery beams; aperitivo in the chapel courtyard; the morning row across the lagoon by gondola from the hotel's private dock. Restraint plus seclusion plus 900 years of bones.
Isola di San Clemente 1
30124 Venice
Italy
Piazza San Marco 10 minutes by complimentary 30-minute private launch; Marco Polo Airport 30 minutes by water taxi; Lido di Venezia 5 minutes by hotel launch
196 rooms (incl. 24 suites)
Superior Doubles from €600/night
Lagoon-View Suites from €1,200/night
One-Bedroom Suites from €1,800/night
Royal Suite from €5,500/night
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Monastery dates from 1131
Hotel since 2003; Kempinski since 2016
Two outdoor pools and Merletti Spa
Restored 12th-century chapel
Three-hole golf academy and tennis
Five restaurants incl. Insieme by Alajmo
Complimentary 24-hour boat shuttle
Kempinski signature service
From €600/night. Lagoon-View categories and Royal Suite book three to four months ahead for spring and autumn weekends; six months for the Venice Biennale (April–November odd years), Carnival (February), and the Venice Film Festival (early September).
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