A first look at Rosewood Hotel Bauer
Restoration of the historic Bauer on Venice’s Grand Canal, around 110 keys
Expected Summer 2027 Not bookable yet
Get notified when it opens
We’ll email you the day it opens, and again once it has a Fat Score. Joins the Fat Voyage list; leave any time.
First look
Rosewood has taken on the Bauer, one of Venice’s best-known Grand Canal hotels, for a full restoration into a roughly 110-key property. Reviving a name with this much history on a site this prominent is a high-visibility project, and a clear statement of intent for the brand’s Italian push.
The opening has already moved from 2025 to a current target of late 2026, which is worth keeping in mind given how restoration timelines in Venice tend to behave. We’re treating the date as provisional. The promise here is obvious: a Grand Canal address with the Bauer’s bones intact. What we’ll be watching for is whether the restoration honors the building rather than scrubbing its character, and whether late 2026 actually holds.
What we’ll be watching
Whether the ownership turbulence shows up at check-in. The Bauer changed hands twice during the renovation — from a collapsed Austrian real estate group to a distressed-debt firm to Mohari Hospitality and Omnam Investment Group, who paid €300 million in late 2024. Rosewood has stayed on throughout, but a property that’s been dark since November 2022 and passed through three owners carries real execution risk. We’ll be watching whether the opening feels ready or assembled in a hurry.
Whether the suite-heavy ratio is a strength or a problem. Rosewood has cut the room count from 191 to just over 110, and more than half of those keys are suites — which could produce exactly the calm Grand Canal address the city lacks, or leave the hotel perpetually hunting for guests willing to pay suite rates seven nights a week in a market that already has the Cipriani, the Gritti, and the Danieli.
Whether BAR Studio and Alberto Torsello honor the building or sand it down. The 1880 palazzo has a neo-Gothic façade, a grand winding staircase and real Venetian bones — Rosewood says it’s preserving the historic framework, including the original façade and interiors. We’ll be watching whether the finished rooms feel like a restored palazzo or a brand-standard hotel that happens to be in one.
Whether the 8th-floor pool and Altana rooftop actually deliver. For a Grand Canal hotel where most rooms will look across the water, an outdoor pool at that height and a traditional Venetian Altana bar are the differentiated amenities. In a city where rooftops are genuinely hard to come by, those two spaces need to justify the premium — and they’ll be the first things guests write about.
What’s changed
- Now expecting Summer 2027 (was Late 2026).
Photos
Renderings and press imagery, courtesy of the hotel. Details may change before opening.
Before it opens
When does Rosewood Hotel Bauer open?
Rosewood Hotel Bauer is expected to open in late 2026, following a renovation that began in November 2022. The project originally targeted 2025, so the date has already slipped once — treat late 2026 as the working expectation rather than a fixed date.
Where is Rosewood Hotel Bauer located?
It sits in San Marco, directly on the Grand Canal, about a five-minute walk from St. Mark’s Square. The position is one of the most prominent hotel addresses in Venice, with water-facing views from the Grand Canal façade.
Is this Rosewood’s first hotel in Venice, and who operates it?
Yes, it will be Rosewood’s first property in Venice and in Italy. Rosewood Hotels & Resorts was announced as the operator in 2022 and has remained attached through two subsequent ownership changes — the property is now owned by Mohari Hospitality and Omnam Investment Group, who acquired it in late 2024 for around €300 million.
How many rooms will Rosewood Hotel Bauer have?
Just over 110 keys, down from the 191 rooms the original Bauer operated. More than half of the accommodations are suites, including several signature suites and a presidential suite — an unusually suite-heavy ratio for a hotel of this size.
What restaurants and facilities will Rosewood Hotel Bauer have?
Two dining concepts are planned: a casual restaurant and wine bar on the ground floor, and a refined Venetian restaurant with a rooftop bar set on a traditional Venetian Altana terrace. The hotel will also have an eighth-floor outdoor pool with bar, an Italian rooftop garden, and a Rosewood Spa wellness facility. The renovation is led by Venice-based architect Alberto Torsello, with interiors by BAR Studio.
Will Fat Voyage score Rosewood Hotel Bauer?
We publish a Fat Score only once a hotel is open and real guests have stayed and written about it — drawn from luxury travel communities, editorial publications, and verified guests, never paid placements. This is a first look, not a verdict; we’ll score it once there’s enough independent signal to be fair.
