The Venue - Hotel Cipriani

Private boat shuttle to Cipriani

Hotel Cipriani opened on 26th May 1958 when Giuseppe Cipriani, the famous patron of Harry’s Bar in Venice, cut the ribbon and welcomed the first guest to the hotel. At that time, a double room cost Lire 8000 and a Bellini cost Lire 500. In 1976, James B. Sherwood, a regular guest at the hotel, bought the Cipriani, which was to become the first of the Orient-Express Hotels. The hotel has seen many famous guests pass through its doors including Pablo Picasso, George Clooney, Jude Law and Michael Caine. Over the past 50 years, more than 1,000,000 Bellinis have been served at the Cipriani and about the same number of Carpaccio.

(27 June '08)

The Event

A series of events and initiatives launched to mark the hotel's recent 50th birthday.

Guinness Suite

The initiatives

The first five guests who booked direct through the hotel’s website on 26th May '08 paid what they would have in 1958 when the hotel first opened - approx cost 8,000 Lire or £2.56.

Also marking the birthday was The Luxe 24 Karat Gold Facial which was added to the hotel’s Casanova Spa menu. This treatment uses 24 Karat gold - the purest and finest gold available allowing it create immediate and long-lasting results on skin to help banish premature aging - a bit like the Cipriani. Treatment lasts 80 minutes and costs approximately £275.

Celebrations of the 50th anniversary extended beyond Venice, when the Orient-Express British Pullman train in the UK served a special Cipriani dinner onboard, cooked by the hotel’s chef Renato Piccolotto, on 24th May. Cipriani Restaurants at other Orient-Express Hotels such as the Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro, Lapa Palace in Lisbon and Reid’s Palace in Madeira, offered anniversary menus to their guests as well.

Palladio Suite Sitting Room

Hotel Cipriani also completed the first phase of a three-year rolling renovation project this winter. This includes 10 fully refurbished rooms and suites located in the “Redentore” and “San Giorgio” wings, all offering captivating views of the Lagoon. The new rooms, six luxury doubles and four exclusive suites, include beautiful bathrooms with large walk-in showers, double basins, and Carrara marble and mosaics depicting a Byzantine-Venetian tradition. Extra lavish touches such as cashmere and silk blankets have been added to make each guest’s stay at Hotel Cipriani more memorable.

Granaries of the Republic in wedding preparation

Interior designer, Michel Jouannet of Paris, has used Venetian artefacts, hand-made stuccos, Murano glass, antique mirrors and fabrics by Fortuny and Rubelli to create the luxurious new rooms. To maintain a connection with the past, the same skilled Venetian Maestro, Franco Fogliata who decorated many of the Cipriani’s suites in 1958, has been appointed to create precious hand made stuccos, following the same designs and methods used over 400 years ago.

Breakfast on the Fortuny Terrace

 

What's next?

As the refurbishments continue from November 2008 onwards, when the hotel closes for the season, each room will be equipped with complimentary broadband internet, high definition satellite TV and the latest technological equipment.

RK  __________________________________

 

 

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