T+L’s Hotel Review of Hotel Gabrielli in Venice

It was an emotional moment for everyone, as our water taxi approached the Riva degli Schiavoni waterfront promenade and the lagoonside entrance to Hotel Gabrielli Venezia – Starhotels Collezione. On board with me was general manager Salvatore Pisani, who has overseen the years-long restoration of this storied Venice lodging that reopened on August 25. Impeccable in his powder blue linen suit, Pisani opened the automatic doors with a sweep of his hands, and we were the first guests to step into this Venice legend.

Hotel Gabrielli sits on coveted real estate along the Riva, the long stretch of Venice that faces the lagoon and the mouth of the Grand Canal. For years, it was hard to walk past its boarded-up façade and not feel a twinge of nostalgic sadness. Privately owned by the Perkhofer family since 1856, Hotel Gabrielli shut down in 2019, after the devastating acqua alta flooding pushed over six feet of seawater into its first floor. The vintage signage remained, but recovery from the flooding would take years—and a partnership with Starhotels, Italy’s largest privately owned hotel group, which now manages Hotel Gabrielli under its luxury Collezione brand.

In the lobby lounge, manager Pisani pointed to colorful Murano glass chandeliers and appliqués, timeworn parquet flooring, original wood beams, and marble columns, all meticulously restored piece by piece. These vintage elements blend seamlessly with the modern aesthetic of Milanese designer Andrea Auletta, who sought to maintain Hotel Gabrielli’s fin de siècle atmosphere, while creating a look that’s firmly rooted in the present day. “We have a foot in the future, and a foot in the past,” Pisani says.

Here, my full review of Venice’s reopened Hotel Gabrielli, which is just a short walk from Piazza San Marco.

The Rooms

Hotel Gabrielli’s 66 rooms and suites are spread across three palaces, the oldest of which dates to the 1300s. The three connected edifices form a delightful maze of spaces, with stairways and corridors linking the buildings, and six different elevators serving the six floors. The room count is down from the original 105, resulting in generously sized, elegant yet inviting spaces, most with lagoon views.

We holed up in the Lagoon View Suite, where the balcony is framed by quadrifora windows, four ornate openings divided by columns.

All guest rooms and suites are stocked with complimentary water, tea, and coffee. Guests enjoy fresh flowers, a selection of welcome pastries, a pillow menu, fluffy bathrobes, and velvet slippers. The sprawling Presidential Suite is one of the largest in Venice, and has its own rooftop altana, or Venetian-style terrace, with sweeping views of the lagoon and city.

All have a soft gray color palette, offset by wood and gold accents and brocade fabrics. As I’ve found in other Starhotels Collezione hotels, the interior design is a thoughtful combination of textures, tones, and decor items that are clearly intentional but never obtrusive.

Food and Drink

Hotel Gabrielli’s main restaurant, Felice al Gabrielli, doubles as the breakfast area, which provides the expected rich buffet as well as a menu of cooked-to-order items. Executive chef Mirko Pistorello sources fresh seafood from the lagoon and produce from nearby islands and the Veneto mainland. Everything was brand new during our visit, including the menu, and we were only able to sample a few items. But the appetizer of scallops topped with stuffed and delicately fried zucchini flowers, and an entrée of spaghetti with fresh lagoon clams dressed with panko breadcrumbs, certainly bode well for the restaurant’s full offerings.

An evening at Hotel Gabrielli should absolutely begin on the rooftop Terrazza Gabrielli, which, from my perspective, is the real jewel of the food and beverage program. Even on a balmy August evening, a breeze blew in off the lagoon, and we saluted the sunset with elaborate cocktails in hand. Our group enjoyed a version of the Americano, a classic cocktail of Venice, accompanied by creative aperitivo snacks, including the classic Venetian antipasto, baccalà mantecato, creamed salted cod served on bread slices. The terrace will be open to outside visitors, though priority will go to registered guests, and it’s definitely worth the detour even if you’re not staying at Hotel Gabrielli.

Activities and Experiences

The hotel can arrange several experiences, many suited to families or first-timers to Venice. These include skip-the-line tours of the Doge’s Palace and Basilica San Marco, lagoon cruises with stops on the islands of Murano and Burano, or walking tours of Venice’s best neighborhoods.

For a deeper dive into Venetian tradition and craftsmanship, guests can book guided visits to some of the city’s most revered artisan studios, including Ca’ Macana, famous for its handmade papier-mâché masks, and Atelier Nicolao, where visitors ogle exquisitely ornate and detailed costumes.

Our experience took us to Lunardelli Venezia, a woodworking studio and showroom tucked into the San Polo district, where we learned about the studio’s tradition of upcycling objects and wood that might otherwise be discarded. After a tour of the showroom, we sanded and finished our own sfojo, a pie-shaped slice of a Venetian wooden piling. The oak pilings, submerged in the lagoon, eventually decay and are replaced every few decades. Lunardelli salvages them and transforms them into beautiful objects—keepsake souvenirs that are unlike anything else in Venice.

The Spa

I did not get to try La Spa, but the 1,076-square-foot wellness area features a treatment room, a whirlpool tub, Turkish sauna and dry sauna, and a relaxation room. There’s also a small but well-equipped fitness room.

While the spa is technically a shared space, guests are encouraged to book it for exclusive use. It’s a small area that, while suited to a couple or friends, might feel a little crowded with a mixed group of users.

Family-friendly Offerings

Starhotels has a comprehensive family program, VIK, or Very Important Kids. Thoughtful extras include welcome gifts and treats, and kid-friendly walking itineraries. In addition, up to two children ages 16 and under can sleep free in their parents’ room.

Accessibility and Sustainability

Venice itself presents plenty of challenges for the mobility-impaired, with so many areas accessible only via stepped bridges. That said, the Riva degli Schiavoni, the long pedestrian area fronting Hotel Gabrielli, is wheelchair accessible, thanks to a series of ramps over its many bridges. Except for a few rooms that are only accessible via staircases, Hotel Gabrielli is fully accessible, including its rooftop terrace. Our suite had a step up out to the balcony.

The hotel’s restoration is a study in sustainability, as original pieces were cleaned, repaired, and reinstalled. Starhotels eschews single-use plastics in favor of glass water bottles and refillable containers for bathroom amenities.

Location

Hotel Gabrielli is on Riva degli Schiavoni, a 10-minute walk from Venice’s grandest piazza, and 20 minutes on foot to the Rialto Bridge. The Giardini della Biennale, home to dozens of international art pavilions of the Venice Biennale, is 15 minutes away.

The closest international airport is Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE). From the airport, a private water taxi takes about 30 minutes and can be arranged by the hotel. Also from the airport, the Alilaguna public water transportation service reaches the Ospedale stop in about 40 minutes, and from there, it’s a 15-minute walk to the hotel.

Water taxis can be hired from Venice’s Santa Lucia train station. Several municipal water buses run the route from the station to the Arsenale stop, which is just a minute walk from the hotel.

Book Now

Members of Starhotels loyalty program, I am Star, receive special rates, on-site discounts, room upgrades (based on availability), and late check-out (based on availability).

Hotel Gabrielli is also affiliated with Leading Hotels of the World. Members of the Leaders Club can access exclusive rates, daily continental breakfast for two, early check-in and late check-out (based on availability), and complimentary Wi-Fi.

Nightly rates for standard rooms at Hotel Gabrielli start from €550 ($643), and suites start at €940 ($1,100).

Every T+L hotel review is written by an editor or reporter who has stayed at the property, and each hotel selected aligns with our core values.