Residenza Ca'Bauta, Venice, Italy

The Ca’Bauta is a charming and friendly hotel located in Castello, away from the crowds around San Marco. This position is perfect for visitors who have been to Venice before and want to stay somewhere intimate in a part of town that is not over-run by tourists. Just a couple of minutes walk from SS Giovanni e Paolo it is an easy walk in to the centre and there are interesting shops and restaurants nearby.

Ca’Bauta is a renovated Venetian palace belonging to the Muazzo family, namesakes of the tiny street it is found on. You enter the hotel via a small patio, following a red carpet up the steps to the front door. Inside you are met by a figure wearing a ‘baute’, the traditional carnival hooded clocks, which legend has it were first seen in this very building. A few more stairs (this place is not designed for the weak-legged) bring you out into the elegant hall, decorated in traditional Venetian style. There are two magnificent Murano chandeliers, sofas and carpets of rich material and an antique mirror hanging at the far end, where the tables are laid out for breakfast.

The rooms
Each of the seven bedrooms leads directly off the main hall. They are all spacious, even the standard category, and feature beautifully carved high wooden ceilings. Large beds dominate the rooms, which are decorated in a fairly plain but comfortable style. The luxuriously heavy and rather OTT fabrics of the bedspreads and soft furnishings are offset against modern pale wooden furniture. All the rooms are fully fitted with en-suite bathrooms, television, telephone and internet access. The bathrooms are small but meticulously clean. The suite is deserving of a special mention for its jacuzzi, right in the centre of the room. This fun, if slightly ostentatious, feature is mounted on steps, surrounded by marble pillars and located a handy two feet away from the kingsize bed. Also worth noting is the apartment with two rooms and a private sitting room, perfect for families.

A simple continental breakfast is served in the morning, although the accommodating staff would strive to provide for any special requests. They are extremely friendly, helpful and knowledgeable – and only too happy to share their recommendations and tips with their guests. The Ca’Bauta is quiet and relaxed, small and with such personal service that it almost doesn’t feel as though you are staying in a hotel at all.