Hello, <BR>My girlfriend and I are in the process of planning a 6 day trip for venice and need some help finding a hotel. We'd like to spend about 150$ a night but will spend more if needed. Most of what we've been able to find on the net has been very expensive. So your tips and advice would be greatly appreciated. I visited 18 years ago and have wanted to return for some time. thanks

I would avoid the San Marco, close to the train station and Rialto areas and try to find a hotel in San Polo or Accademia, to me the most beautiful part of Venice. I can't reccommend the hotel we had which was in San Marco. There are many other posters who've posted their good Accademia hotel experiences; do a search on Venice and Hotels... bon voyage.

Hi John, If you're interested in a charming little Bed n' Breakfast on the Guidecca Canal in Accademia try La Calcina. I found it through Karen Brown's Guide. It wasn't too expensive; a three star, small rooms, but clean and the staff is great!

John - Elaine's advise was excellent. The Karen Brown books are a fabulous guide to quaint hotels and b & b's. Karen Brown can also be found on the web.

John: <BR>Karen Brown's guide is good; we stayed at the Pensione Seguso reccommended by her and it was wonderful. Somewhat near the Accademia Bridge. Price included breakfast and either lunch or dinner. Food was good and with Venice prices the total of about $150/night was great. Be sure to ask for a room with a bath. The staff was helpful and the rooms clean and attractive. The Pensione is on a canal, but it is still quiet and very quaint; it dates from the 1600's. We were very pleased with it overall. See karenbrown.com/italyinns/pensioneseguso. html phone (041) 52 86 858. Their fax <BR>is (041( 52 22 340. Best wishes for a great trip!

John, <BR>While the name of the hotel isn't very romantic, Hotel American, it was very nice. It's in your price range, and I would just specify that you have one of the rooms more recently remodeled. We had a beautiful room on the third floor, and the air conditioning worked great. The hotel is on a quiet canal near the Accademia Bridge, and we very much liked the location. <BR>I found the hotel listed in one of Fodor's books and just reserved the room online. If interested you could do a search online to find the hotel. <BR> <BR>

It's probably more than $150/night but the Hotel Metropole was fantastic. It's on the Grand Canal. Our room overlooked a side canal which was probably better. While it didn't have the Grand view, it didn't have the morning commuter noise either. They also have garden view rooms. The staff was excellent and the room, while typically small, was comfortable.

Just back from Italy including four days in Venice. Highly recommend Hotel Do Pozzi. Think we paid about $160 a night including breakfast. Hotel is the equivalent of two blocks from Piazza San Marco and in a courtyard off the main drag, Via 'something' XII. It's dead bang quiet, almost like being in the country. Very nice eating breakfast in the courtyard, listening to the church bells. They have a website and the pictures, while nice, don't do the place justice. BTW, we did the American Express, Gondola by moonlight thing at $25 per person. Skip it and make your own arrangements. It was like being in a series of tour busses with singers and musicians. The gondoliers were making fun of the music when they weren't smoking or talking on their cell phones. The general impression was they couldn't wait to move on to the next gig. Only disappointment in Venice. The place is crawling with gondoliers. Next time I'd negotiate a price on the dock, explain that I want an hour ride through the canals, no singing, tell him to relax and we'll do the rest. Venice is fabulous.

We've stayed twice at the Pensione Seguso, right beside the Calcina. It's very much like staying with a well-to-do family in Venice. It's filled with antiques and has a special Venetian charm of days gone by. The rms are comfortable, homey but not luxurious; we loved the quiet location on the Zattere away from the madness of San Marco. Our rm faced Guidecca which gave it a wide-open, expansive feel. It gets a large repeat clientele.

John, <BR>The last 2 times I went to Venice, I stayed at the Hotel Principe, which was very nice. It is located near the train station. That area is a little less touristy and you can take a ferry to San Marco, etc. I think it's in your price range. I had booked it through Italia Tour in NY. You can look up their web site. Also, Best Western has a hotel near the train station called Hotel Amadeus. I didn't stay there, but heard it was nice. <BR>Venice is wonderful! Enjoy your trip! <BR>

We just returned from Venice and stayed at the Hotel Galleria. It was a small room ans we didn't have a bathroom in the room. However we were on the grand canal, the room was very clean, the staff was friendly AND it was under $100 a night. Another advantage was that is was very easy to get to, being just 50 feet from the "bus" stop. <BR> <BR>If you have the funds the Accadamia that's often recommended here on the forum looked absolutely beatiful.

Last year my wife and I spent four wonderful days at the Pensionne Accademia. The location is absolutely amazing-- a minute from the Accademia and the Accademia bridge, 5 minutes to San Marco square---it is the only free standing villa in all of Venice, it is surrounded on three sides by canals and has beautiful gardens. The rooms are very nice- we had room 15 which had a view over the back garden and a little canal which was very nice--high ceilings, great furniture and a nice bathroom. The staff were wonderful--especially Luciano who helped us with everything and anything-- including some great local restaurants. The only drawback of the Accdemia is availability. We made our reservations about 9 months ahead of time and were o.k., but I know people who have made reservations as early as close as 3 months an not being able to get a room. I think our room was $240 a night but there are cheaper ones--that's all they had when were there. The $240 seems high but in Venice it is not too bad and, frankly, was worth every penny. In fact, one night we had dinner with a couple we met who were staying at the Gritti Palace and they were spending $600 a night and they wanted to stay at the Accademia but it was booked. They came by the hotel to check it out and were floored how great it looked. By the way, breakfast is included! You can read more about the hotel in Karen Brown's Guide to Italy, Travel & Liesure profiled it a couple of years ao and there is a new book by the Eyewitness Guide folks called "Great Placed to Stay In Europe"--think 5 star hotels costing $500 a night-- that includes the Accademia among its few recommendations for Venice. Venice is a magical place--make sure you walk the streets at night when all the tourists head back to the mainland and whatever you do, do not miss a side trip to Torcello and the church on the island--one of the most amazing mosaics I have ever seen. Have a great trip!