Danieli reopens in Venice as a Four Seasons after Rochon restoration

The Danieli has reopened in Venice as a Four Seasons hotel after a restoration by Pierre-Yves Rochon, whose studio is also behind the refreshed interiors of Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris. The address on the Riva degli Schiavoni, a hotel since 1822, returned in July 2026.

Rooms start at €2,300 a night including breakfast. The Danieli is made up of three interconnected palazzi, and the work was carried out under the supervision of the Soprintendenza, Italy's heritage authority, whose protection extends to the buildings' original floor plans.

Palazzo Dandolo and Palazzo Casa Nuova have reopened with 120 rooms and suites between them. The total is due to reach 168 when the restoration of the third building, the post-war Palazzo Danieli Excelsior, concludes in 2027.

The buildings and what Rochon changed

The oldest of the three is Palazzo Dandolo, built for the aristocratic Dandolo family and converted into a hotel by Giuseppe Dal Niel in 1822. Later additions incorporated Palazzo Casa Nuova, once the Venetian Republic's Treasury, and the Excelsior, built after the war.

Within the protected layouts, Rochon's studio created dressing areas, enlarged bathrooms and added suites. The renovation has increased the number of junior and one-bedroom suites, introducing larger living areas and dressing rooms while expanding bathrooms wherever the historic fabric allowed.

Several suites connect to adjoining bedrooms so families or travelling parties can extend their accommodation, with layouts that also make room for dining and working. Check-in has moved to the Sala delle Maschere, formerly an events room, where restored panelling and a frieze of theatrical masks survive.

Paintings there depict carnival festivities and daily life along the Riva degli Schiavoni. With the Doge's Palace just across the Ponte della Paglia and Piazza San Marco moments away, the hotel lets guests slip out on foot without consulting a boat timetable.

Materials, rooms and the terrace

Rochon's palette draws on the lagoon outside. "We chose materials rooted in Venetian history and craft: Murano glass, terrazzo seminato alla veneziana, Italian marbles, Venetian mirror and woven damasks," he says, explaining that each had to "extend the vocabulary of the palazzi and work with the light."

Entering Palazzo Dandolo, guests meet an azure ceiling patterned with gilded quatrefoils, its hand-painted decoration restored by specialist craftspeople who also attended to the columns, stonework and floors. Gilded stuccowork and ornamental detail line the grand staircase.

The lobby lounge keeps its pastel Murano chandeliers and its roundel glass in the windows, while a large painting of Venice now faces a mirrored screen at the entrance. Textiles come from Rubelli and Dedar, with bespoke furniture by Poliform, Medea and Salda.

Mirrors and lighting are by Arte Veneziana and Viamancinelli, and the decorative pieces include intaglios, Venetian engravings and antiqued mirrors drawn from Grand Tour collecting. Rubelli's San Marco damask has been recoloured for the guestrooms, paired with Venetian mirrors.

Lagoon-view suites look towards San Giorgio Maggiore, revealed by automated curtains, while marble bathrooms have walk-in showers and Jesurum toiletries developed by La Bottega. Selected Grand Lagoon-View Suites add a separate bath too, worth specifying at the time of booking.

The former fourth-floor bistro has become a 133 sq m Presidential Suite, arranged as a one-bedroom apartment with contemporary furniture and artwork that depart from the damasks and antiques elsewhere. It has a dining table for six, a dressing area and a marble bathroom with a wall of windows.

Terrazza Danieli is where Rochon expects guests to head. "As soon as the weather allows, every guest wants to be on the terrace," he says, and he has dressed it in terracotta tones to suit the historic façade. Inside, sky blue and muted gold replace the darker finishes.

Executive chef Adriano Rausa, Roman-born with Sicilian roots, joined from W Rome after training alongside Oliver Glowig, Gennaro Esposito and Ciccio Sultano. His Italian cooking gets its Venetian accent from suppliers such as Osti in Orto on Sant'Erasmo, the island long cultivated as Venice's kitchen garden.

Fish comes daily from the Rialto market, and the menu includes homemade mezze maniche with blue lobster, cherry tomatoes and lemon. The Mediterranean catch of the day is oven-baked or salt-crusted with Sant'Erasmo vegetables. Bar Dandolo pours a Negroni and From Venice with Love, a batched Vesper variation served ice-cold.

That cocktail honours the 1963 James Bond film From Russia with Love, directed by Terence Young, in which the hotel appeared. Earlier guests were just as colourful: Maria Callas met Aristotle Onassis at a party here in 1957, and Eleonora Duse and Gabriele D'Annunzio's affair began within its rooms.

A temporary treatment room stands in ahead of the permanent spa. The 75-minute Glow Facial uses Mario Badescu skincare, while the 60-minute Su Misura Massage takes its name from the tailoring term for made to measure. The finished spa will have three treatment rooms, including one for couples, plus a sauna and hammam.

We have followed Four Seasons' expansion closely, including its 2027 openings led by a Dominican Republic resort. This Venice return adds a historic European city hotel to a portfolio we have covered in Cairo, Singapore, Abu Dhabi and New York.

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Image: Four Seasons