The visual pageantry within the 15th-century Palazzo Donà Giovannelli is evident from arrival, as the private motoscafi docks outside the unique pink-and-white chequered façade – the mid-19th-century handiwork of influential architect Giovanni Battista Meduna, and, until recently, hidden under plain paint. This is just one of the many gems uncovered by Aline Asmar d’Amman, the visionary powerhouse, architect and interior designer behind Orient Express Venezia. To listen to Aline poetically describe this eight-year-long restoration project, where she witnessed stones, one by one, be removed, restored and put back in place, along with layers of paint peeled back to reveal original frescos, is to be drawn into the romantic mythology of this palace.
There’s an enveloping comfort and warmth to the hotel, a notable feat when many of Venice’s palaces can feel dusty, cold, and dare I say, haunted. The Corte del Conte, the palm court-style lobby, is a dazzling spectacle of soaring beams, Murano chandeliers and plush velvet seating. There are 47 rooms and suites, all singular in their layout and design. My favourite is the jewel-box Cherubini Suite, a vision of loveliness with a rediscovered frieze by Sebastiano Santi running along the wall in the sitting room, and a blue-domed ceiling with a Murano chandelier in the bedroom. Orient Express has landed Heinz Bek, the famed three-Michelin-starred German chef, to oversee the dining experience, including his namesake restaurant. For a taste of the original Orient Express, The Wagon Bar is a pocket-sized Art Deco speakeasy reminiscent of a railcar. Lauren Burvill