With five eagerly awaited hotel grand openings and redesigns coming later this year, all paths and gondolas are leading to Venice. These storied, palatial properties are living testaments to La Serenìssima, and bedding down at one is the best way to experience this living museum of a city— founded over 1,600 years ago—long after the day-trippers have sailed home.
The ethereal beauty of this historic maze of canals and bridges never disappoints, and the Venice Biennale, slated from May 9 to November 22, is just another reason to plan a cultural sojourn. Here are the most exciting Venice hotel openings—and reopenings—to keep an eye on this year before you book a trip to this Italian gem of a city.
Venice hotel openings
Vincent Leroux
Dip into Venice’s largest spa with three swimming pools, and bring the kids
Airelles Palladio, Venice: Opening April 2026
Airelles’s first address in Italy has had many past lives—in the 1500s, it served as The Palladio, a lace-making atelier that once outfitted Louis XIV. From there, it morphed into an aristocratic academy, boarding house, convent for noble widows, then church of Santa Maria della Presentazione. Rooted on the island of Guidecca, where Michelangelo’s spirit still soars, Airelles Palladio, Venice, pays homage to La Serenìssima with the brand’s signature ethos of transforming historic properties into immersive experiences. French savoir faire blends seamlessly with Italian style, as evidenced in each of the 17 rooms and 28 suites, including the Conventino villa, with a private pool. Every chamber is adorned with antique furnishings and artifacts, custom Fortuny chandeliers, delicate Murano glassware, Rubelli wall coverings, and paintings that tell vivid tales of Venice.
Guerlain will create the glow at the city’s largest spa, with a collection of Venice-inspired wellness treatments, including Aqua Vinizia, Terra Vinizia, Crystal Glow, and Gondola Sway, the latter serenely honoring the city’s preferred mode of transport. Italian maison Rossano Ferretti will address any bad hair days. Beyond the hammam, Finnish sauna, gym, and yoga studio, there’s also a nearly 700-square-foot indoor swimming pool, while younger guests have it made with their own pool at the kids club. Add three restaurants led by celebrated chefs Nobu Matsuhisa (Matsuhisa by Nobu), Jean-Georges Vongerichten (ABC Kitchens Palladio), Norbert Niederkofler (Villa Frollo), and a sweet side by master pâtissier Cedric Grolet, and there’s plenty to keep all the senses engaged.
Orient Express Venezia
