Hotel Cipriani

Hotel Cipriani
Former names	Belmond Hotel Cipriani
Hotel chain	Belmond
General information
Town or city	Giudecca, Venice
Country	Italy
Coordinates	45°25′34″N12°20′28″E / 45.4261°N 12.3411°E / 45.4261; 12.3411
Named for	Giuseppe Cipriani
Opened	1958 (1958)
Other information
Number of rooms	96
Website
www.belmond.com/hotels/europe/italy/venice/belmond-hotel-cipriani/

The Hotel Cipriani is a deluxe hotel on the island of Giudecca in Venice, northern Italy. It is reached by hotel launch from St Mark's Square, a five-minute journey across the lagoon. ^[1] Long considered one of the leading luxury hotels of the world, its room rates begin at USD $1,400 per night.

History

A view of the pool area

The hotel was opened in 1958 by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry’s Bar in Venice and inventor of the Bellini cocktail. As well as Giuseppe Cipriani, the partners in the joint company were the three daughters of the 2nd Earl of Iveagh, who provided the financing. The three sisters—Viscountess Boyd of Merton, Lady Honor Svedar and Lady Brigid Guinness—each had a suite designed for themselves and their families. Rooms were decorated with Venetian furnishings, including Murano glass chandeliers, Fortuny fabrics and Venetian artworks.

The hotel achieved instant acclaim. In 1962, the Earl asked Giuseppe Cipriani to rebuild and manage the Hotel Belvedere on his property in Asolo; this was reopened as the Hotel Villa Cipriani. ^[2] In 1968, some adjoining land was purchased and a swimming pool (the only pool in central Venice ^[3] ) was added among gardens.

In 1976, the Hotel Cipriani was purchased for £900,000 ^[4] by Sea Containers, which established a leisure division named Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. ^[5] The hotel subsequently expanded into the adjacent Palazzo Vendramin, a 15th-century palace facing the lagoon ^[6] and St Mark's Square. A restaurant, Cip's Club, ^[7] was built on a floating pontoon in the lagoon. In 1990, the adjacent Granaries of the Republic were opened as an event space. ^[4]

In 2014, the Hotel Cipriani was renamed the Belmond Hotel Cipriani as part of the rebranding of Orient-Express Hotels as Belmond. ^{[8] [9]} In April 2014, the hotel opened Oro Restaurant, designed by Adam Tihany, which in December 2015 was awarded a Michelin star. ^{[10] [11] [12]} George Clooney was married at the hotel. ^[13]

In fiction

Venice is the setting for the second half of the 1992 James Bond novel Death is Forever by John Gardner. ^[14] Bond flies into the Marco Polo Airport and is picked up by the Hotel's launch service. The Cipriani is located on the island of Giudecca and can only be reached by water. Several scenes take place at the hotel; Bond reserves a junior suite and later dines at the restaurant.

This hotel is also part of a plot point for the 6th book in The Sisters Grimm book series by Michael Buckley (author).

References

1. Online article (updated regularly): Bolton-Porciatti, Kate; et al. (31 July 2024). "Belmond Hotel Cipriani; Giudecca, Venice, Italy". Telegraph Travel. The Telegraph. Retrieved 2025-06-03.

   Summarized in print in: "Revealed: the world's 50 greatest hotels: From luxury lodges to chic city escapes, the winners of the inaugural Telegraph Hotel Awards represent the best of the best". Features. Daily Telegraph. London, England, UK. Sep 7, 2024. pp. 1–7. ISSN   0307-1235. EBSCOhost   8Q2199051466. NewsBank 19B6F9D1D9981FC0. ProQuest   3101398123.

   That article is itself online as: Swallow, Nicky (5 September 2024). Cranshaw, Rachel (ed.). "The Telegraph HOTEL Awards: The world's 50 greatest hotels, ranked and rated by our experts". Travel. The Telegraph. Retrieved 2025-06-03.

2. Cipriani, Arrigo (2011). Harry's Bar: The Life and Times of the Legendary Venice Landmark. New York: Arcade Publishing.
3. "Hotel Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel, Venice". Holidays : Italy. British Airways. Archived from the original on 2022-06-25. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
4. Sherwood, James B. (25 April 2012). Orient Express: A Personal Journey. Biteback. p. 84?. ISBN   9781849543859.
5. "Orient-Express Hotels Ltd". Hospitality Online. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
6. "Accommodations: Palazzo Vendramin Suites". Belmond Hotel Cipriani. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
7. Davies, Susan Ward (28 May 2013). "Five best restaurants for Biennale people-watching". Life + Culture : Travel. Elle. London, England, UK: Hearst. Archived from the original on 2017-08-04. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
8. "Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. to launch Belmond brand" (Press release). February 23, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-03-28. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
9. "Company Overview". Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
10. HBI Staff (29 December 2015). "Oro Restaurant at Belmond Hotel Cipriani awarded First Michelin Star". HospitalityBiz. India: Saffron Synergies Pvt Ltd. Factiva   ATHOSB0020151229ebct0002v. – via Contify.com.
11. Vos, Roland (Feb 25, 2016). "Q4 2015 Belmond Ltd Earnings Call - Final". Fair Disclosure Wire (Quarterly Earnings Reports) / CQ FD Disclosure. Thomson Financial / CQ-Roll Call, Inc. EBSCOhost   32U0351407522FDW. Factiva   FNDW000020160226ec2p007eq.
12. Michelin Guide: https://guide.michelin.com/en/veneto/venezia/restaurant/oro-restaurant; ViaMichelin: https://www.viamichelin.com/maps/restaurants/poi/Venice-30133-Oro_Restaurant-3egv2as

13. Online version: Hodgson, Joanna (14 December 2018). "LVMH agrees purchase of hotels group Belmond in $3.2bn deal". Business. The (London Evening) Standard . Retrieved 9 January 2019.

    Print version: Bourke, Joanna (14 Dec 2018). "LVMH springs a surprise as it lands Belmond at $3.2bn". Business : Leisure. (London) Evening Standard. p. 69. ISSN   1472-5223. EBSCOhost   133544129. Gale   A565633732. Newspapers.com 713303443. PressReader 282437055216039.

14. Gardner, John (1992). Death is Forever (1st ed.). Great Britain: Glidrose Publications. pp. 128–225. ISBN   0-340-54816-9.

External links

Media related to Hotel Cipriani (Venice) at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website