Ca' Pisani

Rooms

This is where Ca Pisani really comes into its own. Slide your fish-shaped wooden ‘key’ in front of your hieroglyphic door number, and the inlay-patterned door will buzz open to reveal a calm study of cream, beige and brown. The floors are mostly polished wood (parquet / bamboo), apart from a few examples of Venetian terrazzo (mosaic-effect stone), with tiger-striped bedside rugs. Translucent blinds reveal double-glazed windows which open 2 ways - or not at all, if you prefer air-conditioning. There’s not much of a view, except from the third floor rooms.

Beds are curved Deco pieces in dark, smooth walnut wood, with pillows atop linen sheets. You’ll find switches for lights, curtains, blinds and radio dotted about the place (although take the time figure out how they work before drifting off to sleep).

There’s also a sitting area dominated by a silver-leafed cabinet, which cleverly conceals a TV, minibar, safe, writing shelf and a light (that turns off automatically when you slide the shelf in). The steel and leather chair is a delightfully simple Mies van der Rohe design, while alongside are 1 or 2 large orange armchairs.

Pride of place goes to the bathrooms which have enough gadgets to feature in an episode of Star Trek. Ours had no less than 9 buttons and 12 levers scattered around the room. Deco Superiors and above have shower cubicle with a huge overhead sprinkler, 4 lateral jets and a hand-held shower, as well as a separate Jacuzzi tub alongside. Where they’re not mirrored, the walls sparkle with a rather glitzy marble-glass-resin mixture, shaded purple or white, and specially commissioned. It’s just a pity that they still couldn’t manage to check whether the toiletries had been removed by the previous guests.

Junior Suites have large sitting areas separated by a sliding door (in walnut, of course), while Duplex Rooms have a sitting room and bathroom downstairs, and fan-shaped glass-and-steel stairs winding up to a sleeping platform. Deco Deluxe Rooms also have plenty of space, and often more character. There are good-sized Deco Superior Rooms and Family Rooms, while the rest are classified as Deco Standard Rooms: meaning a smaller space and a shower or bathtub, rather than both.

Features include:

• Air conditioning
• Minibar/fridge
• WiFi

Eating

On the ground floor, and spilling onto the pedestrian street outside, you’ll find La Rivista. It calls itself a wine and cheese bar; in reality it’s more of a restaurant, as well as the venue for a buffet breakfast which, by Italian standards, is ample. Design-wise, this is probably the weakest element of Ca Pisani. Instead of the sleek look seen elsewhere, the eatery is filled with a starker selection of canteen style tables and canary yellow seating which jars with the Art Deco wood panelling and vintage bar.

That said we suspect that a summer time meal outdoors would be a wonderfully relaxing way to watch the Venetian world go by. Cheeses, cold cuts and pasta dishes make up the majority of the menu, and there’s a comprehensive wine list, too. By Venetian standards, a dinner here is reasonably priced.

If you prefer to dine out - and you should on at least one evening, for the flair and finesse of some Venetian restaurants - then the several good restaurants can be found around the Accademia. For a taste of iconic Venice, head to the Piazza San Marco to dine outdoors at Caffé Florian (Italy's oldest café), or visit the famous (and outrageously expensive) Harry’s Bar for world-class Bellinis and Carpaccio.

As for breakfast, the buffet is pretty good: various cereals, yoghurts, fresh and tinned fruit, pastries and toast, scrambled eggs and bacon on the hotplate, and tea, coffee, hot chocolate from a machine or brought to your table. In summer there are parasol-shaded tables on the street. Or you can be decadent and have a tray brought to your room for a charge.

Features include:

• Children's meals
• Minibar/fridge
• Restaurant
• Restaurants nearby

Activities

• Step outside your hotel and into the famous Accademia art gallery: a former convent, it now holds a world-class collection of pre-19th century art
  
• A little further into Dorsoduro you’ll find Peggy Guggenheim’s famous modern art collection displayed in her impressive home overlooking the Grand Canal. Works on display include those by Pollock, Picasso and Peggy’s ex-husband, Max Ernst
  
• At the very tip of Dorsoduro, where the Grand Canal meets open water, sits Punta della Dogana. This previously abandoned warehouse now hosts the contemporary art collection of billionaire Francois Pinault, after it controversially pipped Paris to the post in 2005
  
• Don't miss the Palazzo Ducale in the square of San Marco; the little church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, 'a jewel box of ancient marbles'; or the Palazzo Grimani, built by a Venetian doge in the 1520s
  
• Book tickets for an evening concert or opera; Vivaldi recitals by acclaimed violin troop Interpreti Veneziani are regularly held in the Chiesa di San Vidal, where Renaissance masterpieces adorn the church’s walls
  
• Take to the water! The vaporetti (waterbuses) are a cost-effective and practical way to see the city, while the gondolas offer a quintessential (if pricey) Venetian experience. For something in between, hop on one of the traghetto, which commuters use to cross the Grand Canal
  
• Take a waterbus to the nearby islands of San Michele (a huge cemetery park), Murano (glass-blowing), Burano (fishing, lace-making and gaily-colored houses) or Torcello (7th to 13th century architecture and a tiny resident population)
  
• Explore the labyrinth of narrow alleys and little hump-backed bridges - getting lost is all part of the fun here

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Shopping / markets

Kids

Children are welcome here, and babysitting can be arranged upon request. Venice is great with older children - no car traffic, a genuinely warm welcome, and plenty to see; but not good for strollers (due to stepped bridges) or with young children (due to the omnipresence of canals, often without railings).

Family friendly accommodation:

Most Deluxe and Junior Suites can take an extra bed, almost all rooms can fit a cot, and some rooms interconnect.

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

The hotel is located alongside the Accademia gallery, near the Accademia bridge (and vaporetto stop) in Dorsoduro. It’s a 15-minute walk to Piazza San Marco.

By Air
Fly into Venice Marco Polo (13km) or nearby Treviso Airport (35km), both have regular flights and offer easy access to central Venice.

From the Airport
Visitors arriving in Marco Polo Airport can either take a private water taxi or the Alilaguna shared taxi-boat straight from the airport to the Accademia stop. It's also possible to take a bus/taxi to Piazzale Roma and walk or take a vaporetto (waterbus) from there. There are regular bus services from Treviso Airport (approx 40-minute drive). From here, catch a vaporetto down the Grand Canal (towards San Marco) and get off at the Accademia stop. The hotel is 2 minutes' walk from the stop, so there's no risk of getting lost.


By Train
If you'd prefer to travel overland from the UK, you can reach Venice quite easily with the Eurostar from London, changing in Paris. See the excellent Seat 61 for details.

Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.

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