Help with Venice
 

I am down to the last leg of booking our trip to Europe for October 2008. In Venice we are looking at Best Western Hotel Sant' Elena, off the beaten tack or Best Western Bisanzio near St. Marks Sq. Has anyone stayed at either of these locations? We will be traveling from the cruise line which will deport us at St. Marks Sq and from there we will transport our luggage to the hotel. First trip to Europe and just a little unsure about all the arrangements.

We have stayed twice at the Locanda Orseolo, which is very near two different Best Westerns and also Saint Mark's Square. The location is great!
I would go with the Best Western Albergo if it is an option (although I can say nothing about the hotel itself).

May I ask why a Best Western? You may be able to find a local hotel of higher quality for a better value.

You will love Venice!

I'm curious what Tim and Liz mean by "finding a local hotel". Best Westerns in Europe ARE totally independent local hotels. They merely pay a fee to belong to the Best Union organization for marketing and reservations purposes, and it has nothing to do with value or lack of "local color". And often because they do work through BW, you can get really great deals -- sometimes better through BW than dealing with the hotel directly. It's nothing like staying at a corporate owned Marriott or something like that.

Thank you for the clarification NeoPatrick, and my apologies.

The other BW hotel near the Locanda Orseolo is Best Western Cavalletto E Doge Orseolo.

Good luck!

The Sant'Elena looks very nice, but it's in a remote location that I would not suggest for a first-time visitor. Also, I would doubt that you would find many places to eat in the area.

The Bisanzio is in a good location; restaurants tend to be pricier the closer you get to St. Mark's Square.

For the best combination of accessibility/restaurant choice, I would suggest something in Dorsoduro or San Polo.

Tim_and_Liz, Best Western hotels in Europe are local and individually owned; they are only marketed through the Best Western label. (Incidentally, "Best Western Albergo" means "Best Western Hotel"; I think you mean Albergo San Marco.)

We stayed at the Bisanzio during our first trip to Venice in 2003 and found it charming. Although it's connected with Best Western, it's in an old building with all the charm and character you'd associate with that. Our third floor room had a lovely terrace looking over the roofs of Venice. It was large, clean, and quiet with a big bathroom. The breakfast was a nice spread. The front desk was very helpful and they arranged for a private water taxi to takes us to Murano for free to see a glass blowing demonstration. Of course, I've come to find out that it's pretty standard practice to get tourists to buy glass wares. I guess they took us for rich Americans - silly people! The only negative I would express is that the most direct route to the hotel from the vaporetto stop is along the water over two bridges. With suitcases, it can be a chore. Once you know the lay of the land you can probably go through San Marco and the back lanes but you'd need a pretty detailed map.

Those two bridges along the Riva degli Schiavoni on the way to the Bisanzio now have ramps for accessibility. With wheeled luggage, they should pose no problems.

I was looking at the Best Western due to the value compared to the other hotels in the area. Any other suggestions are welcome. The Sant' Elena is a remote location and after a two week cruise I thought the idea of quite location would be appealing. We will most likely spend the two days in Venis to visit St. Marks Sq and take a water taxi through the canals. I will also take a look at Locanda Orseolo Tim and Liz...thank you

Our Venice hotel was very quiet in Dorsoduro, just steps from the Ca'Rezzonica vaporetto stop. It was very easy to ride to/from San Marco on line 1. Here is my previous description:

In Venice we stayed in Dorsoduro by the Ca' Rezzonico museum, about 50 meters from the vaporetto stop by the same name. The hotel was Locanda San Barnaba on Calle Traghetto. It was a very quiet place, very lovely with a 1st floor salon, marble staircases, sweet patio with umbrella tables and a private boat 'dock'. I would happily stay there again - the gentlemen at the desk was very charming and enjoyed talking with the guests, and he also ran the bar and espresso machine. There is no elevator but the staff will carry your bags up. There were a number of good restaurants within a 10-minute walk yet hardly any 'tourist' traffic in the immediate area. Our rooms were the 'classic' doubles for 170euro (one with double bed, one with twin beds - we were 2 couples).

http://www.locanda-sanbarnaba.com/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ce_Veneto.html
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/hotels...mp;s=dorsoduro

We've also stayed at the Bisanzio. It was a nice hotel with a great location. We've mostly stayed in the Castello area and have always enjoyed it.

Years ago I visited a friend of mine who was staying at the Best Western Sant' Elena--but at that time it was a convent that offered cheap clean lodging in Venice. Don't think cloisters, just a relatively nondescript building. Within about the last six years or so it was been converted into a full-service hotel (my friend still complains that she's lost her deal).

Anyway, one thing that hasn't change about the Sant' Elena area in all those years is the quiet. Yes, it is quiet, but I think, as others have said, way too quiet for a first-time visitor. It's one thing to be a 10-minute walk from the action and quite another to be a 30-minute walk from the action. There are hotels in Castello that would still be convenient to your cruise while being a bit off the beaten track.