Palazzina Grassi

The place

Palazzina Grassi sits in Venice’s San Marco district, a 16th-century palazzo behind an ivory facade, transformed by Philippe Starck. The lobby is dark and moody; the twenty-six rooms and suites answer it in white and blush pink, bright and serene, with backlit mirror walls and furniture that turns transparent or reflective in the light. The basics are all there too, quietly.

The Restaurant sits beneath grand chandeliers, an intimate room of traditional and contemporary Italian cooking. The kitchen stays open to view — you can watch the chef work, or talk with him as the plates go out.