Ca' della Corte, Venice, Italy
Hotel Overview
Review of Ca' della Corte, by Angela Moore
Ca della Corte is a charming, homely bolthole in a well-converted 16th-century palazzo - the perfect boutique hotel in Venice for unpretentious, independent travellers. It's quiet, friendly and run with great charm by owner Caterina and her family. It is also very well-priced. There are nine bedrooms in the palazzo and a series of apartments very nearby: these are excellent for families.
Ca della Corte is in the northwestern corner of the Dorsoduro - location in Venice is all, and here it is close to perfect. This is the less chic, less sight-heavy and therefore less tourist-clogged bit of the popular Dorsoduro area. You're five minutes from a vaporetto stop, ten from the Rialto Bridge and 20 from San Marco, yet coming back here in the evening, you feel that you're escaping the hordes.
The Campo Santa Margherita is just around the corner, a charming square fronted by a series of bars and restaurants frequented by actual Venetians. One corner of the square is filled with university students, spilling out of a bar onto the cobbles. It's that rare thing in Venice - a slice of local life.
The facilities
Ca della Corte is has two excellent selling points. The first is this boutique hotel's inviting roof terrace, with views of a jumble of ancient Venetian rooftops. The second is a little courtyard garden, a real suntrap. You can have breakfast served to you in either place; otherwise, it's brought to your room. Breakfast is perfectly sufficient, if a little plasticky - it's let down by the lack of fresh pastries. There's also a small resident's lounge, with a fascinating mural - ask Caterina to tell you the story behind it.
In fact, you can ask Caterina and her colleague Annarosa almost anything. They are both passionate and knowledgeable about Venice. They will help you plan your time here, and offer tips, hints and good maps. They can also help you arrange everything from cookery classes to art classes to nature tours of the lagoon. In the end, it's this charming, hands-on and personal service that helps set Ca della Corte apart.
The rooms
The rooms at Ca della Corte are simple, airy, unpretentious and comfortable. They are also fairly spacious, a rarity in a boutique hotel in Venice. The bathrooms are variable: only one suite, Marco Polo, has a bathtub; the rest have small and sometimes awkward showers. However, they are absolutely spotless and beautifully maintained.
Honeymooners should take note of the Piano Suite, the largest and most elegant, with a grand piano as the centrepiece. Marco Polo is the only room with a bath; it also has a fabulous chandelier. The Blue Suite is charming, with very high ceilings and a canal view. The double rooms are well-kept, spacious and light.
The associated apartments are great for groups and those seeking a family-friendly boutique hotel in Venice.
Facilities
Hotel Policies
Who stays here?
Families love the apartments; the hotel is popular with an arty, laid-back crowd.
Come for...
- Great location in the Dorsoduro, near the Piazzale Roma, handy for vaporetto stops and a manageable 15-minute walk from the Rialto Bridge
- Having breakfast on the roof terrace or in the little courtyard garden
- Helpful and knowledgeable owners, who can help you arrange all sorts of excursions, tours and off-the-beaten-track views of Venice
- Family stays in the apartments
Not Suitable for...
- Super-stylish designer furnishing and fittings
- The needy: the staff are excellent but this is a small hotel with limited service
Children
Extra beds and and baby cots can be added to rooms for children. Three of the apartments are well-suited for families, and babysitting services by an English-speaking sitter are available.
Eating in
The apartments offer a fully equipped kitchen where guests can cook at their leisure. Otherwise, breakfasts only.
The Press Say
"In a tranquil, canalside location, yet close to Piazzale Roma, this is a private, family-owed palazzo, with nine rooms for guests (plus self-catering apartments nearby)." Telegraph 07Reviews
Review of Ca della Corte, by Vanessa Kaoukji
If you think that staying in Venice was all about being close to St Mark's square, think again. The boutique hotel Ca'della Corte is in the northwest corner of the popular Dorsoduro district, just a 20-minute walk from the packed main square, but only a five minute walk from Piazzale Roma.
Ca'della Corte is also right beside the bustling and less touristy Campo Santa Margherita which is a favourite with university students so you will be guaranteed hip bars, cool cafés and cheerful restaurants. And once you have mastered the route, you can walk to the Rialto Bridge in an unhurried 10 minutes.
Situated in a quiet, pretty part of town, and you will be welcomed in like one of the family into a 16th-century building that has become the Ca'della Corte under the direction of Caterina and her family. This boutique hotel is suited to families or people looking for a bit of space.
The facilities
Ca'della Corte boasts a quiet roof terrace which guests often find they can have to themselves for whole afternoons. For a real taste of Venetian grandeur, owner Caterina has recently purchased a small two storey palazzo next door to the boutique hotel which can host banquets or wedding receptions with full catering provided (they can also provide a priest or registrar and can probably drum up some witnesses if need be).
The multi-talented reception at this boutique hotel will provide you with maps and information about Venice, the do's and don'ts, the places to see and not to see. Meditation classes (for groups of 6 or more) are also on offer and the staff will also take guests on walking tours of the city or tours of the wine regions of the Veneto.
In fact, practically anything can be organised at Ca'della Corte. It would be a challenge to come up with an idea that they haven't already thought out in detail. Thinking about cookery courses, art classes or even fabric printing? Speak to Annarosa at reception.
The rooms
The 10 rooms at this boutique hotel are enormous by Venetian standards, unfussy and clean. The two suites are more traditionally and carefully decorated. The Piano Suite, as the name suggests, hosts a grand piano, and the Marco Polo Suite has only recently been used for boutique hotel guests - previously it was a private room.
If you're looking for a bit more independence, Ca'della Corte also rents out apartments in a canal side building even closer to the Campo Santa Margherita. The apartments vary in size and style. A studio on the ground floor is often rented out by artists, one apartment on the second floor has a funky seventies feel, and the others are spacious, light and functional.