After strengthening its offering in Paris by taking over the management of the Lutetia - through an agreement with Locka Holding, which will also enable it to make its debut in Amsterdam at the Conservatorium hotel - the Mandarin Oriental luxury group has just announced a new guest of choice in its portfolio: San Clemente Palace in Venice. " We are delighted to partner with Mandarin Oriental to usher in a new Palace era. One of Venice's most iconic private islands, this exceptional location deserves the legendary service and refined hospitality for which Mandarin Oriental is renowned." said Emir Uyar, Vice-Chairman of Permak Investment, which has owned the site since the mid-2010s.
Situated just eight minutes by boat from St. Mark's Square, the hotel is part of the history of the Serenissima, dating back to the construction of the first hotel in Rome. on the island of San Clemente of a first church in the XIIᵉ century, followed by the development of a monastic complex in the XVe This was before the occupying French and then Austrian troops turned it into a garrison. The site also housed a psychiatric asylum for women from the end of the 19th century.e It was restored and converted into a hotel in 2003.
Once owned by the St Regis and then Kempinski until recently, the San Clemente Palace is now in the hands of Mandarin Oriental, which will manage it until its seasonal closure in November. A vast three-phase renovation programme will then begin, with the hotel to be renamed the Mandarin Oriental, Venice from April 2026. The works programme will include 136 rooms and suites redesigned by the Albion Nord design studio, combining Venetian charm with the Asian hotelier's design philosophy.
On this five-hectare private island, the hotel will also include four restaurants, a vast spa and an outdoor swimming pool, as well as tennis and paddle tennis courts. Surrounded by carefully landscaped gardens, the future Mandarin Oriental Venice will also be an exclusive meeting place with vast event spaces both indoors and out.
" By adding Venice to our Italian portfolio, we are enriching our circuit of destinations across Italy, complementing our existing hotels in Milan and Lake Como, as well as our forthcoming openings in Rome, Cortina and Porto Cervo." said Laurent Kleitman, CEO of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.
Asian celebrities meet
Another handover is also being prepared on the group's original continent, Asia. The prestigious Peace Hotel in ShanghaiThe Fairmont hotel will remain part of the Accor group, but with even greater ambitions, under the Raffles banner. Or when a legend born in Singapore meets another celebrity, with its neo-Gothic façade along the Bund and its Art Deco interiors.
Built in 1929 by Sir Victor Sassoon, an opium and arms magnate and later a property magnate, the hotel was first known as the Cathay Hotel, then renamed the Peace Hotel by the Communist municipality in 1958, is part of the city's history. Owned since 1984 by the Jinjiang group, now a minority shareholder in Accor, the Peace Hotel joined the Fairmont banner in 2010, after several years of renovation. The same process is now under way, as the hotel - while remaining open - is about to embark on a phase of transformation that will see it debut in 2027 under the name of Raffles Peace Hotel Shanghai. A refreshed design that will preserve the place's past, while adding the exclusive service of the luxury brand.
" As custodians of such an iconic property, we are exceptionally proud to guide it into a glamorous new era with Raffles, and honoured to begin the next chapter of our relationship with trusted partner Jinjiang International Group." said Omer Acar, CEO of Raffles Hotels & Resorts and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. " As a century-old cultural monument in Shanghai, the new Peace Hotel will not only merge history and modernity, but will also offer a new way of sharing Shanghai's history with travellers from all over the world." said the owner's representative, Dong Qing, General Manager of Shanghai Peace Hotel Co, Ltd.
