Castello / Riva degli Schiavoni

Danieli, Venezia, A Four Seasons Hotel

★★★★★

For generations the Danieli was the name that meant Venice to travellers who could afford it, and after a long closure and restoration it reopened on 30 July 2026 as Danieli, Venezia, A Four Seasons Hotel. Its heart is Palazzo Dandolo, a fourteenth-century Gothic palace on the Riva degli Schiavoni, the waterfront promenade that runs east from the Doge's Palace, so the hotel sits a few steps from the Bridge of Sighs and Piazza San Marco with the lagoon spread out in front of it. The hotel combines Palazzo Dandolo with Palazzo Casa Nuova next door, and a third building, Palazzo Danieli Excelsior, is still being restored and is due to join in 2027. At reopening there are 120 rooms and suites, rising to 168 when the restoration is complete. The renovation was led by the designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, who took his palette from the lagoon itself — celadon greens, soft blues, terracotta, ochre and powder pink — and used Venetian craft throughout: Murano glass, terrazzo floors, Venetian mirrors and Rubelli textiles. The famous lobby, with its Gothic arches and staircase, now has a ceiling of hand-painted gilding in a quatrefoil pattern against azure. Many rooms have theatrical curtains that open onto the lagoon and views to San Giorgio Maggiore. On the roof, Terrazza Danieli, the restaurant and aperitivo bar, has one of the great views in Venice across the basin to San Giorgio, the Salute and the Lido. A Danieli Spa with a sauna, a hammam and treatment rooms is due to open in late 2026.

The location is the headline. Stepping out of the Danieli you are on the Riva, with the Doge's Palace a minute to the west and the San Zaccaria vaporetto landings at the door, so the Basilica, the Campanile, the boats to San Giorgio and the Lido, and even water taxis from the airport are all on your doorstep. In the early morning and late evening, the waterfront is quiet and the light on the lagoon is extraordinary. In the middle of the day, the Riva is one of the busiest walkways in the city, which is the price of the address.

Living in it: this is a newly restored grand hotel, so the systems are modern and the rooms are fresh, but the character is historic, with room sizes and layouts that vary from palace to palace. Lagoon-view rooms and suites are worth the premium on a special trip. Four Seasons service brings a concierge team adept at securing early entries, private gondolas and tables, and the rooftop terrace is a destination in itself for dinner or an aperitivo at sunset; book ahead even as a guest. Because the hotel is in its first months after reopening, some facilities, such as the spa and the third palazzo, are still being completed, so check what is open when you book.

Who it suits: honeymooners, milestone celebrations and first-timers who want the classic Venice arrival — water taxi to the door, lagoon outside the window, St Mark's around the corner. Rates are among the highest in the city. For a quieter grand hotel on the Grand Canal itself, look at the Gritti Palace; for a smaller, more intimate address on the same waterfront, the Londra Palace is a few minutes east.