10 am
I roll out of bed, open the largest window and gaze out. Below me is the Giudecca Canal, abuzz with boat traffic; beyond that is a panorama of Venice: the Basilica di San Marco, the Palazzo Ducale and the rest of the enchanted, floating city. It's my first day in Venice, but I resist the urge to rush off. I've waited a long time to get here, and I want to experience the city for the first time at sunset. Plus, I've a good excuse to dawdle: My room is something out of a Vivaldi composition – sweet, sumptuous and accented with rich, buttery tones. Set in 15^th-century Palazzo Vendramin, the oldest part of the hotel, I have a slanted alcove roof and parquet windows, which I leave open as I slip back under the silk coverlet.

2 pm
As I wander through gardens toward the hotel's main building, I notice tiny purple grapes growing along the trellises. Giudecca Island had a few vineyards back when it was an escape for Venetian nobility, and these grapes will be harvested for the hotel's private vintage, Casanova Salso. Hotel founder Giuseppe Cipriani would have approved; a pioneering foodie, he introduced both the Bellini and carpaccio at his famous Harry's Bar across the canal.

3:30 pm
After a simple lunch of homemade ravioli and a glass of prosecco, I stretch out poolside on a chaise, full and spoiled. Cipriani has the only pool in central Venice – olympic-sized, heated, filled with filtered salt water and blissfully quiet. People thought Giuseppe was mad when he founded the hotel here in 1958 – who would want to be across from Venice instead of in it? But therein lies the appeal. I enjoy the city from afar and wait for evening, when the marble walls will radiate a subtle pink as day-trippers depart and Venice returns to the Venetians.

6 pm
I board the private launch for the five-minute crossing into town. On the canal, light catches on every ripple. "No matter how many times you see it, it always catches your breath," says a gentleman next to me. I know my night will be perfect. And yet I look forward to my return.