- 🏦 Where · Fondamenta de Cannaregio, Venice, a stone’s throw from the Ghetto and a twenty-minute walk from the Rialto
- 🔑 Format · Fourteen rooms and suites only, housed in a long-closed 17th-century patrician palazzo
- 🎨 Signature · Interiors by studio Cristina Celestino · contemporary artworks curated with Rome’s Galleria Russo
- 🍳 Dining · Da GrandMa, seasonal Italian cuisine in the courtyard garden · advice from chef Riccardo Pepe
- 📌 Network · Member of Design Hotels (Marriott Bonvoy) · open since June 2026
In Venice, luxury hospitality traditionally centres around the Riva degli Schiavoni and San Marco, where cruise liners and tour buses pass by. Elizabeth Unique Venice takes the opposite gamble: fourteen keys in Cannaregio, the sestiere where Venetians still live, inside a 17th-century palazzo that remained closed for years. Open since June 2026 under the Design Hotels banner, this is the first Venetian address for the Elizabeth group, which already has properties in Rome and Bologna.
All openings · Italy →
| Address | Fondamenta de Cannaregio, Cannaregio sestiere, Venice |
|---|---|
| Opening | June 2026 |
| Capacity | 14 rooms and suites |
| Categories | Initiale, Superior, Superior Spa, Deluxe, Junior Suite, Suite Garden View, Suite Canal View, Suite Spa Canal View |
| Spa suites signature | Private in-room sauna |
| Interior design | Cristina Celestino Studio |
| Art | Contemporary Italian works curated with Galleria Russo (Rome), in common areas and rooms |
| Restaurant | Da GrandMa · seasonal Italian cuisine · indoor dining room and courtyard garden · breakfast, lunch, dinner |
| Building | 17th-century noble palazzo, preserved central porteghi and grand arches |
| Group | Elizabeth Hotel Group · Rome (Elizabeth Unique Rome), Bologna (Elizabeth Lifestyle Hotel, Elizabeth Country House), Venice (Elizabeth Unique Venice, Hotel Antico Doge) |
| Affiliation | Design Hotels, Marriott Bonvoy programme |
Contents
Cannaregio rather than San Marco: a choice that says it all
The Cannaregio sestiere is the most populated in Venice and the least staged for tourism. Its fondamente run alongside canals where you are more likely to cross paths with locals than tourists, and the nearby Ghetto remains one of the city’s most intact neighbourhoods. Staying here means embracing an inhabited Venice rather than a visited one, just a twenty-minute walk from the Rialto.
The chosen building is a 17th-century patrician palazzo, long used as a private residence before closing for several years. The restoration has preserved the quintessential elements of a Venetian palazzo, the porteghi·those grand transverse halls·along with their arches, to accommodate just fourteen rooms. On this intimate scale, the hotel feels like a private home rather than a commercial establishment.
Cristina Celestino and Galleria Russo: a hotel conceived as a gallery
The interiors are designed by Cristina Celestino studio, one of Italy’s most sought-after designers of her generation, renowned for her soft palettes and appreciation of materials. Here, terracotta wood panelling frames headboards beneath original beams, circular pendant lights converse with the historic ceilings, and the Venetian terrazzo floors have been carefully retained.
The other defining choice is artistic. Every room and common area showcases contemporary Italian works, selected in partnership with Galleria Russo, a historic Roman gallery. The hotel presents itself as a gallery you can live in, an approach reminiscent of what Clara Arte in Inhotim achieves on a different scale.
Eight categories, and an in-room sauna
Fourteen keys spread across eight categories represents an unusual ratio, reflecting a commitment to avoiding duplicate rooms. Ranging from Initiale to the suites, the selection climbs up to the Canal View Suites, which look out over the Cannaregio canal. The property’s standout signature is the Spa suite, featuring a private sauna installed directly inside the room·a rarity for a Venetian boutique hotel of this size, where every square metre counts.
Da GrandMa, the courtyard garden dining room
The restaurant is named Da GrandMa, and the name sets the tone: home-cooked, seasonal Italian cuisine elevated to the standard of a hotel dining room, serving resident guests as well as lunch and dinner for locals. Chef Riccardo Pepe, formerly of DonnaE Bistrot in Rome, acts as culinary consultant. During warmer months, service moves to the planted internal courtyard, a secret garden entirely hidden from view along the fondamenta.
Our perspective
Venice boasts dozens of luxury palaces and palace hotels, all concentrated around the Grand Canal and San Marco. What was missing was a fourteen-room address in a vibrant neighbourhood with a genuine design and art narrative, and that is precisely the niche the Elizabeth group is filling, drawing on the expertise gained in Rome and Bologna.
This approach has its limitations, which must be acknowledged: Cannaregio requires a willingness to walk, and fourteen rooms leave no room for service approximation. Yet for travellers seeking Venice away from the crowds and preferring a private home to a bustling lobby, this is the most compelling Venetian opening of the year. We will go and check it out in person.
Practical information
- Elizabeth Unique Venice, Fondamenta de Cannaregio, Cannaregio sestiere, Venice, Italy
- Official website: ehvenice.com
- 14 rooms and suites · Da GrandMa restaurant · Design Hotels member
- Access: twenty-minute walk from the Rialto Bridge · Santa Lucia station ten minutes away
