Hello,

I need to choose between two places that look pretty wonderful. We can't seem to come to a decision on this one and hope some people will weigh in.

1) Pensione Guerrato.
2) Gli Angeli - Blu Room.

Pensione Guerrato is listed in Rick Steves' books. There isn't much talk of it here, but there are many really good reviews on ricksteves.com. The rate for a double with bathroom ensuite is 115 Euro. The rooms themselves look fine on the website, not plush, but very good. The room would be air-condioned. The location is an 800 year old building near the Rialto Bridge in San Polo.

2) Gli Angeli has been written up here a couple of times and looks just wonderful. The price is 94 Euro, but there is no air-conditioning, although the owner tells me that they hope to have it by summer and they do provide a fan. It is located in Eastern Castello.

Both provide breakfast. We would be staying in mid-August. We just can't decide which one to go with.

Guerrato is in a great location, with a/c, but it costs a touch more and the rooms don't look quite as nice on the website. http://web.tiscali.it/pensioneguerrato/homepenen.html

Gli Angeli has a beautiful room, with a great rate, but we don't know much of anything about the area and we wonder about not having a/c. www.gliangeli.net

Please let me know what you would choose and why.

Thanks,
SRS

topping.

Hi SRS,

You will need AC in order to sleep.

I think the location of Guerrato is better.

Thanks Ira!

Anyone else?

SRS

If you weren't going in mid-August but May, say, I wouldn't put such a premium on the AC. Many lower-end European hotels only turn on the AC in summer, notwithstanding that spring days can also sometimes be hot.

But given that you are going in August, I would put a greater premium on whatever AC you can get. Bon voyage.

Thanks Sue! You and Ira have basically nailed my greatest fear on the head - what if a heat wave hits like last year and Gli Angeli hasn't gotten a/c installed yet (she did say they were going to try to get it in). Oh, the dilemma!

Anyone else have any particular feelings about the two places?

Thanks again!

SRS,

Looked at the Gli Angeli website and agree that it looks like a decent place, especially for the price. August without A/C in Venice??? NO WAY -- and you said >>>the owner tells me that they hope to have it by summer <<< ... I wouldn't be willing to take that risk. Book the Guerrato.

I stayed at the Guerrato about six years ago, so I hope this information is still relative. This was the least expensive place on our trip and the place we loved the most! The reason? Our hosts. They were fantastic! Spoke several different languages (English, French, German). Sent us to all the restaurants that the locals frequent and called and made reservations for us. Also, we were taking a train to Milan for our flight home and were unaware of an upcoming strike. They found us an earlier departure that would get us to Milan before the strike. If not for them, we would have been stranded in a small town and missed our flight home.

I remember that the breakfast was good (rolls, yogurt, fruit, meat), the room average size, and if we leaned out the window you could see the canal.

Our bathroom (shower) was down the hall, and that was fine with us. I think we were only sharing it with one other room.

My hairdryer kept blowing a fuse and they found one for me to borrow.

Anyway, hope this is helpful information. Have a wonderful trip!

jrchapma and others -thank you for the feedback! Based on these comments - we have decided to not go with Gli Angeli for this trip. Perhaps we'll investigate around there while in Venice, so we have an idea of whether we'd like it for the future. Looks like it will be Guerrato.

Thanks again!
SRS