The Hilton Molino Stucky Venice hotel is avenue force to be reckoned within Italy, let alone Venice. The eye-catching 380- room property has a rich history indeed -unusual for a hotel so well suited to the business traveller. The Molino Stucky offers a Congress Centrewith a vast (10,763sq. ft) column- free Venetian ballroom that can cater for up to 1,000 delegates, has no less than three executive floors and 14 additional meeting rooms - and let's not forget the hotel's own private landing jetty to facilitate transportation for large groups.

History in the making

It took four years to restore the original Molino Stucky to the high-calibre five-star hotel that it is today. The original building was Venice's first Neo-Gothic structure constructed at the turn of the last century, on the western end of Venice's southern island of Giudecca - an island once reserved for banished 'giudicati' or noblemen (one of Giudecca's most famous residents was the 16th Century artist Michelangelo). "This is by far the largest and most important restoration in the last fifty years in Venice - probably ever," according to the eminent restorative architecture expert Professor Amendolagine.

A waterfront landmark hotel

Thankfully for Venice, this colossal hotel manages to retain a lot of the character of its former life as a flour mill and granary-evident in the exposed beams, silo-shaped ceilings, pointed turrets, thin windows and vibrantly restored red brick facades, which help it stand out from Venice's Dorsoduro island on the opposite bank. Consisting of no less than 13 buildings, you are actually given a map upon check-in to help you orientate yourself! For the discerning business traveller, of its 380 rooms, the hotel also offers 84 executive rooms and 46 suites.

Business exclusivity

For those on business, a well-tended 6th floor executive lounge offers a private check-in and check-out, and a constant flurry of nibbles and drinks from breakfast until late in the evening. The lounge's sub-divided rooms and meeting tables arewell suited for informal business meetings, a pre-dinner aperitif, or as an intimate refuge from meetings, relaxing over a cuppa and the papers.

Eat, drink and relax...

The hotel has a total of five restaurants and bars, including its jewel in the crown: the Skyline Bar, which boasts panoramic roof-top views across the city from its twin terraces. This floor is also where all hotel guests can access Venice's one and only outdoor rooftop pool that is frankly jaw-dropping - and very 007, adjoining the Arsenale tower suite as it does... As if guests couldn't be any more spoiled, the hotel also houses a 6,400sq. ft spa (set within a 1898 historic building, of course) with Decleor/Carita treatment rooms, a Turkish hammam and Jacuzzi. As you would expect for a hotel set on an island at a peaceful distance from the hubbub of Venice's centre, this Hilton almost does away with the need to leave its boundaries at all - every whim is provided for, from the Rialto Lobby Bar to the Aromi bar, restaurant and waterside outdoor terrace (Il Molino is the hotel's fine dining restaurant). However, if and when you do eventually venture to the city centre, all you need do is hop on Hilton's next available complimentary water shuttle boat (departures are half-hourly, except during Italian siesta hours after lunch), then hop off 10 minutes later at Piazza San Marco, in the heart of the action. A very memorable and original way of doing business - surely a huge draw for 007 when he's in town.