I don’t think anyone can tell you if it is worth it or not for you. Just personal opinions are all you’ll get and my guess is they will be pretty lopsided.

I get wanting to experience two pretty amazing hotels. And also to do so when the rates are reasonable.

That said, I’d not do this. First I would pick one or the other. Second I would pick the Gritti.

Without regard to which you pick you would lose so much time changing hotels. Two hours is my guess. I’d rather have that two hours to experience Venice vs a hotel no matter how nice it is.

For years we have preferred the Danieli, where we have stayed 5 times since 2003. Our very first visit there was magical. Although I was only Gold on a reward stay they still upgraded us to a beautiful lagoon view suite where we were able to watch fireworks off our balcony ( it was the anniversary of the Arsenale) In 2007 we spent 2 weeks in Venice for our anniversary, 7 nights at Gritti and 7 nights at the Danieli. We loved the Gritti Palace but the Danieli blew us away by upgrading us to their Royal Suite which at the time sold for over 6000 euros a night- our best upgrade ever. It was a large apartment with a huge living room with parquet floors, a gorgeous Murano chandelier, a working fireplace and a large outdoor balcony with sweeping lagoon views. The hotel went out of their way on that visit to make our time there special, securing us excellent seats at the Opera, and gifting us champagne and fruit almost daily.

In October 2017 we were excited to return to the Danieli to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary and looked forward to the trip with great anticipation.

But for the first time ever we were disappointed. The hotel did upgrade us to a lagoon view suite, but the room was old and tired. And although on prior visits, scheduling our trip for the end of October meant that the city was less crowded and more relaxed, this time the area near the Danieli was hectic and packed with tourists and had much less charm. Worst of all though was the change in the staff. Everyone seemed tired and unhappy, even depressed. It felt like a completely different hotel. On two occasions we had drinks at two other Starwood properties- Gritti Palace and Palazzina G- and we vowed to stay at one of those properties on our next visit.

After such wonderful past stays we are sad to say that we can no longer recommend the Danieli.

@AbuCordoba the Gritti is one of the best in the world, let alone in Venice. It’s a lot more intimate and a lot less frenetic than the much larger and much more touristy area of the Danieli. The new StR will be wonderful in due time, but it still has to prove itself and get itself up to proper form as a newly reopened hotel with a new and improved brand. For the foreseeable future, I doubt anything will challenge the Gritti.

FWIW, we like the Gritti even more than the vaunted Aman Venice...and we are Amanjunkies.