Venice Hotel prior to departure?
 

Our extended family (18 people) will be boarding a cruise ship in Venice. We wish to arrive the night before just to make sure everybody gets there in time to board the ship. Any suggestions on budget hotels that our group can stay in for the night? We're debating on whether it is more economical to stay in Mestre and just hop a taxi or bus into Venice... or just stay in Venice for convenience. Because of luggage issues, if we stay in Mestre we'd have to take a taxi early to tour around Venice, then take a taxi back to the hotel in Mestre to get luggage, then a taxi back to Venice to board ship. Not sure which we should choose. How much does the taxi or bus rides cost? How long do the rides take?
Thanks.

try www.venere.com
and stay in Venice proper. Not
worth it staying in Mestre.

there might be cheaper places to
stay on Lido.

I would look into Holiday Inn Venice East...a 20 minute train ride into Venice. As you know with your large group you'll need 7 to 9 rooms....in Venice proper....WOW. The Holiday Inn offers free shuttle from the airport...the next day take the train to Mestre and then cab directly to cruise ship. Perhaps you won't be able to board early...but they will take your luggage and then you can tour about.

For what it is worth, we stayed one night pre-cruise November 07 in Best Western Hotel Ala. Great location near St. Mark's, nice room, very good breakfast and reasonable rates for Venice. Do not know if they can accommodate the whole group though. That may be problematic.

I know there is a Marriott Courtyard close by the airport that might be able to, but I really prefer being in Venice the night before.

There are also some budget hotels around the train station area and that is quite close to the cruise docks so that might be a place to explore as well.

Good luck and have a great cruise.

I would not stay in Mestre, if you can avoid it. It's an awful industrial area, whereas Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. If you look for hotels away from St. Mark's, you will find better pricing. Go to the Europe forum and do a search for Venice hotels. Good luck!