The honest review of Hotel Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel, Venice

The breakfast at Cipriani is one I still think about, right up there with the best I've had anywhere.

I've had some incredible hotel breakfasts over the years, and Cipriani's belongs in that conversation alongside Chateau de la Messardiere and Borgo Santandrea. It's the kind of meal that becomes a highlight of the whole trip rather than just fuel before sightseeing.

I visited right after the new Dior spa opened and the design alone makes it worth the detour.

Robb Report·Jul 2026·

I went to check out Dior's first spa in Venice, and the space clearly took its cues from Venetian design history, from eighteenth-century motifs to more contemporary touches. It feels tailored to the city rather than dropped in from elsewhere. I'd call it one of the more interesting hotel spa openings I've covered this year.

I covered the opening of Dior's first Venice spa and it's more ambitious than the usual hotel spa refresh.

Travel + Leisure·Jul 2026·

The treatments draw on Venetian craftsmanship and even the city's masked ball tradition, filtered through Dior's own house style. It reads as a genuine wellness destination rather than a name slapped on an existing spa. Worth watching how it holds up once the initial buzz fades.

We had a great time and the food was excellent throughout our stay.

The staff were friendly and helpful, and they even helped point us in the right direction around the city. Simple, solid stay overall.

Gorgeous hotel and lovely staff, though the restaurant prices didn't quite match the experience.

Really memorable stay overall and the team looking after us were wonderful. My one gripe is that the restaurant prices felt too high given the food and service level we got.

A perfect, secluded few days in Venice with a genuinely fantastic pool.

We ate every meal at the hotel and never regretted it. Food and service were top-notch the whole way through, and the setting felt exclusive without feeling stuffy.

This is genuinely one of the finest hotels I've stayed at, and the staff make it feel effortless.

From arrival, every member of staff went out of their way to make things right, always with warmth and real efficiency. Breakfast was exceptional, and honestly every meal we had was excellent. The location on Giudecca gave us the best of both worlds: close enough to Venice to see everything, but peaceful enough to actually rest. In summer the pool area felt like a proper resort escape rather than a city hotel courtyard. We're already planning our return.

We were there for the Redentore fireworks and the whole stay felt close to perfect.

The renovated rooms are done really well, and the staff were kind throughout. We ate at Oro and got to try some dishes developed with Massimo Bottura's involvement under Chef Vania, which was a real highlight. The pool and bar felt special, and the new Dior spa that just opened is genuinely impressive. It's pricey, but I'd say it's worth it.

The renovated lobby is stunning and it's the only place in Venice I'd choose to stay.

Compared to my last visit, the lobby area has been completely redone and it's a real step up. The refurbished rooms are lovely too. Service throughout was generous and welcoming. It isn't cheap, but for me there's no other option in the city.

We've been loyal guests for years, and a recent incident with staff left us genuinely upset.

We've brought our son here every time we've visited Venice, spanning three generations of our family. On this trip we were treated with real hostility by the pool bar manager and by the security team working a Dior event, and it soured what had been a cherished tradition. I think the hotel needs to seriously look at how those staff members handled the situation, because it fell well short of what we've come to expect here. Until that changes, we won't be back.

Five-star luxury and five-star service, and the staff genuinely seemed to enjoy solving problems for us.

After a few hours out in the heat and crowds of Venice, coming back to the calm of the hotel felt like stepping into another world entirely. Food was excellent, though I'd say book restaurant tables well ahead even as a guest staying on property.

A trip I'd been anticipating for years, and it still beat what I'd pictured.

The staff struck a rare balance: professional and genuinely warm without ever feeling formal. The real surprise was breakfast on the terrace, where a trained hawk keeps the pigeons and gulls away. It sounds like a gimmick until you're actually sitting there, and it turns into one of the loveliest small rituals of the whole stay. I left wanting more time there.

The room was spacious, but I woke up sweating multiple nights, which isn't acceptable at this price.

Our Junior Suite Pool View with Terrace had generous closet space and felt roomy overall, but the air conditioning couldn't keep up at night. Staff were never rude, but nobody seemed to pick up on what we needed without being asked directly. The gardens and pool are genuinely spectacular and it's a peaceful setting, though for us the pace tipped a little too sleepy. Good, but not quite matching what we paid.

Going just for a drink turned into the best experience we had anywhere in Venice.

We only stopped by for a drink and an hour there, and it still stood out as the best place we visited in the whole city. The hotel arranges transfers, which made even a short visit feel like an occasion. I genuinely wish I could afford to come back and actually stay the night.

A pants-only dress code we weren't warned about turned into a genuinely bad experience.

We arrived on a hot day in polo shirts and linen shorts, not having been told about a strict dress code by the hotel that referred us. Instead of handling it with any grace, the host made the situation our problem and pointed blame elsewhere. We'd booked more than a month in advance and still ended up seated near the kitchen without proper waiter service. We'd been seriously considering a future stay, and this changed our minds.

What elevated the stay from lovely to spectacular was the people looking after us.

The hotel itself is beautiful, but the staff are what made it memorable. Our concierge handled every request with warmth and precision, the bartender made every evening feel like an event, and the woman running the lagoon-side restaurant made our daily lunches feel like visits with a friend. That level of care is clearly what keeps people coming back.

Beautiful bones, but the property feels like it's trying to be too many things at once.

Some areas of the hotel still have real heritage charm, but there's a newer, glitzier shopping-style section that clashes with it. We found dirty cups left behind after turndown, and at the pool restaurant we had to pour our own wine more than once. The pool bar in the evening had no atmosphere at all, it was just empty. For the history and the price, I'd expect more consistency.