Grandiose would be more accurate. This 24-room palazzo-turned-hotel - the most talked about new arrival on the Venice hotel scene for many years - was once exclusively the home of one of the city's wealthiest families, members of which still occupy the building's top floor. Before opening as the Aman Canal Grande this year, the 16th-century Palazzo Papadopoli underwent extensive and meticulous restoration. The whole place reeks of an authenticity that has been half-heartedly forged from Vegas to Macau but which is, of course, impossible to truly recreate. If you're familiar with the spectacular Risorgimento-themed films of Luchino Visconti (especially the colourful 1954 epic Senso), you'll have some idea of what to expect.
Far from it. After arriving by water taxi and entering the museum-like lobby from the canal-side porta d'acqua, you step into another world, which at first can feel overwhelming. Once you've settled in and explored the several floors of splendid antiquities and artworks, however, the slow, aristocratic rhythm of the place is surprisingly easy to get used to. Spend some time in the old library, filled with ancient volumes, some of which suggest at least a recreational family connection with China: Shanghai guidebooks, for example. Much contained within the building has belonged there for centuries.
There are two adjacent dining rooms, which are not really restaurants at all, being nameless - they are not even singled out on the hotel's website. But the food offered is of a quality seldom found in hotels of even the highest standard. The dining environment is again quite overbearing in its magnificence at first, but the mostly Asian staff (this is an Aman-managed property, after all) are very easy-going and relaxed in a setting that might be just too much if it was manned by stuffy Venetian sommeliers and the like. Settle in with a glass of something from the comprehensive wine list, admire the cherubim cavorting among the stucco and ceiling frescoes many metres above and you'll quickly get used to eating your meals in a room that has existed for half a millennium.
The hotel is about halfway along the Grand Canal, not far from the Rialto Bridge in the San Polo district. Once you cross the canal, the familiar Piazza San Marco is only about a 10-minute walk away, or you can take the longer, more scenic route via the Accademia Bridge. You can get out and about easily through the hotel's back garden but take note of some nearby landmark as there is no signage on the hotel; it's all very discreet and exclusive.
Watch the restoration video on channel 63 in your room (it's on a loop by default anyway). This will give you an idea of the enormous amount of work that went into the hotel before it opened, and provides a good background on the building and the family that owns it. Arrive early for breakfast and get one of the few tables overlooking the Grand Canal.
The 24 rooms and suites, some modern, some of more vintage design, start from 1,000 euros (HK$10,500) per night (about average for the higher-end Venetian hotels), with suites topping the price list at 3,500 euros. If you stay any time from December 20 to January 10, February 15 to March 4, or April 16 to 23, you will be required to stay for at least three nights to secure a booking.