APART HOTEL PLAZA COLONIAL

Hotel Ca' Sagredo in Venice is a masterpiece in itself! Set in an elegant, 15th century palace overlooking the Grand Canal close to the renown Rialto bridge, it features antique furnitures and original works of art in all rooms. From the most important Venetian painters of the 17th and 18th century: Nicolo Bambini, Giambattista Tiepolo, Sebastiano Ricci, Pietro Longhi, amongst many others. This wonderfull 5 star hotel in Venice is near the Rialto Bridge. Its original architecture and impressive collection of art make this hotel really special. If you dream of Venice you will dream of Ca’ Sagredo: romantic, mysterious, unforgettable. A Private Palazzo, a Noble Residence, a Museum, a Luxury Hotel and much more… this all is Ca’ Sagredo.

The water streets of Venice are canals which are navigated by gondolas and other small boats. During daylight hours the canals, bridges, and streets of Venice are full of tourists eager to experience the romance of this great travel destination. As night engulfs the town, tourists enjoy some fine dining at one of the many restaurants, leaving the waterways and streets quiet.

The gondola is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian Lagoon. For centuries gondolas were once the chief means of transportation and most common watercraft within Venice. In modern times the iconic boats still have a role in public transport in the city, serving as ferries over the Grand Canal. They are also used in special regattas (rowing races) held amongst gondoliers. Their main role, however, is to carry tourists on rides throughout the canals. Gondolas are hand made using 8 different types of wood (fir, oak, cherry, walnut, elm, mahogany, larch and lime) and are composed of 280 pieces. The oars are made of beech wood. The left side of the gondola is longer than the right side. This asymmetry causes the gondola to resist the tendency to turn toward the left at the forward stroke.

This is the lobby of the new Gramercy Park hotel in New York City. I think it's safe to say that it's on its way to becoming one of the most extraordinary public spaces in New York. It was designed by Julian Schnabel (the NY artist famous for his broken plate paintings) and is owned by Ian Schrager (formerly of the Studio 54 nightclub, now a hotel magnate). I was here to interview Schrager, who must be worth $100m but hangs out in a scruffy T-shirt and jeans. When he approached me I thought he was one of the builders.

We're talking serious art, here. That's a Cy Twombly on the left wall. There are some huge and magnificent Schnabels. It's like walking into a billionaire's mansion. As if the Museum of Modern Art had emptied its collection into Buckingham Palace..

Schrager is famous for his lean, minimalist hotels (think Morgans in NY and the Delano in Miami). But he sold the chain for millions and has turned his back on monochrome. He's going for voluptuous instead.

About half of the hotel's 80 rooms opened this week at a reduced rate while they finish the decorating, train up the staff and sort out the service. It will eventually cost a minimum of $500 a night, but you can sneak in this month for less than $250. Sounds like a bargain to me.....