Castello / Riva degli Schiavoni

Londra Palace Venezia

★★★★★

The Londra Palace is the waterfront hotel for travellers who want the lagoon and St Mark's without the scale of the big grand hotels. Its nineteenth-century building stands on the Riva degli Schiavoni, a few minutes' walk east of the Doge's Palace, and its facade is famous for having a hundred windows looking out over the lagoon to San Giorgio Maggiore, the Giudecca and the Salute. It has been welcoming guests for more than a century and a half, and its past guests include Tchaikovsky, who, the hotel says, was inspired by the view of the lagoon and San Giorgio while composing his Fourth Symphony here, as well as Jules Verne, Borges and D'Annunzio. The hotel is a member of Relais and Chateaux and holds a Michelin Key, recognition of its style and service. There are just over fifty rooms and suites, with a crisp, contemporary lobby and guest rooms furnished in Biedermeier style with nineteenth-century antiques and pink marble bathrooms. Superior rooms face the courtyard or the city; deluxe rooms have the lagoon views; and the suites add terraces above the water. LPV Ristorante, with its terrace on the Riva, serves Venetian dishes and creative cocktails under its chef, and on the roof, a terrace described by the hotel as the highest in Venice gives a sweeping panorama over the domes, the bell towers and the lagoon. Service is attentive and personal, and the hotel feels intimate in a way that larger properties cannot.

Location math: the San Zaccaria vaporetto landings are directly in front, with lines along the Grand Canal and out to the Lido, Murano and San Giorgio, and water taxis can pull up almost at the door. Piazza San Marco is a five-minute walk west along the Riva; to the east, the waterfront leads past the Arsenale toward the Biennale gardens and the quieter, residential parts of Castello. The Riva is very busy during the day, but rooms are well insulated, and early mornings and evenings on the waterfront are magical.

Choosing a room: the lagoon-view deluxe rooms and the suites with terraces are the reason to book here, and they are worth the extra. Courtyard and city-view rooms are quieter and cheaper but miss the view that makes the hotel special. As always in Venice, sizes vary, so read the category descriptions. The rooftop terrace is the hotel's secret weapon for sunrise coffee or a sunset drink.

Who it suits: couples and culture-minded travellers who want a five-minute walk to St Mark's, the lagoon outside their window and a smaller, more personal hotel. It is a strong alternative to the Danieli next door along the Riva, generally at a lower price, and its restaurant is good enough to keep you in for dinner one night. Its position also makes early starts easy: you can be at the Doge's Palace or the Basilica at opening time after a five-minute stroll, before the day-trippers arrive, and be back on your terrace when the Riva is at its busiest. In the evenings, the nearby church of the Pietà, where Vivaldi taught music to the girls of the orphanage, and other venues along the Riva host baroque concerts, an easy and atmospheric night out without a boat ride.