Luxury hotel holiday Londra Palace Venezia Venice

The Babini family has owned the Londra Palace Venezia since 1938, maintaining through five generations an intimate 52 room hotel that feels more like a cultured, stylish Venetian home. This historic building on the Riva degli Schiavoni has welcomed guests since 1853, when it opened at the Hotel d’Angleterre and Pension to accommodate travellers arriving via Venice’s new rail connections. Tchaikovsky composed movements of his Symphony No.4 here in December 1877, Jules Verne received a fireworks display in his honour in July 1884, and both are commemorated in the hotel’s signature suites, alongside one dedicated to Jorge Luis Borges. The 2024 renovation by Studio Ruberti Cutillo achieved a delicate balance between historical essence and contemporary aesthetics, inspired by historic Veneto villas with Venetian silks, tactile velvets, and lavish brocades modernised through playful geometric prints and abstract figures. Fortuny and Murano chandeliers cast soft glows, exclusive Rubelli textiles dress the restaurant, SICIS artisanal mosaics add texture, and d’antan mirrors bring additional light and space. Beautiful marble terrazzo floors guide guests around the palace, and large picture windows overlook the waterfront. One of the hotel’s most striking features is its 500 sqm inner courtyard, a rare, serene oasis surrounding by historic facades, where breakfast is served. The hotel’s main restaurant, LPV Restaurant, uses three themed menus to celebrate Venice’s culinary heritage: Pescaria honour seafood and fishing traditions of the former maritime republic, Beccaria features meat specialities, and Erbaria showcases vegetarian dishes and garden traditions of the Veneto mainland. LPV Bistrot serves lunch with seasonal, territorial products including homemade pasta, and the LPV Bar by Marino Lucchetti offers coffee, tea, old recipe chocolates, and cocktails, all with marvellous panoramas over the San Marco basin. The Altana rooftop terrace, one of the highest in Venice and perched atop the traditional Venetian wooden roof structure dating to the 12th century, offers 360 degree views of the city, the lagoon, and, on clear days, the Dolomites. As a Relais & Châteaux member, the Londra Palace Venezia embodies the philosophy of making guests feel at home, maintaining grand tour spirit and old world charm whilst offering modern, five-star luxury in an intimate setting that is full of character – an escape from Venice’s crowds, yet positioned in the heart of the action.