Help with hotel in Venice
 

Could anyone help me about the hotel in Venice?
I've booked a hotel in Mestre (10 minutes from Venice by train) which is a four star hotel, Hotel Tritone and another one near the Santa Lucia Train station, Alloggi Henry (2 star). I will be staying in Venice for three days and plan a same-day trip to Verona. Which area would be better to stay? Has anybody stay the above hotels before?

Mestre may be a 10 minute train ride but it is an eternity away from the Venice you will want to see and be in.

While I've not actually been there, Mestre is evidently not very attractive. It's on the mainland & does not provide the feeling or reality of being in Venice. That's why accomodation is so much cheaper there. That said, some areas of Venice near the train station are also not terribly attractive, but at least you're IN Venice. Perhaps if you post what your budget is, people can recommend some places. The other option is to type in the text search box here inexpensive hotels AND venice for previous suggestions. Venice is not very large so unless you're planning to leave at a very early hour for your day trip to Verona, it's not really necessary to stay right near the train station. Most if not all vaparettos go to the train station.

If you want to see user reviews of the hotels you've picked, you can go to tripadvisor.com

Agree completely with Jody. The "Best" hotel in Mestre can't compete with any "average" hotel in Venice. The best part of Venice is simply being there and absorbing everything it has to offer, and it has SO MUCH to offer. Cancel the four star right now.

Reading between the lines of your post, I suspect you feel it is a good thing to be near a train station for ease of your arrival, departure, and day trip. Rest assured that those three times it would be convenient to be near the station, is minor compared to how many times you will want to walk to main attractions or travel to them (which won't be by train). Forget about closeness to the station, and try to get a place to stay within the beautiful Venice people travel to see.

Good morning, Cinnamon
1. taking a hotel close to Venice SL
statioin means that you will not have to
take additional ltransportation to get your luggage to the hotel. In fact the Carlton Executive which is a four star
is lcoatged directly across the Grand
Canal from the station. Many others
around.
2.Verona is a half hour by frequent trains out of Sl and same with return.
3.Where you stay in Mestre will also
require travel time fromt he hotel to
the station and then waitng for a train.
will be much greater than the ten minute
rail trip in. Stay in Venice......
Mestre is an industerial town...
4. Stay in and enjoyu Venice, its moods
change at nighttime and is worth the
experience. Go into www.veniceinfo.it.,k
has excellant listing of hotels in all classes and price ranges.....
Richard of LaGrange Park, Il.

Thank you so much for all the advice. I am really appreciated those comments. Yes, I am quite concern about if the hotel near the train station because of the luggages as well as the budget. Well, for the votes I got from this post. I will definitely stay at the Alloggi Henry.

Thanks again to all of you.

Even when I had no money, I never considered staying in Mestre (and I've been there). The location of Santa Lucia train station is unlike any other in Italy. It happens to be situated in a very historical area of Venice and serves as the entrance gate to the Grand Canal. Attractiveness is relative and I find this area full of old-world beauty and charm. During my first visit to Venice, I stayed at an inexpensive pensione near the train station that had been recommended by a priest. At the time, I thought I had found a little piece of heaven. This was the beginning of my 28 year love affair with this special place. By all means, stay in Venice, even if it means going broke.

Hi

My wife and I went to Venice in June and we stayed at a hotel called Continental near the train station. It was nice to stay in Venice itself, to be able to walk right out of the hotel and into the city. I have posted a "review" of the hotel in my trip report on my homepage www.gardkarlsen by the way. I have also posted quite a lot of pictures from our trip :-)

Regards
gard
Stavanger, Norway

Yes, stay in Venice. Have you found customer comments on the Alloggi Henri?
I couldn't find it here, in the fodors.com hotel listings,or at tripadvisor.com

No need to stay in a hotel "blind"--find one that has had positive comments unless you feel you want to be a pioneer.

How do I find out about the Alloggi Henry, I have always stayed at the Hotel Plaza in Mestre which is directly accross the street from the train station at about $136.per night. Would love to stay near the Santa Lucia train station instead. Thanks, did you hear any good reviews yet on the Alloggi Henry?

If I were you, I would've stayed in the center of Venice (you can always take a vaparetto directly to the train station - only takes about 30 min). We just came back from Italy 2 days ago. In Venice we stayed at Hotel Al Piave (http://www.hotelalpiave.com/) and I highly recommend it -small, family-run, with a/c, good quality breakfast, center location and very friendly/English speaking staff.
Venice is a marvelous city but looks quite different near the train station...
Just my 0.02

How about staying in the Lido? That's where Death in Venice was situated, right? (Apologies if I have mistaken this.) At any rate, what are the plusses and minuses to staying in the Lido, compared to a more central location?

I agree with everyone - stay in Venice - not on Mestre and don't consider Lido, it's a pain in the butt catching the ferry all the time to go back and forth to main Venice - you will very soon tire of it - and it doesn't have the terrific atmosphere of Venice with all its narrow alleyways and canals.

The station area of Venice is definately not like the station areas of cities such as Rome or Florence, Milan etc and is quite ok to stay around that area. Remember - Venice is small so staying near the station means you are not that far from the Accademia, the Rialto or San Marco (all v. easy walking distance) plus you have the added advantages of being a little away from the great hords of tourists in San Marco, and with it slightly cheaper accommodation/restaurants etc, but not far enough that you can't enjoy it whenever you want.

I've recently booked a hotel through www.venere.com
They have hotels/B&B/townhouse suites in every price category. It's a very efficient service to use. If the hotel you picked out is fully booked, they will give you suggestions as to hotels in the same price category/location.