However grand the new St Regis may be upon eventual opening, its service and probably F&B won't be able to match that of the Gritti for a while (if ever). It takes a good amount of time--at least 6 months, sometimes more--for any hotel to reach brand standards on reflagging or opening anew, which is more or less what this hotel is doing. It takes more in the luxury segment.

The Gritti is one of the world's best hotels, let alone one of the 2 top hotels in Venice. This new St Regis has a lot of work to do to reach those heights. Keep in mind that the current Kempinski San Clemente Palace there in Venice was actually a St Regis for few months before reflagging to Kempinski only a few years ago--because its owner wasn't willing to continue to invest to upgrade the amenities and experience to the St Regis standard that Starwood/Marriott demanded.