"I chose this hotel largely because of the exceptional press it has received over the years, particularly in publications such as How To Spend It. Its reputation as one of the glamorous addresses associated with the Venice Film Festival only reinforced that impression. Unfortunately, the experience fell well short of the image created by both the media and the hotel’s own marketing.
Having stayed in many luxury hotels around the world, I don’t judge a hotel by its décor alone. True luxury is defined by exceptional service, attention to detail, anticipation of guests’ needs and making people feel genuinely cared for. Sadly, those qualities were consistently missing throughout our stay.
From the moment we arrived, the experience lacked warmth. There was no escort to our room, no handwritten welcome note, fruit and none of the thoughtful touches that distinguish a genuine five-star hotel. Throughout our stay, nobody remembered our names. It may sound like a small detail, but in the world’s best hotels it is one of the simplest and most meaningful signs of personalised service.
Our experience with reception was particularly disappointing. We reported a significant noise issue in our room, but instead of apologising or reassuring us that everything possible would be done to resolve it, Samuela questioned whether our complaint was genuine and insisted on coming upstairs to check for herself. She even commented that “tomorrow it could be another complaint”, despite the fact that we had only just checked in.
What happened next perfectly summed up the hotel’s approach to hospitality. Rather than simply pressing the lift button and accompanying me upstairs, she immediately headed towards the staircase. Assuming there was a problem with the lift, I asked whether it was out of order. Without even looking back, she simply replied that she was taking the stairs and that I could take the lift if I wished. I have genuinely never experienced this in a luxury hotel. It may seem like a small gesture, but luxury hospitality is built on countless small gestures.
Despite the issue with our room, we were never offered an alternative. While waiting at reception, we also noticed another couple who had been waiting for several hours for room changes and were equally frustrated. In a hotel of this size, I would have expected management to have contingency rooms available when significant problems arise.
Although the rooms have clearly been refurbished, the renovation feels cosmetic rather than luxurious. The bedding, towels, bathrobes, slippers, toiletries and shower fittings all felt surprisingly inexpensive.No cushions decoration etc ..
Our shower was partially broken, with pieces coming loose from the shower head. The bathroom floor was cracked, the vanity kit was at the level of a 3stars hotel near the airport, the slippers looked tired, and the bathrobes arrived noticeably wrinkled and creased rather than freshly presented.
Another surprising omission was the minibar. Apart from complimentary bottles of water on our first evening, it remained completely empty for the rest of our stay.
There was also no breakfast menu in the room, and ordering breakfast to the room proved unnecessarily complicated. For a hotel of this category, I expected room service to be effortless.
Even our canal-view room was disappointing. Rather than overlooking the timeless beauty that makes Venice so special, our view was dominated by rather unattractive residential buildings with little architectural charm. With our booking.com level we are often offered for a room upgrade which we received but what a disappointment..
The soundproofing was another major issue. We could clearly hear guests in the room above using the bathroom, including urinating, which completely ruined any sense of peace and privacy.
Attention to detail was lacking throughout the property. Even the crockery and tableware in the restaurants felt generic and of poor quality, lacking the refinement expected from a luxury establishment. The coffee cups were oddly designed—too large for espresso, yet too small for tea. Again, these may seem like minor details, but they are exactly what separates a truly exceptional hotel from an average one.
The food throughout our stay was mediocre. Although the restaurant staff were generally pleasant, the service lacked polish. On several occasions, when requesting the bill, it was delivered while staff were simultaneously carrying out other tasks, making us feel like an interruption rather than valued guests or when taking order for a table at the bar instead of coming next to the table they would shout like at a fish market, the menu options from the bar to the table.
The pool and beach club were perhaps the greatest disappointments.
Considering they are among the hotel’s main attractions, they felt surprisingly ordinary. It would have been a lovely luxury touch to provide elegant beach bags in the rooms for guests using the pool and beach club, as many comparable resorts do, but nothing of the sort was offered.
The pool itself lacks atmosphere, and the pool restaurant was average at best.
The beach club charges premium prices for its cabanas, yet they provide very little privacy. The cabanas are completely open on the sides and positioned so close together that guests are practically on top of one another. During what should have been a peaceful afternoon, another guest spent a prolonged period talking loudly on her phone, making it impossible to relax. A luxury beach club should provide tranquillity, exclusivity and privacy. Unfortunately, this one offered none of those qualities.
There is also no elegant beachfront bar where you naturally want to spend time enjoying the surroundings. The entire beach experience felt surprisingly ordinary.
The beach showers resembled those found on a public beach—sandy, poorly maintained and far from inviting. The toilet facilities were equally disappointing and well below the standard one would expect from a hotel with such an international reputation.
Even the lifts detracted from the experience. They were frequently stuffy, poorly ventilated and carried unpleasant odours. I was also surprised that staff regularly used the guest lifts even when they were not accompanying guests or providing a guest-facing service, which further diminished the sense of exclusivity.
Ultimately, the hotel feels more like a large, high-volume resort than an elegant luxury destination. The quality or the guests very low and an extremely noisy hotel. The celebrity association, the glowing press coverage and the marketing create expectations that the actual guest experience simply does not meet.
Luxury is never about appearances alone. It is about service, quality, discretion, attention to detail and making every guest feel genuinely valued. Unfortunately, this hotel has mastered the image of luxury far better than the reality.I am wondering how did they get their 5 stars hotel they clearly don’t deserve and why they put themselves in this bracket of hotel which obviously people used to 5 stars would clearly be ultra disappointed by it.
I sincerely hope management chooses to invest less in maintaining that image and considerably more in staff training, guest relations, quality materials and the countless small details that transform a pleasant stay into a truly memorable luxury experience."
