A brand to watch: Airelles in Venice

One of the openings we’re most excited about right now is Airelles Palladio Venezia, the first Italian property from French luxury group Airelles and a standout addition to the city’s top-end hotel scene.

Set on Giudecca Island, directly across the lagoon from St. Mark’s Square, it occupies a beautifully restored 16th-century complex originally designed by Andrea Palladio, with 45 rooms and suites, nearly a hectare of private gardens, Venice’s largest luxury spa, three swimming pools, and restaurants and bars by chefs including Nobu Matsuhisa and Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

Airelles has quietly built a small portfolio of highly individual hotels in places like Courchevel, Val d’Isère, Gordes, Versailles, and Saint-Tropez, each one feeling more like its own world than a standard luxury brand.

It’s less about scale and more about narrative: each property is closely tied to its setting, whether that means Alpine ski culture, Provençal hill towns, royal Versailles, or now Venice.

Part of why we’re watching Airelles closely is timing. Château de la Messardière in Saint-Tropez—one of the collection’s “palace” hotels—has been selected as a main setting for the next season of The White Lotus, which almost certainly means a surge in attention and demand once the series airs.

We expect Airelles to move from “insider’s know” to “everyone is buzzing about it,” and we’re already thinking about where and for whom this brand makes the most sense.