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Aman Venice hotel review: a palatial stay on the Grand Canal

Aman Venice hotel review: a palatial stay on the Grand Canal

Times06-05-2025
A n opulent but discreet Grand Canal hideaway for Hollywood royalty — and actual royalty — Aman's Venetian outpost is set in a spectacular palazzo still owned and partially occupied by Italian nobility. Steps from the landmark Rialto Bridge, its 16th-century stucco details, leather wall coverings and swirling staircases shine against sleek modern, minimalist furnishings, while a rare courtyard garden and restaurant overlooks the water. Accessed via boat straight off the city's most famous stretch of canal, this singular hotel oozes Venetian mystique from top to tail; and with snap-your-fingers-and-it's-there service to boot, little wonder George and Amal Clooney chose to tie the knot here in 2014.
This article contains affiliate links, which may earn us revenue
Score 9/10
With a minimum size of 50 sq m, rooms are ultra-spacious in a city where every square inch counts. Despite occupying an entire multi-storey grand palazzo, the hotel has just 24 rooms, most with Grand Canal views and some with unique original features like gold-painted stucco or frescoed ceilings. Decor is Aman's signature Japanese-inspired minimalism, with neutral cream and taupe hues. Orchids and pedestals of seasonal fruit — three perfect, juicy peaches in July, say — join biscotti, chocolate truffles and nuts as welcome amenities.
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Meet the BABS! Lionesses' 'Brothers and Boyfriends' group ready to roar England to glory
Meet the BABS! Lionesses' 'Brothers and Boyfriends' group ready to roar England to glory

Daily Mirror

timea few seconds ago

  • Daily Mirror

Meet the BABS! Lionesses' 'Brothers and Boyfriends' group ready to roar England to glory

The boys have bonded over many years of supporting the Lionesses at major tournaments - and even have a special group chat to keep in touch After a rollercoaster tournament, the Lionesses are now a mere 90 minutes from glory - if their nerves can hold out in the Euros final. England will take on Spain inside the sold-out St Jakob's Park stadium in Basel on Sunday night at 5pm BST. ‌ Fans have flocked to the Swiss city on packed out planes after bagging last minute tickets, with many heading straight for the fan zone on Friday to soak up the atmosphere. And after two miraculous knockout victories, players' families believe the Lionesses ' mantra 'never say die' will see them bring it home again. ‌ Georgia Stanway's older brother, John-Paul said: "After the last couple of games I just can't see them losing, they're just too relentless." ‌ Speaking of the nerves at the semi-final against Italy, he added: "Even at the last second, you still felt at 94 minutes that they still weren't going to go home. It's a weird feeling, at one-nil down and you still don't feel they're ready to go home. "It's a credit to the team and everyone involved." Ranked first in the world, the Spaniards left the Lionesses heartbroken with a 1-0 victory in the Australian World Cup final of 2023. On Sunday the superstitious Lionesses wear their white shirts to play Spain - the same colour they wore when they clinched the European Championship title three years ago. And after two nail-biting games, which saw the Lionesses on the brink of eviction from the tournament, the nation, the players and their families are all hoping they can win inside 90 minutes. Stanway's dad Paul said his 'nerves were shot' after the 120 minute semi-final against Italy, while Ella Toone admitted she felt 'physically sick' watching the penalty shootout with Sweden in the quarters. ‌ But the rollercoaster of emotion has only served to bring the tight-knit players families even closer together. Ella, 25, from Tyldesley said: "We've sent them on a rollercoaster this tournament. Sometimes when you're in the moment and you're playing, you forget about how it's making your family feel and when you see them after games and you hear all the stories about how they're all jumping on each other and celebrating together, it's amazing. They've really bonded this trip." She added: "It really reminds you of why you're here and who you're here for and why you do what you do. Hopefully we can kick on in this last game and make it one for them to remember too." And so close are some of the lads following the Lionesses, that they've even got a group chat dubbing themselves 'the BABs' AKA 'the brothers and boyfriends'. ‌ John-Paul Stanway explained: "The name of our group chat which we've had for a few years is the BABs, which is the brothers and boyfriends. We've coined that phrase over the past few years and we now have a fair few of us in it, we try to keep adding to it." On Friday night the BABs enjoyed one last blowout together in Zurich as they gathered for a pub crawl before heading to Basel for the final tomorrow. Ella's boyfriend Joe Bunney, her brother Joe Toone, were pictured sinking the pints with Georgia's brothers John Paul and Sol Stanway at the Big Ben Pub. John Paul also posed up alongside the Russo clan, including Alessia's dad Mario and brothers Giorgio and Luca. When they've not been roaring the Lionesses on in the dugouts the boys have been sightseeing together and working out together. Posing topless from their early morning gym sessions, Alex Greenwood's boyfriend Jack O'Connell has also been invited into the fold of BABs this tournament. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

The beautiful spot on my Grand Tour that left me speechless
The beautiful spot on my Grand Tour that left me speechless

Times

time2 hours ago

  • Times

The beautiful spot on my Grand Tour that left me speechless

Arriving in Venice by train feels like an entrance through a stage door. First comes the shipping town of Marghera, a behind-the-scenes tangle of scaffolding, gantries and harlequin-coloured containers. Then the metal and grime are rinsed away by the lagoon, and from the water ascend domes and towers like painted scenery on hidden props. I can see why Grand Tourists were so keen to get to La Serenissima — as I had been four hours earlier, fleeing the classical solemnity of Rome. Venice offered sensual release; a place to wear masks and play out comedies and tragedies. After drinking heavily in taverns, aristos were reeled into gambling dens, or ridotti, where they squandered inheritances and fell into the consoling arms of courtesans. In 1730 Charles Stanhope, later the 4th Earl of Chesterfield, complained that his brother had 'spent a great deal of money on a Venetian woman, whom he thought in love with him'. I emerge from Santa Lucia railway station and take a water taxi to Casino di Venezia, the world's oldest casino, founded in 1638. A red carpet runs from the jetty on the Grand Canal to the VIP wing in Ca' Vendramin Calergi, a Renaissance palace once home to Wagner. I store my suitcase at the coat check, pay a £40 entry fee and pass suits of armour before entering a salon of old-world glamour — cut-glass chandeliers, time-softened brocade, Italians in spiffy suits and gowns crowding round green baize. I whip out my phone. 'No pictures,' a doorman snaps ( I've never gambled, but I'm determined to act the part, so I strut to a roulette table and slide into a seat. The croupier looks at me and raises an eyebrow. 'It's my first time,' I say. The croupier raises both eyebrows. I slide my only chip, €100, onto red. • Jack Ling's Grand Tour part one: The most unusual way to see Paris As the ball clatters I feign indifference, adjusting cufflinks I've forgotten to put on. It lands: red. Elated, I go again: black — win. Red? Another win. Onlookers gather as my chip stack grows. A man in a velvet jacket claps me on the shoulder. I feel like a million ducats. Now I'm about £600 up — and cocky. 'I'll put it all on black,' I announce. 'Tutto?' the croupier asks. I meet his gaze. 'Tutto.' Spin, rattle … red. There is a collective groan. Head hung, I make for the jetty and hail a water taxi to the lido. The driver says that it will cost £100. I briefly consider swimming back, then pay up. The next morning I wake at the Hotel Excelsior to sea views framed by a Moorish arch — an orientalist flourish born of Venice's fascination with the East, kindled by Marco Polo's 13th-century travels. Today the hotel is quiet, but during the Venice Film Festival it teems with actors, who in Grand Tour days ranked low on the social ladder — somewhere between jesters and lepers. They arrive in water taxis at the hotel's private pier, from where I'm departing for St Mark's Square. Fifteen minutes later I'm passing shops of gilded carnival masks, synonymous with Venetian romance but once worn by noblemen waging bloody vendettas. I eat superb sea bream at Ristorante Marco Polo, where gondoliers slump at tables like extras between takes (mains from £16; • Jack Ling's Grand Tour part two: The off-piste way to see the Alps Then it's onwards to Santa Maria Formosa Square, which is dotted with painters touching up vedute, Venetian landscapes popularised by Canaletto in the 18th century. Like proto-Instagrammers, Grand Tourists hung vedute in cabinet rooms to flex on their friends. They also coveted selfies — Pompeo Batoni painted more than 200 milords, some of them dressed in 'exotic' costume: the scholar Richard Payne Knight was partial to a toga; the Cornish aristocrat Francis Basset preferred Turkish robes. This is why I've slipped into a photo studio in the Cannaregio district, where the owner, Leontine Hamer, squeezes me into breeches and a frock coat. She is transforming me into Casanova, the 18th-century Venetian who, like me, gambled, impersonated nobility and was cursed with great beauty. As Hamer snaps me against a veduta-style backdrop, I borrow poses from the nude male model I'd drawn in Rome (from £65; • Jack Ling's Grand Tour part three: A novel way to see Rome I reluctantly peel off the costume afterwards. Some Grand Tourists never did — swallowing up young aristocrats, Venice once spat out 'macaroni', the sneering nickname for those who returned to Britain in foppish Italian dress. This polyester patrician is about to be humbled. I've been invited for espresso with the author and hostess Servane Giol, an expert on Venice who has offered to point me towards its lesser-known places. Buzzed through an unmarked door near Ponte dell'Accademia, I enter a palazzo of stone walls washed in chiaroscuro light. We sit on a terrace above the canal, my Casanova photo tucked away in my pocket like a filthy secret. • 18 of the best hotels in Venice I'm asked about my travels by Giol, who is cultivated and graceful, so everything a Grand Tourist aspires to become. I admit that I'm exhausted by all the prancing and vice. 'Go to San Lazzaro degli Armeni,' she says, her voice smooth as Murano glass (it's an island monastery in the lagoon where Lord Byron went to scrub his soul clean). We finish our drinks and I bottle a courtly hand-kiss as I leave. The next morning I board a violin on water: a 1970s mahogany speedboat (tours from £520 for eight; The city retreats as my driver, Matteo, opens the throttle. Ahead, a bell tower points heavenward, a mute promise of absolution. 'Welcome to Byron island!' Matteo chirps. For once I'm speechless, overwhelmed by the beauty of it all. I step into water-lapped stillness — a monastery of Istrian stone cloistered among gently swaying palm trees. Monks in black cassocks drift through sun-scorched arches next to a garden where roses are grown for jam. I follow them towards the onion-domed campanile, entering a chapel of blue tilework and stained glass. Standing at the altar, I feel so spiritually awake that I might start speaking in tongues — or Armenian, which Byron studied here for six months in 1816 with the monks, Mekhitarists who have lived on the island since a Venetian decree in 1717. The poet's stay threatened to reform him, inspiring what he called 'conviction that there is another, better world, even in this life' (tours £9pp; +39 0415260104). *24 of the best things to do in Venice I return to the moor pier as night falls like a velvet curtain on my time in Venice. 'Where next?' Matteo asks. 'The railway station, please,' I answer. 'Then onwards to Vienna.' Tourists waiting for the vaporetto lift their phones as we pull away. I consider bowing, but the moment has passed. This article contains affiliate links that will earn us revenue Jack Ling was a guest of Byway, which has ten nights' B&B from £2,423pp, including rail travel from the UK ( and Hotel Excelsior, which has room-only doubles from £378 (

Travel experts reveal grimiest spots in hotel rooms and how to avoid them
Travel experts reveal grimiest spots in hotel rooms and how to avoid them

Daily Mail​

time3 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

Travel experts reveal grimiest spots in hotel rooms and how to avoid them

Hotel rooms may look sparkling clean when you first arrive – but surprising levels of bacteria and viruses can be lurking in overlooked places. Beyond the usual suspects like sinks and toilets, common 'touchpoints' such as remotes and light switches are also crawling with germs, studies say. University of Houston research found hotel rooms had up to 10 times more bacteria – including fecal strains – than are allowed in hospitals. One reason? Hotel staff often spend just 30 minutes cleaning each room, and some decorative items may be skipped entirely, according to Enza Laterrenia, head of housekeeping at Canne Bianche Lifestyle Hotel in Italy. Here's where the germs are hiding – and what experts say you should do as soon as you check in. 1. Decorative items 'Having worked in hotels, the first thing I fling off to a far corner of the room are decorative pillows and any decorative runner that goes along the foot of the bed,' Maria Diego, a San Diego-based travel adviser, told Travel & Leisure. 'These never get washed.' Duvet covers can also be a hotspot. 'Most hotels do not wash the big duvet. They only wash the sheets,' a former hotel staffer wrote on Reddit last year. Maria Diego, a San Diego-based travel adviser, says the first thing she does upon entering a hotel room is toss the decorative pillows and bed runner into a corner - because 'these never get washed' 2. High-touch surfaces Diego said she's cautious around remotes, light switches, phones, and other commonly used surfaces. Rani Cheema, a Los Angeles travel adviser, singled out the room phone: 'I am grossed out by the receiver,' she said. 'No one's cleaning that.' Carpets are another offender. According to Cheema, many high-end hotels are now replacing them with hard floors or area rugs for hygiene reasons. 3. Bathtubs Studies have shown that hotel bathrooms can be dirtier than airplane lavatories – particularly the countertops. But the bathtub is even worse. A 2023 investigation by found that tubs can harbor up to 40 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. 'I also won't take a bath in a hotel unless it's a super-luxe five-star hotel, and only if it's a non-jet bathtub,' Diego said. Jetted tubs, experts warn, can be difficult to disinfect and may house hidden bacteria. 4. Hard-to-reach and overlooked spots Curtain rods, ceiling fans, showerheads and bedside lamps are often missed during cleanings, Laterrenia said. 'When I enter a room and notice a dusty charging port next to the bed or a bedside lamp caked in residue, that tells me the basics may have been done, but the details were missed,' Lori Carter told Fox News Digital. 5. Glasses and ice buckets Glassware may not always be replaced between guests. In some cases, housekeeping has been found simply wiping them down. 'Personally, I never use mugs or glasses in the room without rinsing them out first,' Carter said. 'I usually boil water in the kettle and give each item a thorough rinse.' 'It's not about fear, it's about good habits,' she added. And the ice bucket? That could be the next breeding ground. During one norovirus outbreak at a hotel, guests vomited in ice buckets, helping the illness spread, Brian Labus, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told Travel & Leisure last year. Experts recommend only using buckets with liners – or bringing your own cooler and drinkware if you're worried. If anything seems off, Carter added, don't hesitate to alert the front desk. 'The staff can have the room cleaned again or move you to another room,' she said.

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