Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal hosts conferences, presentations, private dinners and weddings for up to 250 guests in a frescoed hall on the Grand Canal in Venice. The hotel is in the San Marco district, a short walk from Piazza San Marco, and its event floor is the historic Ridotto, with nine halls in all.
Seminars and company events
The Ridotto halls are modular, so one hall can hold a plenary while smaller rooms serve as breakouts or a lunch room. The Salone Affrescato is the main room for the largest events. Eight more rooms complete the floor: Sala del Ridotto, Sala Crozzola, Sala Corte, Sala Vallaresso, Sala Oppio, Sala Antebar, Sala Alcova and Sala Sospiri. Layouts offered are theatre, horseshoe, boardroom, cocktail and gala dinner. The hotel serves coffee breaks, light buffet lunches and dinners, and it sends a technical sheet with the size of each room on request. For a company meeting in Venice, where moving a group between buildings takes time and boats, this means a full program in one place, with the bedrooms upstairs.
Weddings and receptions
The central hall receives up to 250 guests for a reception or a dinner. The eight smaller rooms suit aperitifs, intimate dinners and private parties. The team prepares the table settings and the flowers. Some of the halls look over the Grand Canal, which gives a wedding dinner a view across the water.
Rooms and capacities
Salone Affrescato, the central hall: up to 250 guests. The eight other rooms take smaller groups, and the hotel gives their capacities on its technical sheet. The halls keep their frescoes and period decoration, so organizers should plan staging and screens with the hotel team.
Accommodation
The hotel has rooms and suites, some with terraces and views of the Grand Canal. The website does not publish a total room count, so groups that need many rooms should confirm availability with their request.
Catering
Catering comes from the hotel kitchen. Ristorante Grand Canal serves Venetian cooking with contemporary touches and seasonal produce, in a dining room and on a terrace over the canal, which suits a welcome dinner or a lunch between sessions.
History and setting
The hotel occupies Palazzo Dandolo, dating from 1638. The Ridotto, the public gaming house where Venetians and visitors met in masks, began in this building and closed in 1774. The halls were brought back to life in 1947 by Arturo Buleghin and now form the hotel's event floor. Holding a dinner here means using rooms that were built for receptions nearly four centuries ago.
Getting there
Venice has no cars, so guests arrive by water or on foot. From Venezia Santa Lucia station, vaporetto lines along the Grand Canal stop at San Marco, close to the hotel. From Venice Marco Polo Airport, water taxis and the Alilaguna water bus reach the San Marco area. Private water taxis can be booked for groups and luggage.
