Brahmama

This is our 4th trip to Venice. But this time, we have a mobility problem. My husband's knee replacement has left him with only 75% flex. So stairs - esp going down- are a problem. And pulling luggage up and down over bridges as we have done in the past is no longer possible.
Having read umpteen hotel reviews in the past, I recall that there was the odd one or two that was located close enough to the P Roma bus station that one could access without the bridges.
Any ideas or suggestion for us? We would like to stay 3 nights before a cruise if possible. He can make it over a few bridges without luggage or by vaporetta for some leisurely walking around. We are hoping to enjoy Venice again!

Judy

I don't know the answer to your question, but, if you cannot find a hotel with no bridge, could you consider using a water taxi to access a hotel? Many have their own docks and, while the taxi isn't cheap, it may solve your problem.

TDudette

There is a Sofitel just there. You walk through a little park from the P. Roma. It has been some years since we stayed there but they had their own boat-can't remember if it was a gondola or motor. If you stay on that side of the Grand Canal and go towards Santa Croce area (look on the map), you can get the type of walking you described. As you know, you won't be totally bridge free. Good luck.

NYCFoodSnob

Poor guy. I wouldn't take him anywhere near Venice. With only 75% flex, trying to compromise could cause more harm than good. Venice is not a city for people who can't safely handle stairs or steps.

Kay2

There are several small 2* inns on the streets just to the left as you leave the train station. My niece and I stayed in a ground floor room with private bath and a/c a few years ago and were pleased with the location. You would have to confirm that anyplace you chose there would guarantee a ground floor room or else expect stairs. Some of the inns in this area:

http://www.locandaorsaria.com/
www.hotelrossi.ve.it/eng/hotel.html
www.hotelguerrini.it/en/home
http://www.hotelcaprera.it/sito_ingl.html
http://www.hoteldolomiti-ve.it/htldo.../1024_main.htm

Zerlina

>>Poor guy. I wouldn't take him anywhere near Venice.<<

Some people really flow with the milk of human kindness and are *so* encouraging.

There are many areas in Venice that are wheelchair-accessible and require no crossing of bridges.

There are maps of them here:
http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm.../IDPagina/1381

A hotel with ground-floor rooms or an elevator in any one of these would, I think, be preferable to a hotel in the immediate vicinity of Piazzale Roma or Venezia Santa Lucia.

Brahmama

Hey, you guys are great. I knew I could get some help from Fodorites. (I like to think I have done the same in the past)

The map link is fantastic and one I haven't seen before and the list of the 2* near the station is also appreciated.

Since the knee operation we have had 3 cruises - one to South America, one to Canada and one to the UK. On all we have found ways to see the sights - made new friends and great memories. But Venice, esp with the bridges, is different. Of course we'll go, and we'll have a great time as usual, but I always plan to make it as easy as possible.

NYC - I'm sure you were being kind, but do remember that if we are lucky enough to get old - we'll all have some physical and perhaps mental problems. I've found the best way to cope with them is to keep busy, keep active and keep a positive attitude! Going a little slower is a whole lot better than staying put and feeling sorry for yourself.

I'm sure I'll have more questions later.

Thanks again for your help.

alan43

Hi
I just saw your posting about a hotel in Venice.
Several years ago, we stayed at the Hotel Santa Chiara. 548 Piazzale Roma. I went on line to Santa Chiara Hotel.com We drove there and they have a small parking area. They are the only hotel in Venice that does. It was very nice and convenient. Faces the Grand Canal. I checked out its web site and it still looks very nice. Check it out on line to see if it may meet your needs. Good Luck

TDudette

That map info is great, Zerlina!

Campo Santa Margarhita (sp. sorry) is really neat if you haven't visited it before. Our hotel was on Fond. Rio Nuovo and I remember it as an easy walk from there. Quite close to Sofitel.

NYCFoodSnob

<i><font color=#777777>"Some people really flow with the milk of human kindness and are *so* encouraging."</font></i>

I am an optimist but I'm not a cock-eyed optimist.

<i><font color=#777777>"I'm sure you were being kind, but do remember that if we are lucky enough to get old - we'll all have some physical and perhaps mental problems."</font></i>

I was absolutely being kind, and careful. IMO, there's a big difference between thinking positively and testing fate, or testing someone else's endurance. No matter what the aliment, unless it's yours, you absolutely CANNOT KNOW how it feels. When it comes to the safety of a loved one, I don't gamble. A cruise is fine but three days in Venice comes with risk if your skeleton is compromised.

When my dad had hip surgery, I took him to Hawaii. Oh, how he loved the hammock tied to the palm trees. He told me the grounds of the hotel gave him ample opportunity to exercise safely. He would have hated me if I tried to drag him through Italy. I would have hated myself for forcing him through an endurance test he did not request.

If your husband insists on giving it a go, then I wish you and he good luck.

I once spent a day in the Emergency Room of Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova in Florence after a bad fall. My arm ended up in a sling for five days. I needed help getting out of the tub. At the hospital, I met an elderly American man who sprained his ankle on his first-day of arrival, trying to lift his luggage over a curb. His wife was filled with fear. She had to take care of everything, and I mean everything, from that moment on. Their trip was ruined.

Yes, Venice does offer a somewhat secret path for wheelchair accessibility. If only your husband would commit to a wheelchair, then I'd feel better about recommending Venice as a place to enjoy.

TDudette

IMHO, there are people native to Venice with bad knees who find a way. Based upon Brahmama's original post, I think she and DH will be very careful and will still have a great 3 days before their cruise.

Life is fraught with possibilities for injury, eh? Take our friend who (in the 1980s) fell down the steps of the air plane the moment she arrived in Greece. While the rest of the tour visited the Greek Isles, she was in a hospital in traction trying to find someone who would write "Please bring me an American coffee" in Greek for her.

OP isn't stupid and FoodSnob is just being (overly?) careful.

travel52

We stayed at Hotel Ala on our trip to Venice. I also have mobility issues and wanted to not go up and down bridges when we got off the vaparetto with luggage. It is a short walk and worked perfectly. Good luck.
http://hotelala.hotelinvenice.com/?source=googleh

Zerlina

There is no reason for a man who can walk on the level to use a wheelchair in Venice. There are no curbs, and pavements are more even than in Florence. The wheelchair-accessible paths are not "secret"; they are clearly mapped online and in brochures put out by the City of Venice.

greg

I thought some hotels near San Marco like Bauer has access to the Piazza and a vaporetto dock without going over staired bridges in between.

AlessandraZoe

Just puzzled, NYC. I thought the OP was pretty clear about her knowledge of the Venice terrain. Her first sentence: "This is our 4th trip to Venice".

So she wasn't asking for a recommendation to GO to Venice in their circumstances. She was just seeking out information to see if she could make this POSSIBLE. And it sounds as though there are people on the board willing to make that wish come true.

Dukey

It is VERY possible. It is called a WATER TAXI directly to and from the hotel chosen. It isn't as CHEAP as walking up and down a lot of stairs or dragging luggage up and down a lot of stairs BUT it is possible.
The Bauer and many others including the much cheaper Locanda Oseolo are situated so that this can be done.

Dukey

And just how is this mobility problem going to affect THE REST of this possible stay in Venice? Will stairs be entirely avoided?????

NYCFoodSnob

Darlings, I don't have time to deal with Zerlina's I-can-negate-everything-you-say pettiness and explain every detail that brings me to my gut reactions to certain queries. I can say I have broken a few key bones in my day so I tend to be sensitive about the skeleton. Plus, I know too many people who suffer with knee issues.

Of course, the OP and her husband will be on a cruise, allowing them some time in Venice. It makes perfect sense to try to take advantage of that, especially since they have history with the place.

I have a 52-year-old friend who had knee-replacement surgery recently and her doctor advised her to take a taxi to work instead of using the subway or bus stairs. He said she could take on the challenge of the stairs after she has completed her physical therapy. He also warned her, regardless of how slow she takes it, other people can pose a danger. All it takes is an unexpected jolt in the wrong direction.

If the husband's surgeon says it's OK to take on Venice and the husband is gung ho, then I say go for it. As much as I love Venice, I'd pass and settle for views from the ship, unless someone offered to carry me everywhere.

Sidny

Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal is right on a vaparetto stop and an easy walk to Piazzo San Marco. My parents (who have similar mobility issues), stayed there a couple of years ago before a cruise and did fine. I believe they mentioned a staff/freight elevator that was offered for my dad's use to avoid stairs. It's expensive, IMO, but may be worth it for location and ease of moving about.

ellenem

I can't imagine the OP expects her husband to avoid steps entirely--it is Venice, the city of bridges--but there are ways to avoid many.

Based on my own experience with getting in and out of a private water taxi at various tidal levels, I think a hotel near a vaporetto stop would be more important than one with a water door for taxis. It is much easier to walk up the gangplank of the vaporetto than to climb in and out of a possibly-bouncing water taxi onto whatever type of possibly-wet landing is present at the hotel.

My recent favorite is Hotel al Ponte Mocenigo. While it features a lovely front door from a private bridge to enter the hotel, the back door is on ground level--no steps--and is in and alley less than a minute from the San Stae vaporetto stop. The rooms on the ground floor have been designed to be handicapped accessible, with extra-wide doorways, and large bathroom with grab rails. They have a water door for taxis, but from my own experience, the OP's husband would do better to arrive by vaporetto at San Stae.