Hotel of the week: The Gritti Palace

Venice

Life has just gotten better at one of the world’s “most ravishing and sumptuously appointed” hotels, said Tim Jepson in The Telegraph (U.K.). A 1475 palazzo that sits on Venice’s Grand Canal, the Gritti has just enjoyed a $55 million renovation that trimmed its room count and refreshed virtually all of its hundreds of priceless furnishings, from the silk wall coverings to the chandeliers. Names like Hemingway, Churchill, and Jagger grace the old guest books, and even if you can’t add your name, you should stop in to dine at Club del Doge—one of the city’s best restaurants.thegrittipalace.com; doubles from $790