NEW YORK -- Visitors to crowded Venice, Italy, will gain a spacious
new accommodations option when the San Clemente Palace resort opens
on a private lagoon island in April.
Set offshore in a renovated monastery on 17-acre San Clemente
island, the five-star luxury resort -- a member of Preferred Hotels
and Resorts Worldwide -- will boast 116 rooms and 89 suites; five
restaurants; an outdoor swimming pool; two tennis courts; a
three-hole golf course; and spa and fitness facilities.
Eighty percent of rooms and suites will offer lagoon views. Room
amenities include two phones, high-speed Internet access,
newspapers, a safe, a minibar, robes, a hair dryer and, in suites,
a fax machine.
The resort is accessible 24 hours a day via an eight-minute ride
on a complimentary shuttle boat from St. Mark's Square.
"San Clemente is a very good combination of the resort
experience and a city stay in Venice," said Maurizio D'Este, the
resort's general manager.
"Clients can enjoy the security of a private island within reach
of the city itself," he added. "That's our unique calling card.
There's really no room left in Venice to do anything else new like
it."
The three-story former monastery was renovated during a
three-year period and includes historic San Clemente Church, built
in 1150.
Managing company Turin Hotels scheduled a soft opening for April
15, an official opening for May 1 and an inaugural ceremony for
September.
Special opening high-season rates range from about $385 per
night, double, for a deluxe room to around $578 for a junior suite
and approximately $792 for a classic suite; all rates are before
10% tax and include breakfast.
Low-season rates from early November to Dec. 31 run from about
$193 per night for a deluxe room, double, to $492 for the priciest
suites.
The San Clemente Palace will pay travel agents 10% on deluxe
room bookings and 13% on suite and junior suite stays.
The hotel will pay commissions directly to agents, usually
within 30 days, said D'Este.
San Clemente will accept bookings via e-mail, the Web and the
GDSs, as well as through Preferred Hotels and Resorts and JDB
Associates of Alexandria, Va.
For more information, call (011) 39-041 241-3484; e-mail [email protected]t; or visit www.sanclemente.thi.it.
Or, contact Preferred Hotels and Resorts Worldwide at (800)
323-7500 or at www.preferredhotels.com.