Since the announcement of the impending wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez in Venice the odds have been on for where it will take place. Will they follow in George Clooney’s footsteps and take over the Aman and the Cipriani? Or will they have the nuptials on their yacht? Plus, where will their guests stay?
In truth, celebrities come and go in Venice. Yes, they leave behind a sprinkling of star dust in the air, encouraging those who follow trends towards one hotel or another, but those who know, know. In Venice, there are only two hotels that matter, even with the newly opened Four Seasons in the Danieli Palace and Airelles Venezia swinging wide its doors on Giudecca Island. They are The Gritti Palace and Hotel Cipriani, and both in my opinion, offer an experience among the best in the world.
The Gritti is a classic. Concierges, of course with golden keys on their lapels, know everything and everyone. Bedrooms are filled with antiques and the presence of past guests, from Ruskin to Somerset Maugham to Hemmingway linger. Throw open the shutters and the view onto the Grand Canal is mesmerising. The terrace is a dream; you can watch the world float by from your ringside seat. This is the kind of thing that dreams are woven from.
Many years ago, I was woken early in the morning at the Gritti by a phone call from the concierge. “There is fog”, he told me “And you won`t be able to get to the airport by boat. So, I have arranged a car to take you but you will need to leave earlier, so that is why I am waking you.” The attention to detail sealed my admiration for the Gritti.
But the first time I arrived in Venice; it was to stay at the Cipriani; I was a teenager. It was maybe 1977. It was nighttime and the motoscafo from the airport passed silently through the narrow canals, the slap-slap of green waters accompanying us, an occasional light from high up in a faded palazzo illuminating our way. I didn´t expect to, but I started to fall in love then and there, as we passed the entrance to the Grand Canal, sped towards Giudecca Island, a backwards glance at the wonders of the Doges Palace and San Marco.
By the time I reached my room at the Cipriani, helped off the boat by Virginio “Bueno notte Principe, Bueno notte Conte”, he would unfailingly greet the aristocratic guests, he knew so well, and had thrown open the shutters to look at San Giorgio Maggiore in the moonlight, I was head over heels.
And through all the years my love has never waned. The old-fashioned, very slightly rough, linens on the bed, the fresh flowers, the gleaming marble. The staff, from Silvano who rode the waters between St. Mark´s Square and Giudecca Island, sometimes jauntily tipping his peaked cap back and pulling on the throttle to create waves, to the lone but burly waiter who single-handedly served lunch to the entire hotel when there was a strike.
When an American guest arrived to find no Virginio to greet them. “I have come to the most expensive hotel in the world”, she screamed, “and there is no-one to carry my goddam suitcase?!” Presiding over it all, with a dignified calm was General Manager Dr. Rusconi. For 30 years the presence of his elegant silhouette, always clad in a dark suit, could be felt. I even remember watching it, frozen, behind a frosted glass door to the kitchen as the chef threw plates at him and waved his hands around as only an Italian can.
And now? Many of the old familiar faces have gone but the spirit of the Cipriani lives on. They still serve their signature carpaccio and their inimitable oven-baked tagliolini Verdi with ham, in a magical setting looking across the lagoon at Venice´s skyline. The Bellini`s that accompany that magical evening hour when the church bells from San Giorgio Maggiore ring out six times and the golden light bathes Venice anew are still the best in town. New favourites are being created in the elegant Oro restaurant by Head Chef Vania Ghedini; her risotto with seaweed, green tomato, and candied lemon is one.
From the Cipriani family to Orient Express to Belmond, it is now owned by LVMH. The group bought it, I have heard, because Monsieur Bernard Arnault also loves the Cipriani.
When the Cipriani re-opened this season it unveiled the first chapter of its redesign by Peter Marino. The lobby extended upwards, 13 rooms and 11 suites reimagined. As Lampedusa said “Everything has to change for everything to remain the same”.
If Bezos and Sanchez’s guests aren’t staying at either of these grand dames they are most definitely missing out.
