Vitorrja

The first hotel developed by the Gjelina Group, Venice’s Vitorrja has 26 rooms, ranging from stamp-sized to spacious two-bedroom suites, right on Rose Avenue and one block up from the boardwalk.

Venice’s first “destination hotel” (arguably) could only have come from the Gjelina Group, the powerhouse brand behind the eponymous foodie mecca that heralded the arrival of boho-chic in Venice circa 2008. Now, more than fifteen years later, Vitorrja has opened right on Rose Avenue, one block up from the boardwalk, with 26 rooms, ranging from stamp-sized to spacious two-bedroom suites.

Almost immediately since it opened in 2008, Gjelina became the destination-dining venue in Venice, a must for foodies coming through LA looking for the moment’s reinvented California cuisine. Since then, the group has expanded to include Gjusta, an equally popular café and lunch spot, followed by Gjusta Goods, a grocer for all those pricey goodies that make delectable picnics and great presents to bring home. A grocer and flower shop rounded out the offerings on the West Coast before Gjelina opened an outpost in New York City as well.

And now, a hotel. The location of Vitorrja itself is very Gjelina—a boarding house that has had many lives (including a hostel) and whose deep neighborhood roots are tangible throughout. Guests are buzzed in on the ground floor where a spacious sitting room also serves as the personable check-in (thanks to the small room number, staying here feels like becoming part of a big family). Interiors feature a winning combination of vintage, antique and reclaimed, all courtesy of Shelley Armistead, whose eye for mixing and matching (old, new, quirky, cool, hyper-cool) is a natural and brilliant fit for a hotel concept.

Upstairs is where you want to book—and not only because the suites on the second floor are so much larger and brighter, but also thanks to the daybed-studded teak wrap-around deck that seems to hover above the hubbub of the Venice boardwalk, with glints of the ocean and a breezy palm-tree backdrop.

Suites also come with pre-stocked kitchenettes (Gjusta goods, of course), and with Fellow kettles and coffee presses, Smeg fridges and Bellocq + Gjusta teas. The décor includes vintage oil paintings, low arm chairs upholstered in moody prints, jewel-toned rugs made from vintage threads, and an array of tabletop beauties (vases, bowls, glassware), all of which create a backdrop that feels gorgeous because it is so natural and simple. It’s the kind of hotel over which you constantly want to run your hands (the reclaimed red-white oak floors alone are works of art, as are the kitchen islands made from stained scaffolding), as well as to recreate. Luckily for the latter type, Armistead has decided that all furniture and décor will be on sale, a bold move considering that she will have to replenish all those sold pieces with something else.

Fostering a vibe of low-tech unplugging, there are no televisions in any rooms (the WiFi, however, is fast and reliable), and while there is no spa on the premises, Vitorrja partners with a local yoga studio and can arrange for in-room massages.

And if you can’t quite justify bringing home one of the vintage headboards or pendant lamps no matter how much you love them, consider getting one of Gjusta Goods’ signature Frankincense & Fir scented candles to mimic the scent of Vitorrja, which feels, itself, like a homecoming.