Away from Venice’s gondolas and the rivers of tourists lies a strip of land where one can actually drive a car and summer never seems to end.
The Venetian Lido came to be as a Roman port and rose as a Belle Époque playground in the late 1800s, when luxury hotels like the Hotel Excelsior Venice Lido Resort and Grand Hôtel des Bains began to become part of the cultural zeitgeist.
“Venice is the land of dreams — and the Des Bains is its antechamber,” wrote Thomas Mann, author of “Death in Venice,” about the Grand Hôtel des Bains. Opened in 1900, the fabled resort was long a Venetian refuge for the glitterati, hosting everyone from Winston Churchill to the poet Ezra Pound.
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After the first Venice Film Festival was held on the Lido in 1932, its hotels attracted celebrities including Elizabeth Taylor, Marcello Mastroianni, George Clooney, Johnny Depp and Madonna.
Today, private equity funds, hoteliers and developers alike are banking on the prospect that the Lido can reclaim its Belle Époque glory and rival the great rivieras of France and Spain.
The island’s decline was spurred by World War II and its aftermath. A devastating flood in 1966 further accelerated its slowdown, which lasted through the ’70s and beyond. It hasn’t been until recently that the area has again landed on the radar of development firms and investors, starting with the transformation of BlueMoon from a public beach into a beach club for Venetians and tourists, and the electrification of the bus network. Other plans have stalled, however, most notably the proposed redevelopment of the former Ospedale al Mare into a Club Med, a project that ultimately collapsed — a setback some observers attribute to a fragmented vision and lack of coordination.
Still, other projects have overcome the red tape. In May, the storied Hotel Excelsior Venice Lido Resort, which was acquired by British real estate investment firm London & Regional Hotels in 2022 for more than 100 million euros, reopened its Moorish-inspired entrance after a six-month renovation. That work culminated in a major aesthetic relaunch, including the return of the famed Palm Court as a social lobby, the first wave of redesigned guest rooms informed by Mediterranean elegance and the arrival of beach brasserie brand Amù in 2027. Amù also has outposts at the Fairmont Monte Carlo and Gran Marbella Resort on the Costa del Sol.
In 2025, another vestige of the past was earmarked for revival when a consortium of investors — including former Yoox Net-a-porter Group chairman and chief executive officer Federico Marchetti — revealed plans to restore the Hotel Des Bains. The Coima Des Bains Fund, spearheaded by the Italian real estate investment and development platform Coima, also includes Emirati businessman Mohamed Alabbar’s Eagle Hills development and investment company.
Coima, which is also the former owner of Hotel Excelsior, revealed that it had finalized an agreement with lenders to acquire 100 percent of the 54 million euro debt held against the historic Grand Hôtel des Bains. Marchetti, a minority shareholder, made his foray into hospitality with this investment. In an interview, he told WWD that he firmly believes the Lido has the potential to become one of Europe’s most desirable destinations.
“What makes the Lido unique is its combination of accessibility and tranquility. In just two vaporetto stops you are at the Biennale, and within around 10 minutes you can be in Piazza San Marco. Yet you’re also on one of Italy’s finest urban beaches, with Blue Flag-quality waters, a golf course, a small airport and an authentic, relaxed atmosphere that feels worlds away from the crowds of central Venice,” he reflected, likening Lido’s growth story to that of Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda, whose real estate and hospitality boom was shaped by the dynastic Aga Khan family. “Costa Smeralda had its Aga Khan; perhaps what the Lido needs is someone with the same long-term vision and determination to unlock its immense potential.”
Marchetti underscored the residential potential of the Lido, which for centuries has hosted the summer homes of Venetian aristocratic families. Most recently, the area’s real estate potential was highlighted by the renovation of Italian director Luca Guadagnino’s Art Nouveau summer villa.
In fact, Guadagnino’s home, which has recently come to life in cinematic elan and was once covered by overgrown vines, is situated behind the Grand Hotel des Bains.
The area has design cachet as well. In 2022, Milan design gallery Nilufar and its founder Nina Yashar hosted an exhibition against the 1930s rationalist setting of the Giovanni Nicelli private airport.
“I’ve always desired an itinerant approach, bringing and moving artifacts with their stories around the world; doing it in Venice, and specifically in the setting of Lido, is an unprecedented gift,” Yashar said.
The fruits of that broader shift will be visible during the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, which runs until Sept. 12.
For the 2026 season, most of the Excelsior’s rooms and suites have been redesigned with a look inspired by Mediterranean elegance while preserving their original charm. Among the key updates is the Palm Court, the hotel’s original lobby, which has been restored as its main lounge and enriched with archival materials and historic photographs of past guests including writer John Steinbeck and director Sergio Leone, who filmed scenes for “Once Upon a Time in America” there.
“The Palm Court is more than a renovation; it is a celebration of the hotel’s identity. The design carefully respects the architectural language and elegance that made the Excelsior an icon when it opened in 1908, while introducing the comfort and expectations of today’s luxury traveler,” said Hotel Excelsior Venice Lido general manager Edvaldo Brito.
From the famed pier where stars arrive by boat to the private Adriatic beach with its well-known cabanas, the Salone degli Stucchi and the panoramic terraces, the hotel is reasserting its role as a central part of the Venice Film Festival experience. With 198 rooms and suites and a 15-minute motorboat link to St. Mark’s Square, it remains one of the most recognizable addresses in Venetian hospitality.
This is just one example of how Venice’s Lido remains one of the most iconic destinations in Venetian and international hospitality — and a symbol of the meeting point between Venice, the sea and cinema, Brito explained.
“The island is no longer simply a destination to visit during the film festival; it is becoming a year-round lifestyle destination where hospitality, culture, wellness and community come together.”