Hotel centrally located in Venice
 

My husband and I will be in Venice the last week of September for about 3-4 days, and this is our first trip to Venice. Can you recommend a hotel that is somewhat centrally located to some of the more famous things to sightsee (we just don't want to end up booking a hotel that's not close to anything!). Appreciate your thoughts. Thanks.
rjs

Before anyone can possibly comment, I think you need to give us a budget. If you're looking for a place for 100 euro a night, the answers are going to be considerably different than if you are willing to spend 500 a night (easy to do in Venice).

Hi

Venice is quite small so I wouldn't worry too much about the location of the hotel. My wife and I stayed at Hotel Continental by the train station and we could walk over to San Marco without any problems...OK, we did get lost a couple of times but that is part of the charm :-) I have posted a trip report with a few pictures on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com. Maybe you can find some useful information there.

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

Visiting Venice is basically like going round and round in circles, so anywhere can be centrally located...especially if you buy a vaporetto pass which gives you unlimited on and off privileges! We bought 72-hour vaporetto passes for 22 euros each, convenient and fun.

Oh, one more thing, definitely stay on the main part of Venice for its charm...don't stay across the water from Venice.

Price-wise, we'd pay around the 165 Euro range for lodging. Melissa, I like the idea of staying in the main part of Venice, and thanks for the info on buying a 72 hour vaporetto pass. Is there a certain place to purchase these vaporetto passes?
rjs

We like the Hotel Ala, which is very centrally located about a 10 minute walk from San Marco. It is on a small square with a small canal on the side - very atmospheric if you can get a room overlooking the canal. It is a minute from a vaporetto stop. The rate, including breakfast, is in your price range. I know you can get the vaporetto pass at a number of stops but for sure at the San Marco stop.

I have posted a similar question. There will be 5 of us in Venice (arriving day after Easter). I'd like to stay somewhere central, but I'm not sure what is considered "central"? What should I look for nearby?

rjs: I found a nice review of the various areas in venice at www.slowtrav.com here is the link:
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/maps/venice.htm

Hotel ALa as a previous poster mentioned is pretty good. The hardest part about hotels in Venice is finding them...and this is true for most properties. I am directionally challenged and decided to stay at the Monaco and Grand Canal hotel which was awesome! There are some great deals on www.venere.com and they also give maps and area information about properties..at the bottom of the page, you will find a map and you can see the various sections of Venice and the properties in that specific section...also try www.utell.com for some deals.

Look at a map & see the Rialto Bridge, San Marcos, bridge L'Accademia, these would all be considered central IMO.

As mentioned Venice is not all that big (just don't book a hotel in Mestre or the Lido or something).

I prefer the Dorsoduro along the Guidecca canal and favor Pensione La Calcina. Others feel even this is too far out because it's a 10 min. walk into San Marcos. Some people don't mind staying at the budget hotels around the train station for me that would be too far out.

So never fear, if you book in central Venice you will be close to something. Just look at a map for each hotel location you are considering.

You should try to book as soon as possible! I've been researching for the first week of October and some places are already booked. Hotel Ala quoted 220-240 euros for a plain double (not superior, no view).

You can look at reviews at tripadvisor.com to get some more ideas.

We are staying at the Palazzeto da Schio, which is not in the center, which we consider a plus. It is a short vaparetto ride from San Marco.

Pensione La Calcina for me, too - bright rooms with lovely views of the Guidecca canal and a waterside open-air casual bar/restaurant, great for relaxing after sightseeing and quiet as well

There are loads of nice hotels in your price range in Venice. You can do a search here for "Venice hotels" and wade through the information. Some popular choices here are La Calcina (they fill up way in advance), Galleria, and Accademia. Locanda Orseolo, steps from San Marco, gets rave reviews but may be a little more than you want to spend. We stayed in a fairly new hotel, Casa Rezzonico in May and LOVED it. It's in Dorsoduro near Campo Santa Margherita. It has a beautiful garden area where you eat breakfast, large comfortable rooms, and fantastic, friendly service. There are only 7 rooms. We paid 145E a night.

Hotel Flora, near Piazza San Marco but on a small street, very quiet.

rjs, you buy the 72-hour vaporetto pass in the same lines at the vaporetto ticket counters where you would buy all vaporetto tickets.

Don't bother to take the private taxi boats to your hotel, it's not worth the money and they wouldn't bargain when we were there. Take the public vaporettos which are like buses. (However when you leave Venice if you are going to the airport you might want to have your hotel get a private taxi boat for you to the airport from your hotel for convenience.)

We thought the vaporetto was fun even with lots of people on-board. But you should only bring as much luggage as each person is capable of handling on their own!

We chose the dorsoduro area of Venice to stay in on the advice of my friend who has travelled to Italy lots of times. He was right, it's a pleasant and convenient area of Venice, more quiet than San Marco and yet close to San Marco.

Don't stay in the San Marco area as it's the most crowded and the ATM machines in that area were always out of money when we were there, probably due to over-use. Also the best gelato in Venice is NOT in San Marco square.

Centrally located in Venice has a unique meaning. Any hotel which is a short walk from the Grand Canal or on the Grand Canal is centrally located because the vaporetto is the easiest way to get around Venice. The vaporetto goes all around Venice via the Grand Canal. Think of Venice sort of like an island with the Grand Canal wrapped around it, although Venice isn't actually an island, but this image helps you to imagine Venice.

Buy a vaporetto pass according to how many days you will be in Venice because it gives you unlimited on and off privileges. We bought the 72-hour vaporetto pass for 22 euros each. I really enjoyed taking the vaporettos and I always found a spot near the railing to stand and watch Venice going by. It's a short vaporetto ride all around Venice.

So the only hotels that AREN'T centrally located in Venice would be those which are furthest from the Grand Canal. Hotels located on smaller canals just a short walk from the Grand Canal are also fine locations.

As an option to the vaporetto pass, there's also the Venice Card which will give you unlimited vaporetto rides + discounts to museums, etc. We used ours to get a discount on our hotel, a few meals, and free admission to some of the major sights. You also have the option of adding in transportation from/to the airport. The website is
www.venicecard.com

We found it convenient and easy to use, but only worth the money if you are taking advantage of more than the free vaporetto rides.

Historical Venice is an island--actually many smaller lagoon islands that have been built on and connected over the years so that the central, historical city is on three major islands for all practical purposes: the two separated by the Grand Canal, and the Guidecca.

Try the Hotel Panada. It's location is steps from St. Mark's and perfect for enjoying all of Venice. I believe it is a three star, and quite reasonable.