hi my husband and i are going to venice in late march .... has anyone stayed at la residenza or the salute da cici or san samuele? we can't decide if its smart to economize in venice or not.<BR>any advice appreciated.<BR>thanks!

My opinion is it is a waste of money to spend 100's of dollars on a hotel room,I can take a two week trip including airfare and food for the price of a one week stay at the gritti palace! Who wants to pay for a fancy lobby and bad advice from a consierge? I have never paid more than $150 for a hotel room,next trip to Venice,I am staying at the hotel galleria for $145/night and consider it a splurge.<BR>For my 15 night trip in sept/october average cost per night is under $90 (including Venice).RR

thanks for the advice! do you have any budget hotel suggestions for venice .... i tried the galleria but they are full ....<BR>Thanks again!

I have stayed in the Hotel Art Deco which is in a very good location in near Santo Stefano square. Staff spoke english well enough,owner speaks Italian,French,German and English. It was fun when she had several people to talk to from different countries at the same time.Also check out www.venere.com can go to a map gives hotel info, photos and reviews. RR

RobertR states his opinion very strongly; we all have different ideas about what a &quot;waste of money&quot; is. I have on some occasions spent more than $150 for a hotel but I never want bad advice or only a fancy lobby.<BR><BR>If you do a search here for Venice hotel you will find many past suggestions, most in the economy-minded range. I haven't confirmed current prices, but do searches here or on the web for the Accademia pensione, the San Moise hotel, Locanda Barbarigo, La Calcina, Hotel Canada,<BR>Locanda Casa Petrarca, Albergo Corona,<BR>Albergo Gambero, Locanda Al Leon.

What do you get for $700/night? RR

anyone ever heard of the locanda ss giovanni i paolo in venice? if so, thoughts?

I always recommend Pensione La Calcina on the Guidecca canal (stayed there twice and absolutely loved it!) but recently have seen posted that there is or was construction in front of the hotel that was disruptive. Anyone know if this is current?<BR><BR>www.lacalcina.com<BR><BR>

Our family of four stayed at a very lovely Ventian Bed &amp; Beakfast just this past summer. It is called C'a della Corte. It is a XVI century Venetian Palace with its own courtyard, located in the Dorsoduro neighborhood and the Piazzle Roma (main bus station). It is in a real authentic Venetian neighborhood, away from all the throngs of tourists. I would go back in a minute. You can read about it on their website<BR>http://www.cadellacorte.com/

Hi Sylvandweller,<BR><BR>I stayed at Locanda Barbarigo and loved it. We were there in April and it was under $150 for two. If you'd like to read about highlights for shopping, eating, museums in Venice, you can type in &quot;kiki&quot; into the search box and my trip report will pop up. It also includes Florence and the Amalfi Coast, in case you are going there too.<BR><BR>Have a nice trip!<BR><BR>

Here's a 1-star with private baths, etc. Location looks great. Worth checking out.<BR><BR>http://www.hotelalvagon.com/uk/rooms.htm

Hi,<BR><BR>we are going mid-march and had exactly the same question as you... in the end I checked out Fodors quite extensively and particularly the Rants and Rave section which has a lot of Venice hotels , and similarly looked through hotel discounter websites to see if any names came up which I had read about. In the end we will stay at Hotel MonteCarlo just behind St. Marco (which had v. good reviews in Rants&amp;Rave) - when I contacted them directly they quoted 160 Euros per night, but I found an offer on all-hotels.com for this hotel and the same dates for 140 Euros (breakfast and taxes incl.). Needless to say which one we took... good luck and have a nice trip! katrin

Just another idea....I'm staying in a one bedroom, private apartment, with full ammenities, and 360 degree view terrace for 120 euro per night. And, that's during high season.<BR>

Hi, <BR>I haven't stayed but one time in Venice at the Walter and Canal Hotel. It was last September and I guess we were in the soft season - got the room for 90 E and it's 150 for March now - the last time I looked.<BR>Since that is more than we can pay (and it was a nice 3 star hotel and nothing more) I searched on (and on) and found the Ambassador Tre Rose that was running a special in March. (And still is, I think). If you stay 3 nights you get the 4th night free. We booked a superior double ( 1 category upgrade) and will be paying 86 E per night. I haven't found much about it, but what I have is good, although people had paid a good bit more. It is (almost too) close to San Marco - but it will be easy to get there by water bus and equally easy to leave for the airport 5 days later! Good luck. I'll post how this hotel actually was when we return on the 20th of March.<BR>Feel free to email me at [email protected]<BR>We are leaving in SIX days!!!

February Issue of Frommer's budget traveler mag, recommended these &quot;Little Wonders&quot; in Venice<BR><BR>Hotel Bernardi-Semenzato, [email protected]<BR><BR>Pensione Al Guerrato - www.web.tiscali.it/pensioneguerrato<BR><BR>Albergo Doni - no website - review indicates modestly sized room with creaky furniture - but all is forgiven when you check into room 8 and see the Murano chandelier and you look out the window and see the gondolas go by. Rooms 3, 12, 20 &amp; 21 share the view<BR><BR>Foresteria Valdese - www.chiesavaldese.org/venezia<BR><BR>Hotel San Samuele - no website - Clean but simple. Every year they renovate something, last year it was rooms 9 &amp; 10 - which are now carpeted and non-smoking. The overlook the courtyard<BR><BR>Hotel Caneva - www.hotelcaneva.com -Great location and 17 of 23 rooms overlook a canal to the palazzo where Casanova once lived<BR><BR>Hotel Sliva Ariel - no website - Two blocks from Jewish Ghetto, &quot;cozy&quot; rooms, modular 80's baths<BR><BR>Albergo Dalla Mora - no website - little touristed Santa Croce neighborhood across Grand Canal from train station. Half of the rooms overlook the Malcanton canal. Basic but large rooms<BR><BR>Casa Gerotto Calderan - www.casagerottocalderan.com - backpacker haven<BR><BR>Hotel Galleria - www.hotelgalleria.it - only one room (#8)overlooking the grand canal, but it looks amazing for the price<BR>

I think it is smart to economize in Venice. It is a small and safe city. So, economizing will not leave you far from points of interest or in questionable areas, as economizing sometimes does in larger cities. In 2000 we stayed at the Hotel Bisanzio for $80/night (the exchange rate was better than). It was clean, basic, and included breakfast. It's a Best Western, and while that's not a terribly romantic idea, I think it is better to save the cash for cities where you may need to be concerned about location and safety.