Hello,

We are planning a trip to Florence and Venice summer 2006 and was looking for hotel recommendations. We are looking for a hotel that is in a good location and clean, doesn't have to be real fancy since we won't be spending much time in the hotel.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

We have stayed at the Villa Stella twice a year for the 3 years. .
Villa Stella is family run and one of the sisters (it passes down the female line)is generally in attendance. They all speak excellent English. There is a garden to sit in and they will always get you a drink or tea and coffee, though most people tend to be out most of the day. It's a hotel to sleep in not to spend the day in - though nobody minds if you want to hang about - but why would you when there's so much to see? There is also a fridge in your room stocked with drinks. All the rooms have private facilities, loos and showers. There is always hot water. There isn't a lift so ask for the first floor if you can't take stair climbing.

. The Alilaguna boat from Marco Polo (Easyjet) calls at the Lido or from Treviso, if you have to fly there (Ryanair - and Treviso at present is more like a large shed) you get on the No 1 boat at Piazzale Roma and go all the way down the Canale Grande to the Lido. (Buy your three day transport tickets at Treviso when you pay for the Ryanair bus.)

You can walk to the hotel from the landing stage in about 10 minutes but your travel ticket allows you to hop on and off the 'B' bus or the Circolare, if you don't want the walk. If you do choose to walk, there is a bar and a fabulous greengrocer (try the peaches and the figs)on the way.
Thoroughly recommended. A number of our friends have stayed there on our recommendation and said they enjoyed it, too.
Villa Stella has a nice personal website
with fantastic packages offers

Would suggest staying in Venice itself, rather than Mestre or Lido....much more convenient for everything, and there ARE some reasonably priced hotels. There have been many posts about Venice hotels - try a search. Locanda Novo is where I stayed in May 2004. Loved it!

I, too, recommend Venice proper. We like the Hotel Ala.

This am there was an affordable Venice hotel post- you may want to check it. We stayed at Ca Rezzonica in Dosoduoro in October and would recommend it.

Here's the link...
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...amp;dirtyBit=1

I agree, stay right in Venice, much better than having to go back and forth to the Lido. People can give better recommendations if you tell us how much you want to spend per night.

Hi R,

What's your budget?

Thanks everyone for your responses.

If possible I would not like to spend more than 150.oo per night US.

ronnie, I can't help with specific places I've stayed, as my hotel was higher than what you want to spend (I needed an elevator), but if you do a search here for Venice Hotels, you'll find lots of recommendations for hotels in your price range (especially if you don't need an elevator!).

Buongiorno

Florence: http://www.soggiornobattistero.it or http://www.hotelferretti.it

Venice: our neighbours stayed at http://www.bbalessandra.com. They loved it especially the breakfasts!

Book ASAP.

Ciao