I was given this list of budget hotels in Venice however I am not sure what to expect. Does anyone know if one could expect as safe neighborhood, air conditioning, continental breakfast as part of room cost, private bathroom at this type of hotel? The price range I am quoted is $110 to $176USD. The hotels are:Canaletto, Citta Vi Milano, San Julian, Torino, Tullip in Scandanvia, and Gorizia A la Valigia. I believe these are price from now to May and we plan to be in Venice in August. The only hotel we have stayed was Hotel Giorgione and wonder how these might compare.

I can't answer you question directly, but I can tell you that I paid approximately the same at Locanda Leon Bianco in Canarregio. Our room had a view of the Grand Canal and breakfast was included. The room was large for Venice standards and I was very happy with the location and the service. The room was not air-conditioned but we didn't need it in early September.

I stayed there as well and loved it.

To compare (don't know your hotels): Albergo Santa Lucia, a little bit cheaper, big room, full bathroom, safe neighborhood, comfortable beds, breakfast included.

We were looking for something less expensive and stayed at Hotel al Gambero. It was $110 and we loved it. VERY small room but all new furniture and new marble bath with an adorable patio that looked over the street. Right off San Marco and close to the vaporetto stop. Highly reccommend it.

Good morning, Tom Just a reminder <BR>to make sure you have air conditioning <BR>as August in Venice can get warm. <BR>Also beleive there is no unsafe area in <BR>Venice. If you wantto do some more surfing, go into www.veniceinfo.it/ which is a pretty good listing of hotels, most with maps showing their <BR>locations. If you need help in locating <BR>a hotel possibility drop me a line and <BR>will find it for you. Richard of LaGrange Park, Il... <BR>

Have you stayed at the Astoria, San Marco area? We'll be there end of October (inshallah).

Tom: <BR>Consider the Hotel Panganelli on Grand Canal. Walking distance to San Marco. Right in front of Vaporetto stop. Moderate, clean, helpful staff. Enjoy Venice!!!!

We'll be there for 2 days before catching a cruise to Barcelona. We'll be dropping off our rental car (either airport or downtown location ???). We are looking for the perfect hotel near everything in Venice and area great food. I have the names of the other hotels listed here. Which is the best and easiest to get to and also be able to drop off the car and not transport our luggage too far. Not a real experienced traveller. thanks for any help. suzanne

We stayed on the Lido Island last February 2001. This island is about 10 minutes by water taxi from St. Marks, across the open water which was very enjoyable at the end of a day. My partner and I loved staying on this island, because there was grass and sidewalks, and was "resort like" which was very nice after the concrete and tight streets of Venice. Our hotel was an older home, turned into a hotel. It was a dump, but very, very cheap. We paid about $45 (Canadian) per night. No joking. The bedrooms in this old house are used as hotel rooms. Decent furniture and the beds were new and clean. Breakfast was served in a dining area with nice tablecloths on the tables. The place needs a paint job, but the fellow at the desk is very good and you have a key to let yourself in a night. We figured we were only using the hotel to sleep, so for the price it was a great break financially. PS: The weather in February was wonderful. Around 20C / 70F every day.

I have booked Hotel Violino D'oro---it is only $100/night and looks cute. Haven't seen it in person yet though.

We stayed at the Hotel American (3 star) in the Dorsoduro section of Venice this past August. It cost a little more than your listed choices (about 300,000 lire incl. everything - taxes, a/c, private bath, breakfast). But, I would strongly encourage you to follow the advice you've been offered about insisting on air-conditioning in August. You will need it! I also found http://www.veniceinfo.it very helpful for seeing what amenities each hotel offered and for providing e-mail addresses so I could ask the hotels directly what their best rates would be.