Il Palazzo Experimental: A Renaissance Revival for the Modern Nomad in Venice
Where Venetian heritage meets Experimental cool—an audacious dialogue between centuries of craft and the modern traveler’s eye.
A Bold Reimagining of Venetian Grandeur
Tucked into the art-soaked canals of Dorsoduro, far from the thrum of Piazza San Marco, Il Palazzo Experimental occupies a 16th-century Renaissance palace that once gazed quietly over the Giudecca Canal. Today, under the creative direction of Dorothée Meilichzon—Paris’s reigning queen of tactile modernism—it has been transformed into a luminous playground of design, where history is not merely restored but reinterpreted with style and wit. This is Venetian opulence stripped of its pomp, replaced by a breezy kind of elegance that feels at once local and cosmopolitan. It’s what happens when the Experimental Group’s avant-garde sensibility meets the lagoon’s eternal magic—a marriage of past and present, shadows and shimmer.
Design That Dances Between Eras
Step inside, and the contrast is instant yet harmonious. Meilichzon’s signature language—curves, color, craftsmanship—animates the palazzo’s solemn bones. Hand-glazed tiles, velvet banquettes, and polished Breccia Capraia marble catch the morning light, while terrazzo floors and dark carved woods whisper back to Venice’s gilded past. Walls of Marmorino plaster, the same material favored by Doge’s palaces, ground the interiors in history, but the palette—dusty terracotta, lagoon blue, soft saffron, and oyster white—feels distinctly Mediterranean, airy, and alive. The result is cinematic: a cross between a Wes Anderson reverie and an Italian daydream. The rooms balance glamour with intimacy. Each is a study in soft geometry and subtle luxury—arched headboards, rattan chairs, vintage mirrors, and brass lamps combine with playful patterns and contemporary restraint. Large windows flood the space with Venetian light, framing canal views that seem painted for contemplation.
A Social Heart with Experimental Soul
As with every Experimental Group property—from London to Menorca—conviviality is the design philosophy. The ground floor hums with life: a cocktail bar that glows golden at dusk, where mixologists craft drinks that play on local botanicals and global spirits, and a garden restaurant that opens onto the hotel’s tranquil courtyard. Menus are seasonal and soulful, with Venetian staples reimagined through a modern lens—think cicchetti with a twist, handmade pastas, and seafood kissed by citrus and herbs. By day, it’s a sun-dappled retreat; by night, a stylish salon for the city’s creative crowd.
Between the Canals and the Clouds
Set in Dorsoduro, Venice’s bohemian heart, Il Palazzo Experimental offers a slower, more authentic rhythm of city life. Step outside and you’re moments from the Gallerie dell’Accademia, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and hidden bacari where locals sip ombra wine beneath frescoed ceilings. Yet within its walls, you feel transported—a guest not just of Venice, but of a new cultural moment.
DNA Hotels Verdict
Il Palazzo Experimental is Venice through a new lens—an architectural love affair between Renaissance splendor and design-driven freedom. It’s where palazzo history flirts with modern irreverence, where frescoes meet French flair, and where every corridor hums with creative possibility. For travelers who crave more than beauty—who seek texture, taste, and a touch of the unexpected—this is La Serenissima reimagined, one perfectly mixed Negroni at a time.
