Best New Hotels 2008:Bauer Palladio Hotel & Spa, Venice

Located on Giudecca Island and originally designed in the 15th century as a convent by the great Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, this offshoot of the Bauer Hotel on the Grand Canal is an oasis of calm, well removed from the mayhem of San Marco. The conversion of historic monument to hotel has been achieved with elegance, restraint and minimum intervention, ensuring that the entrance and public areas retain their centuries-old atmosphere and purity of space and surface, while catering to contemporary expectations of high-level luxury. A smashing spa offers quality pampering and rejuvenation.
 
We love Its elegance.

Rooms from about $720, www.palladiohotelspa.com.
LEO SCHOFIELD