Hotel Review: St Regis Venice San Clemente Palace Part I

St Regis has a beautiful new property, just a few minutes away from St. Mark’s Square. I love the romantic waterways of Venice, but don’t enjoy the crowds. I first wrote about the opening of the St Regis Venice San Clemente Palace a few weeks ago here, and I was looking forward to checking out the hotel in person.

There are 146 rooms, 14 acres of gardens, two bars, three restaurants, a 15th century church, fitness center, tennis court, swimming pool, and a 3 hole golf pitch & putt.

The resort offers complimentary boat transfer to the private island of San Clemente from St Mark’s square, so I made my way there from Venice’s Marco Polo airport.

I finally reached the front of Hotel Danieli which is the embarkation point, but there was no boat. Typically it leaves every 40 minutes, but the hotel boat was broken. It was a hot day, so I relaxed inside the lobby of the Hotel Danieli while waiting for a regular boat taxi to take me over to the hotel.

The taxi arrived. The luggage was taken first and I was given a helping hand down into my comfortable ride.

What an enjoyable way to travel, rather than crammed into the big boats.

One other couple got in the boat, and then we were off.

I loved the short, scenic 10 minute journey and then the island came into view.

As the boat rounded the corner I saw the pale 15th century church, next to the patio seating for the Acquarello Restaurant.

We were almost there!

The hotel’s boat holds up to 35 people, and as we pulled up alongside the dock I was glad to have had just the four of us in the taxi.

Multiple flags and the hotel’s sign welcomed me to the island.

My bags were taken care of, and I followed the tree dotted path to reception.

Stepping in the entryway, my eyes adjusted to the building interior.

The foyer and lobby were stately and had soaring ceilings, large windows, artwork and fancily framed mirrors.

I turned to the right towards reception.

Because we were there during the hotel’s soft opening, there was no line for check-in. Although I had redeemed points for a basic Superior room they were able to upgrade us in advance to a Jr Suite because of our SPG Platinum status. I was also given free wifi, though guests without status are charged 15 EUR per day.

After check-in, the hostess guided me to the elevator and through the palatial resort.

Along the way we passed a window with a view of the interior courtyard.

The hallways were huge but every few feet there was a window that provided plenty of natural light.

Entering the room, I saw that the walls were covered with a beautiful golden fabric, and the windows were outlined by heavy drapes. The furniture actually looked the same as when the property had been known as the San Clemente Palace right down to the same cloth table coverings, and while it didn’t have the “wow” factor for me, everything was clean and comfortable.

I was disappointed to find that there were two beds, since my husband and I prefer one. The hostess apologized that there were no King beds available at the time except in a standard room so I chose to keep the Jr suite, but I would have preferred to have received the bed type that I had booked.

There was lots of light, and the room was large. Thickly padded benches sat at the end of the beds, and there were bedside tables with softly lit lamps by each.

A couch and table were across from the bed.

A new flat screen TV was positioned on a table in between the windows.

The desk’s lamp was intricately detailed, with a artisan designed light cover and carved base.

The solid carved koi were intertwined.

Light streamed through the window, so I went to peer out.

The view from the room was pretty cool. Having stayed in St Marks square many times I’d always had the same view out to the water. This time it was from the opposite side so it offered a different perspective.

In the middle of the buildings on the island was a courtyard, with what looked like a wishing well in the middle.

I would have liked not to have had buildings in front, but that couldn’t be helped.

The table by the couch was set by the butler with champagne, two bottles of water, and a large fruit plate.

There was also a minibar and some snacks.

Since there were no other restaurants or food shops on the island that those belonging to the hotel I was curious to see what offerings there were.

Snacks consisted of a bag of M&M’s, a container of Pringles, and a jar of nuts.

The closet had plenty of clothes hangers, and a bathrobe on either side.

There was a safe, neatly folded laundry bag, and even some pullout drawers.

The bathroom was large, with double sinks and a well sized mirror.

Decorative orchids were placed on a table under a picture, and the walls were a soothing buttery color.

There was a deep soaking tub with plenty of towels, and a pouch of bath salts.

The amenities were by Remede.

The separate large walk-in shower was an unexpected luxury, as many hotels in Italy have a tub/shower combination.

Settling in, the feeling was serene. Back in the 17th century the grounds and courtyards were part of the Camaldolesi Monastery, and the island retains that historical charm. 

I enjoyed some of the fruit, which I found was replenished whenever I left the room during my stay.

There weren’t many rooms on each floor, so even if the hotel was fully booked in the future I figured the rooms would still be quiet.

The phone rang, and it was the hostess on the other end. She said she was just outside the door, asked if I would come for a walk with her, and I obliged. She walked just a few doors down, and said that she had found a different suite where the guests hadn’t shown up, and she wanted to give me that one instead since it had a King bed. She said even though both my husband and I had been ok with the other room, she could tell we were disappointed and she wanted us to have a wonderful experience. We agreed to move, and she showed us around the room.

The St Regis lagoon view suite felt huge. It was 893 square feet, and with the open floorplan it felt larger. Oddly enough, looking at their website afterwards I found that the Presidential Suite is actually smaller than the suite I had, and the going rate for the lagoon view suite I had was 3,930 EUR. Wow.

The carpet was thick and soft, and when first stepping inside there was a small foyer.

To the right, a sliding door revealed a closet that was larger than the size of some bathrooms!

There were padded hangers, lined drawers, a large safe, shelves, and even a full sized mirror.

The bathroom was identical to the one in the first room except that there was a single sink instead of a double.

Stepping into the room I saw lots of gorgeous little details.

An elegant brick colored vase was topped with a gold dog figurine.

The sitting room was absolutely silent and had extremely comfortable seating. There were the same gold silk wall coverings, and a gorgeous Murano glass chandelier.

The butler brought in the fruit and champagne trays from next door, along with the luggage.

This certainly felt far removed from all the hustle and bustle in Venice.

Some paintings were carefully hung on the walls, and the place was spotless.

A desk in one corner had a gilded lamp.

A flat screen TV sat on top of the minibar in the other corner, and the bedroom was accessible via french doors.

The bed was wonderfully comfortable, the sheets were incredibly soft, and I was very happy  to see a King sized bed.

The bedroom had a separate TV in the corner, on a table similar to the one in the earlier room.

Instead of watching TV I decided to take a quick nap before dinner so I closed the curtains and french doors and climbed under the soft sheets.

Thanks for following along on Part I. I hope you’ll join me soon for Part II, which includes dinner, swimming pool, breakfast, etc.

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