My last ‘Literary Hotel’ for the year began life as a Venetian palazzo, built in the 14th century, and today hosts the rich and famous from around the world. The Hotel Danieli is 5-star and is situated very close to St Mark’s Square. It was built for the noble family of Dandalo, passed through the hands of various nobles and in 1824 it was purchased and turned into a hotel. In 1994 it became part of the Sheraton Hotel group. It is currently undergoing extensive renovations and in 2025 will be launched as a Four Seasons Hotel. The 225 guest rooms are all opulent, with antique furniture and lavish furnishings.
It was soon the place to stay in Venice – Goethe, Balzac, Proust, Byron, Dickens, Henry James, Gabriele d’Annunzio, Truman Capote, Nelson Mandela, and Stephen Spielberg.
John Ruskin worked on his three-volume treatise on Venetian art and architecture, The Stones of Venice there. The book, published in the 1850s, was hugely influential. Writer George Sand had time in room no. 10 with her lover and fellow writer Alfred de Musset (she described their romance there in her autobiographical Love and Genius and today there is a plaque in the room in testament to their stormy affair). Italian poet Eugenio Montale lost his tin shoehorn there and wrote a poem about the loss.
The hotel has featured in several movies – Summertime, Moonraker, From Russia with Love, Casino Royale, The Tourist, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Italian Job, The Journey, The Comfort of Strangers. It is also where Aristotle Onassis and Maria Callas first met each other.
In the 19th century, guests had access to a private beach and could use the hotel’s interpreters who were fluent in many languages.
Have you ever stayed in this hotel? Tell me your experience by leaving a comment here.
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