The Grand Hotel Excelsior Venice: Where Hollywood Meets the Adriatic — Inside the Glamour of the Venice Film Festival
If you’ve ever dreamed of sipping Prosecco on a Riva boat as it glides across the lagoon toward a glowing red carpet, there’s only one address where that fantasy becomes reality: The Grand Hotel Excelsior Venice Lido Resort, during the Venice Film Festival.
Every late August, this Belle Époque palace on Lido Island transforms into Hollywood on the Adriatic. For eleven glittering days, actors, directors, and fashion royalty trade Los Angeles for La Serenissima. Cameras flash, champagne flows, and somewhere between the sea breeze and the spotlights, Venice becomes a dream within a dream.
From Grace Kelly to Timothée Chalamet, from Casino Royale to La La Land, the Excelsior has hosted the stars and stories that define cinema itself. Here’s the full insider guide — a love letter to the place where elegance, art, and gossip meet the sea.
🎞 1. The Hotel That Started It All
Opened in 1908, the Grand Hotel Excelsior was a masterpiece of Moorish fantasy: arched balconies, golden domes, and marble corridors echoing with the laughter of Europe’s elite. Designed by architect Giovanni Sardi, it quickly became the crown jewel of Lido — a playground for aristocrats, poets, and silent-film stars.
It was here, on a summer night in 1932, that history flickered to life. The Excelsior’s seaside terrace hosted the very first Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica di Venezia. Guests reclined under silk awnings, sipping martinis as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde projected onto a makeshift screen, the waves glimmering just beyond. Gondolas drifted in the distance, and cinema found its most poetic stage.
What began as an experiment became legend. Venice gave the movies something Paris and Hollywood couldn’t — atmosphere. And from that night forward, the Excelsior wasn’t just a hotel; it was a co-star.
🌟 2. The Festival’s Beating Heart
Each year, when the Venice Film Festival rolls around, the Excelsior becomes the gravitational center of the cinematic universe. It’s where deals are whispered over Bellinis, where gowns are steamed and stories are born.
In its grand halls, you might see George Clooney laughing with Brad Pitt, Julianne Moore gliding through the lobby in Valentino, or Zendaya sweeping down the staircase like a modern goddess. Tilda Swinton once called it “a dream that never ends,” and Cate Blanchett described it as “where cinema meets the sea.”
From Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie filming The Tourist in the nearby canals, to Daniel Craig launching Casino Royale here, to Lady Gaga arriving for A Star Is Born in a custom couture gown and Riva boat — every era of Hollywood glamour has passed through these doors.
During festival week, the Excelsior’s corridors buzz like a movie set: stylists hauling garment bags, publicists juggling phone calls, journalists filing stories between espressos, and guests pretending not to notice Al Pacino in the elevator.
🚤 3. The Most Beautiful Commute in the World
At other festivals, stars arrive by SUV. In Venice, they arrive by boat — and every journey begins at the Excelsior’s private dock.
Hours before a premiere, suites transform into backstage dressing rooms. Makeup artists blend foundation under gilded mirrors, while stylists zip couture gowns with surgical precision. Then, as sunset paints the lagoon, the stars descend the marble staircase, stepping into polished mahogany water taxis or vintage Riva speedboats.
The short cruise to the Palazzo del Cinema is pure theater: flashbulbs reflecting on rippling water, engines humming softly, the Excelsior receding like a mirage. When the boats dock, the red carpet ignites — and the world watches Venice play itself once more.
Want to experience it yourself? You can — aboard our Private Venice Boat Tour, the same kind of elegant escape favored by festival guests.
🎥 4. Famous Faces, Famous Films
The Excelsior’s guestbook reads like a century of pop-culture history. Sophia Loren posed on its terrace, Elizabeth Taylor arrived in diamonds the size of olives, and Brigitte Bardot turned every beach stroll into a photo shoot. Clark Gable danced here; Mick Jagger once ordered room service for an entire film crew.
More recent years have brought Timothée Chalamet in backless sequins, Zendaya shimmering in custom Balmain, Emma Stone debuting Poor Things, Florence Pugh stealing headlines, and Penélope Cruz radiating old-Hollywood grace. Even Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have been spotted mooring their yachts nearby during festival week.
Venice itself has co-starred in countless films: Summertime (1955) with Katharine Hepburn, Death in Venice (1971) by Visconti, The Italian Job (2003), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), and Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019). The city is the ultimate supporting actor — effortlessly stealing every scene.
Every cobblestone holds a story. Locals still whisper about Johnny Depp and Amber Heard arriving by separate boats, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez rekindling their romance on the Grand Canal, and Lady Gaga rehearsing her entrance on the dock hours before facing the flashbulbs.
💋 5. Glamour, Gossip & Little Legends
The Excelsior’s walls could write a memoir. They’ve seen Diana Dors in her mink bikini (1955), Jean-Paul Belmondo tossing roses from a gondola, and Madonna making a surprise midnight appearance at the bar after the W.E. premiere.
In 2012, George Clooney celebrated his film’s debut with an impromptu late-night toast in the lobby. In 2018, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga performed “Shallow” at a private after-party on the terrace. One year, an Oscar-winning actor leapt into the Adriatic in his tuxedo at 2 a.m. — reportedly shouting, “For cinema!”
And those whispered “after-after-parties”? They’re real. Yacht decks lit by candelabra, champagne towers glowing against the lagoon, music drifting to the mainland. You won’t find them on social media — Venice still believes in mystery.
🏖 6. Living the Dream — Even Without an Invitation
You don’t need a VIP pass to taste the magic. During the festival, the Excelsior’s energy spills onto the whole island.
- Book early — suites sell out months in advance, but nearby Lido stays keep you close to the glamour.
- Sip on the terrace — reserve a sunset table for a Negroni or Select Spritz and watch as water taxis pull in carrying gowns, tuxedos, and A-listers.
- Walk the private beach — its cabanas recall an era of linen parasols and whispered scripts.
- Attend public screenings — many festival films welcome non-industry guests. Pair it with an Excelsior-to-Cinema stroll or lagoon aperitivo.
For a taste of star-style arrival, our Private Grand Canal Tour replicates that same cinematic approach — no paparazzi required.
💃 7. Fashion Rules the Carpet
Forget Cannes chaos — Venice’s red carpet is pure theater. It’s shorter, softer, and framed by sea light instead of palm trees. Fashion here has personality and poetry.
- Italian elegance reigns — Armani Privé, Valentino, Prada, and Versace dominate the silhouettes.
- Jewels with history — Bulgari emeralds, Cartier diamonds, vintage Chopard pieces glowing like lagoon reflections.
- Unscripted moments — Tilda Swinton once wore a gold mask in homage to Venice’s carnivals; Timothée Chalamet broke the Internet with his sequined halter.
As fashion critic Suzy Menkes once wrote, “Venice doesn’t just host a film festival — it choreographs a love story between cinema and couture.”
🎬 8. Why It Endures
The Grand Hotel Excelsior and the Venice Film Festival endure because they share the same DNA: elegance, reinvention, and a love of spectacle. Both have weathered wars, recessions, and pandemics — yet each September they rise again, sequined and sunlit, as if time itself paused for their entrance.
In the end, Venice reminds the world that glamour doesn’t have to shout. It glides in quietly, on the tide, with a flute of Prosecco and a knowing smile.
And when the final spotlight fades and the stars fly home, the Excelsior remains — serene, golden, and waiting for the next act.
🗝 Final Word — How to Experience It the TLV Way
Want your own cinematic entrance? Let Tour Leader Venice design your red-carpet experience — without the red tape. We’ll arrange private boat transfers, Lido explorations, or even a sunset Bragozzo cruise worthy of a film finale.
Because in Venice, the line between movie and memory disappears — and every guest deserves their close-up.
👉 Book Your Private Venice Experience During the Film Festival
❓ FAQs — Venice Film Festival & the Grand Hotel Excelsior
Can visitors attend the Venice Film Festival without an invitation?
Yes — and that’s one of the festival’s most magical secrets. Many screenings at the Palazzo del Cinema are open to the public, and the Lido transforms into a glamorous yet welcoming stage. You can even arrive like the stars themselves with our Private 1-Hour Boat Tour in Venice — Explore the Grand Canal & Hidden Canals, a cinematic glide that mirrors the VIP journey from the Excelsior’s dock to the red carpet.
Where exactly is the Venice Film Festival held?
The festival takes place on Lido Island, just a 15-minute boat ride from central Venice. Its historic home is the Palazzo del Cinema, next to the legendary Grand Hotel Excelsior Venice Lido Resort. To explore beyond the red carpet, join our Lido Island Bike Tour — tracing elegant boulevards, Belle Époque villas, and the golden beach where movie history was made.
What’s the most glamorous way to experience Venice during festival season?
Arrive by private wooden boat, sip a Spritz on a terrace overlooking the lagoon, and watch the sunset glow over the Adriatic — just as stars have done for nearly a century. Our Venice Sunset Tour on a Traditional Bragozzo Boat or Romantic Photoshoot in Venice — Capture Your Love in the Most Beautiful City in the World turn that fantasy into reality — no invitation required.
