JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts have revealed further spa details for its first Italian hotel in Venice - and its first resort in Europe - opening in March 2015.

Architecture practice Matteo Thun & Partners is in charge of converting historic buildings on the Isola delle Rose (Rose Island – also known as Sacca Sessola) into a sustainability-focused 266-key luxury hotel, holiday villas, convention centre and a spa – using locally-sourced materials such as Venetian tiles, textiles, bricks and glass.



Situated 15 minutes by speedboat from Piazza San Marco in Venice, the 1,750m (18,837sq ft) spa – to be operated by GOCO Hospitality – is set to be the largest in Venice. It will offer an indoor and outdoor stainless steel vitality pool, a health club, eight treatment rooms, sauna, steamroom, experience showers, two bio saunas, a hammam with scrub room and a spa suite. The wet zone facilities will be supplied by Barr + Wray, working alongside main contractor Chandler KBS.

Skincare products will be provided by QMS Cosmetics and Amala.



The design masterplan for the project reorganises the island into three main parts, each defined by its garden areas. A former hospital, built in 1936, will become the hotel, and its outbuildings – including an old church – will make space for the spa and a convention centre. Matteo Thun & Partners’ website describes the project, that uses local suppliers for sustainability and waste-management efficiency, as a “three zero village, both in its construction and in its subsequent management: zero kilometres, zero CO2 and zero waste.”



The property’s fruit arbours, olive groves and cultivated plots – including a turnip garden used for soil regeneration – will supply the resort’s four restaurants, five bars, cooking school and wine academy.

Additional facilities include weekly authentic Murano glass and Venetian mask-making workshops led by local artisans, as well as water sports such as canoeing and sailing. The hotel’s rooftop pool offers views of Piazza San Marco and La Serenissima.

JW Marriott will be the brand’s sixth European hotel. Other 2015 global openings planned by the brand include JW Marriott Cabo San Lucas Resort, Mexico; JW Marriott Austin, Texas; and JW Marriott Vancouver Place Stadium, British Columbia, Canada.