Advertorials
Hotel Danieli Has Been Checking Guests Into a Doge's Palace for Two Centuries
On the Riva degli Schiavoni facing the Venetian lagoon, Hotel Danieli occupies a 14th-century doge's residence that has been taking in guests since 1822, its Gothic courtyard largely unchanged since Dickens and Wagner stayed there.
Sep 26, 2026 · BigTravel.in
Hotel Danieli occupies the Palazzo Dandolo, a Gothic palace built for the Dandolo family, one of whom, Enrico Dandolo, served as doge of Venice in the 12th century. The building was converted into a hotel in 1822 by Giuseppe Dal Niel, whose nickname, Danieli, gave the property its name, making it one of Europe's longest continuously operating grand hotels. It sits directly on the Riva degli Schiavoni, the wide waterfront promenade a short walk from St Mark's Square, with the lagoon and San Giorgio Maggiore visible from its upper floors.
A courtyard built for a doge, not a hotel
The hotel's four-storey internal courtyard, with its pink marble staircase and Gothic arcading, remains the building's signature feature and was designed as a private palazzo interior centuries before anyone imagined it as a lobby. Guests check in beneath the same tiers of stone balustrades and pointed arches that once framed a doge's household, with the original 14th-century structure still legible beneath later additions.
A guest list two centuries deep
The hotel's 19th-century visitor list is well documented and includes Charles Dickens, who wrote about Venice during his stay, and Richard Wagner, along with a long line of European aristocracy and artists drawn to its position on the lagoon. That history has since expanded to three connected buildings, including the neo-Gothic Danieli Excelsior wing, without displacing the original Palazzo Dandolo as the hotel's heart.
A rooftop over the lagoon
The hotel's rooftop restaurant looks directly across the water to San Giorgio Maggiore and the Doge's Palace, a view that has made it a fixture for guests and non-guests dining there even without a room booking. No canal-side approach by water taxi is required to reach it, since the hotel opens straight onto the waterfront promenade rather than a private canal entrance.
Traveller tips
- Marco Polo Airport is the main gateway, reached by water taxi or the Alilaguna ferry directly to the Riva degli Schiavoni landing stage near the hotel.
- St Mark's Square and the Doge's Palace are within a five-minute walk, making the location a starting point for the historic centre rather than a lagoon retreat away from it.
- Venice's acqua alta flooding is most likely between autumn and early spring; ground-floor areas can be affected during the highest tides.
- Rooms vary considerably in size and view given the building's centuries-old layout; it's worth confirming outlook when booking rather than assuming a lagoon view.
Where this is
Venice, Italy