Hasta La Ideas

Marble furnishings, lagoon-coloured walls and arched doorways are among the features that Dorothée Meilichzon has incorporated in the interiors of this Venice hotel, which is meant to mirror its surroundings.

Occupying a renaissance-era palace, Hotel Il Palazzo Experimental is located in Venice’s Dorsoduro neighbourhood. Set away from the city’s main tourist hubbub, the area is populated with unpretentious bars, eateries and vintage boutiques.

This is the fifth time that French interior designer Meilichzon has worked with the Experimental hospitality group, having designed a selection of its hotels in Paris and London, as well as its Menorca location.

Like the preceding properties, Meilichzon wanted the interiors of the new Venice hotel to reflect its immediate surroundings.

“We do a lot of research to create a different project each time, one that’s deeply rooted in its environment,” Meilichzon told Dezeen.

The 32 guest suites have therefore been completed in a mixture of warm and cool tones – some surfaces are painted butter-yellow, blush-pink or deep red in a nod to the colour of the homes that line Dorsoduro’s canal ways.

Other walls are a dark, navy hue or mossy green.

“The greens and blues come from the variant colours of the laguna, truly an inspiration as the colour of it evolves so much during the day and depending on the weather, it is quite fascinating,” explained Meilichzon.

Several of the fixtures and furnishings – like the doorframes, headboards and flecked sofas – are arched, mimicking the shape of window frames on traditional Venetian buildings.

Domed niches have also been to accommodate reading nooks or vanity tables, while mirrors above the bathroom sinks have then been set against arched white-marble bases.

“There are also a lot of arch shapes in the city, especially from Andrea Palladio, one of Venezia’s major architects,” added Meilichzon.

These forms continue downstairs in the hotel’s eatery, named Ristorante Adriatica, which cooks dishes with ingredients sourced from Italy’s coastal regions like Puglia, Abruzzo and Veneto.

Interrupted by a series of arched partitions, the dining room plays host to a clashing mix of veiny marble dining tables, striped banquettes and monochromatic checked floors.

Seating cushions have then been upholstered in sumptuous cherry-red velvet.

Guests can also choose to relax up on the rooftop terrace or take a trip on the hotel’s private pontoon.

Milan-based designer Cristina Celestino was charged with developing the aesthetic of the hotel’s bar, Experimental Cocktail Club. Intended to be a love letter to Venice, it has been finished in a typically Italian material palette of marble and antique mirror.

A striped teal and grey carpet offsets the space’s candy-pink walls.

Hotel Il Palazzo Experimental joins the handful of design-focused guest properties that are popping up across Venice, catering to the abundance of tourists that continue to visit the city for its rich arts and culture scene.

The Casa Flora holiday apartment opened in Venice back in 2017, which is dressed with furnishings from over 20 Italian brands.

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