Hello all~ I am new to this website, but it came highly recommended. We are planning our Honeymoon for June '07 and we fly into Venice. I would prefer not to use a travel agent to plan this, but I was told that Venice is extremely expensive and hotels book up 6+ months in advance, meaning that we'd need to make a reservation soon. I don't think that we'll want to stay in Venice more than a night or two. Can anyone advise about how far in advance we need to make a reservation and a good, centrally located hotel (or B&B) that would be in the mid-class range that they would recommend? Thanks!

I highly recommend the Residence Corte Grimani. It is a combination of an apartment and a hotel. The large rooms and a small kitchenette of an apartment, but with a front desk and 24 hour assistance and a cleaning service.

It's located close to St. Mark's and the Rialto Bridge.

www.cortegrimani.com

I second the Corte Grimani. Fantastic location, on a small canal, between the Rialto Bridge and St. Marks. The furnishings are lovely.

Not sure what price you mean by "mid", but for a honeymoon, I cannot imagine a nicer room than the Hotel Marconi in one of their two (I believe) rooms that overlook the Grand Canal, just a few steps from the Rialto Bridge. It is a lovely, low-key place that many on this board have liked.

http://www.hotelmarconi.it/

If you go to their webpage, you can search for the day and type of room you want. We stayed there in 2000 and liked it very much. We did not have a canal view but were able to peek in while the maids were doing the room between guests and it was like a scene from a movie to look out the windows!! Happy wedding.

We loved the Hotel Antiche Figure. It get uniformly good reviews on TripAdvisor and I can attest to the fact that what they say is true. Opt for one of the canal-front rooms with the little Juliet balcony. Some would say it's not the greatest location because it's across from the train station but we took the train into Venice from Florence, so it was perfect. And it was not a long vaporetto ride to St. Marks Square. It's a charming little hotel.

www.lacalcina.com ask for a corner room with a view of the Guidecca canal. I would contact them now. They do fill up early because it is a (deservedly) popular place and it is not "extremely expensive" but IS very nice.

Locanda Orseolo...and my vote is for 2 nights although you didn't ask for it. Check out reviews on Tripadvisor.com.

And yes, you definitely need to make reservations this early if you would like your #1 pick for June. I've already made my reservations for Thanksgiving 2007!

made my reservations 2 months ago for May for Pensione La Calcina. I vote for at least 3 nights!

Another nice one is Pensione Accademia, very close to the Accademia Bridge, gallery and the Guggenheim. And I think 3 nights at a minimum.

KC

Well we are only in Italy for 9 days and we want to see Venice, Cinque Terre, Tuscany/Florence, and Rome. Would you still recommend more than one night in Venice?!

LOCANDO ORSEOLO, LOCANDO ORSEOLO, BEST HOTEL IN THE BEST LOCATION AND THE FRIENDLIEST MOST HELPFUL STAFF I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED. YOU CAN GET A GONDOLA TO BRING YOU RIGHT TO THE DOOR AND YOU ARE A 2 MINUTE WALK TO ST. MARKS SQUARE. BEAUTIFUL ROOM OVERLOOKING THE CANALS. TELL THE STAFF HELLO, THEY STILL SEND US EMAILS TWO YEARS LATER.

just got back from venice, and I definitely recommend 2 nights, especailly as you will be recovering from jet-lag. you'll want to spend at least one full day there [a full week would be more like it, but that's not your plan] and you can make it as busy or relaxing as you like, combining sightseeing, [St. Mark's the Doge's palace] with relaxing on the boats, or even a gondola. the going rate was E73 for 50 minutes, which doesn't seem too steep for a honeymoon!
the recommendations for hotels from OPs seem fine - just don't heitate too long.
good luck!

kakiebell, it's well-known that the Locanda Orseolo is a nice hotel and it's so popular nowadays that it's difficult to reserve a room so there's no reason to shout.

desireepratt- My daughter and I went to about the same areas you have listed. In Venice we stayed at the Realis which is right in San Marco square.Our room overlooked the plaza. How wonderful. Where all the action is, especially at night. Just beautiful.They have battle of the bands (classical), dinner on the plaza, etc. The people were very nice there.

desireepratt- If you are arriving in Venice right after you get to europe from the US, I would suggest at least a couple of nights. The time change etc, you're just beat when you get there. It's hard to have a good time and do tours when you're dead tired.

It is your honeymoon and Venice is imo the most romantic place on your itinerary. YES I strongly recommend more than one night (especially since it is your first stop and you will be tired from the jet lag, assuming you are arriving from US/Canada?).

I would stay 2-3 nights and make a hotel reservation somewhere asap.

Does anyone know anything about Ca' Maria Adele? I found it as a recommendation by Fodor's, but no one has rated it. It looks amazing, and for the looks of it, the price is reasonable (we are trying to stay around $300 USD/night or less). Is there something wrong with the location? It just seems like it would be more expensive based on the pictures.

franchophile03--sorry to offend you, i did not know that was shouting-i am not quite used to this site--just trying to help someone.

Better advice is to cut out the number of places you're visiting over 9 days.

You can easily split the full 9 days between Rome and Venice and still not do justice to these cities, especially Rome.

Or do Rome and Florence as they're closer together.

For Venice and Rome, research open jaw flights, flying into one, flying out of the other. Then just take the train in between but that's probably a whole day transit.

In Rome and Florence at least, you can go to the surrounding areas, like Naples, Villa Este around Rome or Siena, Pisa in Florence, not to mention the Tuscan country side and wine regions.

In 9 days, to hit all those places, you'll be on the move every day and will have to rush through these places, barely see anything with the crowds. And yes, there will be huge crowds.

Another vote for cutting down on the number of destinations on your honeymoon. Let's say you have 9 days -does that mean 9 nights? Use the very helpful general rule of thumb that every time you change hotels/locations, you lose 1/2 day. To get to Venice, Cinque Terre, Tuscany/Florence, and Rome (counting Tuscany and Florence as two separate locations), you're spending less than 2 days in each place. Tell yourself that you WILL return, and cut it down to two or three destinations. I would suggest Venice, Florence and rural Tuscany. Even though I LOVE Rome, there's so much there that it's better on a separate trip to more southern parts of Italy.