Bauer (Gruenwald)

Since first opening its doors in 1880, the Bauer has set the standard for hospitality in Venice. Known for years as the Bauer-Grünwald, the original hotel was a partnership between Mr Bauer, the experienced and respected director of Venice's Hotel de la Ville, and an enterprising young Austrian newly arrived in Venice by the name of Julius Grünwald. Marriage between young Grünwald and Mr Bauer's daughter firmly cemented the two men's partnership and established a Bauer tradition of family management that continues right down to the present day. After Grünwald's death, his heirs continued to run the hotel until selling the Bauer in 1930 to Arnaldo Bennati, a successful Ligurian shipbuilder with a keen nose for real estate and a passion for the hospitality industry.

The Bennati family still owns and runs the Bauer today. Arnaldo Bennati closed the Bauer for almost the entire decade of the 1940s and undertook the first extensive renovation of the hotel. This included a careful, ground-up restoration of the 18th-century 'palazzo' on the Grand Canal, to which an original 17th-century facade, in Gothic-Byzantine style, was added, and the construction of a completely new wing on the Campo San Moisè, designed in the architectural style of the day. Among the highlights of this renovation was the addition of the 7th floor terrace, Settimo Cielo, still the highest outdoor terrace in Venice, as well as the introduction of the central heating and air conditioning, amenities that were exceptional for those years. When the Bauer reopened in 1949, it was the most up-to-date hotel in Venice. Today, the Bauer is run by a third generation of the Bennati family.

In 1997 Francesca Bortolotto Possati, granddaughter of Arnaldo Bennati, became Chairwoman and CEO of the hotel. She is the only executive-level female hotelier in Venice, and she has approached her role with a confidence and sureness of instinct that is deeply rooted in her lifelong love for the Bauer. In the spirit of her grandfather, her first act at the helm was to undertake a massive $38-million, two-year renovation of the hotel, which encompassed everything from engineering and systems to decor and furnishings. Completed in late 1999, the Bauer has been reconceived as a property with two unique personalities: the Bauer Hotel, a deluxe, five-star hotel in the modern wing, and Bauer Il Palazzo at the Bauer, an opulent boutique hotel in the 18th-century palazzo. The renovation has seamlessly wed state-of-the-art technology to the traditional artisan craftsmanship for which Venice is world renowned. While embracing the spirit and romance of its old-world past, the Bauer is ready to serve its guests far into the new century.