Hotel Il Palazzo Experimental — Venice, Italy

The well-heeled crowds that flock to Venice for Bellinis and Biennales now have a brand new haunt care of Paris-based hospitality hitmakers the Experimental Group. Palazzo Experimental, overlooking the Guidecca canal from the island’s Dorsoduro neighbourhood, opened just in time to ring in the Venice Film Festival.
Spanning 32 rooms, a restaurant and an intimate cocktail bar (requisite for the group, who first planted their flag with Paris’s Experimental Cocktail Club), the hotel sets itself apart from by-the-book Venetian drama with an inspired contemporary styling by two supremely talented women. Longtime Experimental collaborator Dorothée Meilichzon devised the punchy, colour-centric rooms — complete with nautical stripes, hand-glazed tiles, custom brass light fittings and quirky carved wood headboards — and equally striking public spaces. While Milan-based master of all things precious and pink, Cristina Celestino, kitted-out the cocktail bar in her signature buoyant style.
On-site Ristorante Adriatica pays homage to the floating city by way of checkerboard terrazzo flooring that nods to hometown hero Carlo Scarpa, moody Venetian Stucco-style walls and playful arch motifs that animate the ground floor dining room. Offering up a survey of coastal Italian cuisines from Friuli to Puglia, guests can settle into a boat-like booth indoors, a bistro table in the private courtyard garden or spritz-in-hand canal-side — just like the Venetians do.
ADDRESS
Fondamenta Zattere Ai Gesuati
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Laura May Todd, Wallpaper's Milan Editor, based in the city, is a Canadian-born journalist covering design, architecture and style. She regularly contributes to a range of international publications, including T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Azure and Sight Unseen, and is about to publish a book on Italian interiors.
-
Warp Records announces its first event in over a decade at the Barbican
‘A Warp Happening,' landing 14 June, is guaranteed to be an epic day out
By Tianna Williams
-
Cure your ‘beauty burnout’ with Kindred Black’s artisanal glassware
Does a cure for ‘beauty burnout’ lie in bespoke design? The founders of Kindred Black think so. Here, they talk Wallpaper* through the brand’s latest made-to-order venture
By India Birgitta Jarvis
-
The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt will be shown at Tate Modern
The 42-panel quilt, which commemorates those affected by HIV and AIDS, will be displayed in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in June 2025
By Anna Solomon
-
Sun-soaked European destinations to visit in spring
Dreaming of Florentine palazzos and Greek islands now that the weather is starting to turn? Check into one of these beautiful European hotels and holiday homes
By Anna Solomon
-
Everything you need to know about Italy's Lake Maggiore, according to Formafantasma
From baroque gardens to panoramic views, Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin show us around this Italian escape
By Sofia de la Cruz
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Romeo Roma: a new hotel that’s one of Zaha Hadid’s last projects
Located within Rome’s Tridente, Romeo Roma is a palimpsest of periods in which the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid left her avant-garde mark
By Sofia de la Cruz
-
Five influential women hoteliers reflect on the changing face of hospitality
As women continue to gain ground in the hotel sector, despite still being underrepresented in senior positions, five female moguls share their experiences of the past and projections for the future
By Anna Solomon
-
Must-visit cinemas with award-worthy design
There’s more magic to the movies at these design-led cinemas, from Busan Cinema Centre’s ‘flying’ roof to The Gem Cinema Jaipur’s art deco allure
By Sofia de la Cruz
-
The best Milan bars for a fashionable aperitivo
Milan’s after-dark renaissance is evident in a new wave of design-led cocktail bars, setting the right mood for enticing aperitivos and nightcaps; Milan editor Laura May Todd recommends the best
By Laura May Todd
-
All aboard the world’s most luxurious train journeys
Stay on track with our pick of the most luxurious train journeys around the world, whether in 1920s-style opulence or contemporary chic
By Tianna Williams
-
How Four Seasons Hotels became The White Lotus’ unofficial star
As The White Lotus season three whisks us to Thailand, Marc Speichert, chief commercial officer of Four Seasons Hotels, discusses the luxury group’s perfect synergy with the hit HBO series – and where you can live the experience
By Sofia de la Cruz