7 Best Hotels in Dorsoduro, Venice

One of the city's most intimate and elegant getaways blends terrazzo floors, dramatic Murano chandeliers, and antique-style furnishings with contemporary touches, particularly in the African-wood reception area and breakfast room. Impressively, five dramatic "concept rooms" take on themes from Venetian history; the Doge's Room is draped in deep-red brocades, while the Oriental Room is inspired by the travels of Marco Polo.

Some pleasant if generic guest rooms overlook a sunny fondamenta and canal, and others a spacious private garden, where breakfast is served in good weather. The interiors are pleasant and comfortable, with traditional furnishings that complement the Venetian terrazzo or parquet flooring. Young owners Matteo and Mattia are attentive and helpful, and the location is around the corner from campos Santa Margherita and San Barnaba, convenient for exploring the sights from San Marco to the Zattere, with easy vaporetto access, too.

These ultramodern surroundings abandon all things traditionally Venetian, opting instead to create the air of a stylish residence with impeccable, minimalist decor and a contemporary, warmly romantic, and occasionally even dramatic atmosphere. Some rooms overlook small canals and side calli; apartment options with kitchenettes are available. The location is convenient to the Guggenheim, Accademia, and the Zattere.  Art borrowed from neighboring museums is on display in common areas.

Many notables (including Victorian-era art critic John Ruskin) have stayed at this hotel, though they might not recognize it after its series of upscale renovations; it has an enviable location along the sunny Zattere, as well as comfy rooms and apartments with parquet floors, original 19th-century furniture, and firm beds. You can reserve the rooftop altana (wooden terrace) for sunbathing or a private retreat, or enjoy an afternoon tea in one of the lounge's quiet corners with flickering candlelight.

The idea that the Campanati sisters named the 15 rooms in their renovated 17th-century locanda after the stars and constellations of the highest magnitude in the Northern Hemisphere says something about how personally this place is run. That's a real plus, as is the location on one of the brightest, most tranquil canals in the Dorsoduro area, but only two minutes from the Salute, the Accademia, and the Guggenheim Museum, and also handy to the Zattere promenade. The cheeriest rooms are on the top floor overlooking the canal.

This opulently refurbished neo-Gothic palazzo features marble-column arches, terrazzo floors, frescoed ceilings, mosaics, and a charming carved staircase, and some rooms have tufted walls and parquet flooring. The street-level terrace that overlooks the Grand Canal is almost reason alone to stay here, beautiful for morning coffee or evening aperitivo, and if you are here on the first weekend in September the terrace gives a front-row view of the boat procession and Regata Storica. From the rooftop terrace (which has a Jacuzzi) you get a classic Venetian view over the city's rooftops to the Campanile and even glimpses of the Dolomites on a clear day.

Behind iron gates in one of the most densely packed parts of the city is this renowned Gothic-style villa with gardens and charmingly decorated accommodations with Venetian-style antique reproductions and fine tapestry. It all began in 1783, not as a hotel, but as the Russian embassy, and returned as the Russian Consulate between the two world wars. When the Salmaso family turned it into a modest hotel in 1951, Russians continued to gravitate here -- Josef Brodsky was a frequent guest (winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1987) -- not to mention European film stars and even royalty. Common areas and guest rooms overlook either the picturesque Rio San Trovaso or the lush gardens. Inlaid designs or mosaics decorate marble- or ceramic-tiled baths.