Let’s get it out of the way then. Yes, this is the hotel where George Clooney got married. Well, at least this is where he held the reception and, presumably, consummated the union.
Clooney actually ended his long, celebrated bachelorhood at the nearby town hall. Which doesn’t sound so spectacular — when I first read the headline ‘Clooney marries at Venice Town Hall,’ my initial reaction was: “Good heavens, George, that’s pretty down to earth, getting hitched in a civil ceremony at the Venice Beach municipal chambers.”
Of course, my mental geography was a tad off, as was my estimation of the Clooneys’ unassuming tastes — the duo actually exchanged vows in the town hall of the historic, romantic, aquatic Italian city that lent its name to the slightly insalubrious Californian seaside enclave.
Although I’ve not visited, the Venice Town Hall that hosted the Clooney nuptials is anything but insalubrious, and like most of the architecturally splendid structures in Venice (the Italian one), is probably a pretty spectacular space.
Having spent a couple of nights at the Aman Canal Grande, however, I can personally verify that it is very much up to the expected major Hollywood star standards of elegance and excellence.
In fact, this would have to be among the five most amazing hotels I’ve had the pleasure of bedding down at. (Listing the remainder of the top five isn’t a task I’ll choose to attack at this point in time, but suffice to say Claridge’s in London and the Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur are shoo-in inclusions — and the Aman Canal Grande certainly rivals those two spectacular properties in the specialness stakes.)
When you think Aman, images of spare, neutral, modern Asian-inflected design probably spring to mind. And those touches definitely do abound at the group’s Venice outpost. But they’re seamlessly integrated with the sort of ornate, just-the-right-side-of- Versace, gilt-embellished Rococo glamour that this ancient, artistic city is renowned for.
Meticulously restored, original moldings, frescoes, friezes and fittings contrast with subtle minimalist furnishings. The juxtaposition works beautifully, and makes this hotel the ideal Venetian choice for the couple whose design tastes differ, with one favoring the classic, the other, a more contemporary aesthetic. Here, you get the best of both worlds.
The hotel is set within a 16th century palazzo moments from Venice’s iconic Rialto Bridge. Most rooms boast expansive views of the canal and the hotel’s serene waterfront garden (the palazzo is one of the few in Venice with a private canal-side green space).
Around 10am each day, guests breakfasting in the piano nobile’s sumptuous ballroom, restaurant and bar spaces are treated to the sounds of gondoliers stopping to sing both opera and the hotel’s praises, the words ‘George Clooney’ inevitably following the identification of the Aman to the gondola’s touristique passengers. The only barrier to enjoying the show is the difficulty in dragging your eyes away from the hotel’s stunning interior and refocusing on the ‘O Sole Mio’ action afloat.
The décor and atmosphere here are impeccable, to be sure, but it’s the service that truly sets the Aman Canal Grande apart. Down to a man, or indeed woman, the staff are genial, knowledgeable, eager to fulfil every request, and spot-on in recalling and catering to particular tastes and idiosyncrasies. (It’s only a little thing, but, for example: at breakfast the second morning, my fresh tomato juice was automatically served with the DIY Virgin Mary sides — Tabasco, lemon juice, pepper, Worcestershire and ice — that I’d ordered the previous day.) They’re also remarkably soothing in their manner, making the process of taking a meal or cocktail feel as becalming as undergoing a spa treatment (which, of course, is an option).
They’re unobtrusively wraith-like — materializing when needed, vanishing when not — but the front-of-house-staff-to-guest ratio feels at least one to one. I’d not be surprised if that’s the case. Despite the palazzo’s grand scale, there are just 24 suites here, resulting in not only a surfeit of ‘help’, but also a sense that even at full capacity, the hotel is utterly uncrowded. You’ll rarely encounter another guest. And when you are forced to rub shoulders, you can be assured that it’s with ‘the right sort’ of people. It may sound a little snobbish to point out, but the fact that the rack rate of the most modest suite at the Aman runs to double the price of the smaller rooms at the Gritti Palace, and triple the cost of the Danieli’s more humble accommodations, does guarantee a certain reassuring exclusivity of clientele. Essentially, then, everything here — from the location, décor and service, to the standard of public space company — is ‘just so’.
George Clooney has been heartily praised for his taste in choosing the beautiful, fabulously accomplished human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin as his bride. In our opinion, his choice of wedding night venue was equally peerless.
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