Shelly

We are booking our hotel in Venice for our first trip there. I have availability faxes from several places and I'm not sure if I should weed out the ones without a view. I can get into the Fenice des Artistes but no view? I also can get into Rialto, Ala, and Locanda Ovidius with views. We also can get into Sturion, San Moise, and American. I've picked all of these based on recommendations on the board, but cannot decide what would be the best. We want to stay somewhere memorable and romantic. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Rex

Just one person's opinion, but there are so many other factors more important than view when choosing a hotel in Venice. <BR> <BR>If hotel A offered free apples at the front desk and hotel B gave me a cana view, I might be tempted to go with hotel A, assuming all other things identical. <BR> <BR>Of course, location makes it such that no two hotels ever are identical. <BR> <BR>I only know where half the places you mention are - -unless I go look them up. <BR> <BR>Many people like Locanda Sturion, but remember that it has no elevator. <BR> <BR>I think that the staff at Rialto seemed nice on a "check-it-out" visit two years ago, but a room for four was the same size as a room for two (except that it had wall-to-wall beds!) - - so I decided not to use it. <BR> <BR>Some people might say that Ala is in a weird location, but I'm not sure that that is a fair criticism. I can tell you that they would NOT accept a reservation for six rooms when I told them that it was predominantly teenagers ("no groups", they told me) - - so you might actually like that about them. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

Kathy

Shelly, <BR>I enjoyed Sturion so much because 1)we only had to walk up one flight, 2)quick walk to Ponte Rialto, Piazza San Marco, etc., 3) our bedroom window overlooked a quiet side street, so sleeping undisturbed at night wasn't an issue 4) view out of breakfast room was lovely. <BR> <BR>Sorry I can't comment on other Venice accomodations, but I hope this added a bit of clarity to your situation. <BR>Kathy

Bob

I am not familar with any of the hotels but I do not think the view from your hotel in Venice is as important as getting a clean place that is well located. <BR> <BR>On our three trips to Venice through the years we spent so much time out of the room exploring the city that I honestly think we would not have appreciated a great view. <BR> <BR>On our last trip in Oct 99 we stayed at the Al Gambero on Calle dei Fabbri. Nice place, remodeled, very clean rooms. Our room overlooked a small canal. Fun, but again we were gone a lot. Go for the great room and good location. Forget the view and enjoy being out in the city.

Celeste

I just returned from my second visit to Venice. I didn't think a view really mattered to me, especially having been there before, but when I arrived at Locanda Sturion (which was wonderful!), they offered me one of their two rooms on the Grand Canal for 50,000 lire more per night and I took it. And I'm so glad I did! <BR> <BR>Looking out the window at the activity on the Grand Canal and the sidewalks along it was wonderful entertainment! I also liked studying the palazzos across the canal. I'm sure I would have liked the Sturion just as much without the canal view, because the rooms and the service are great, but it was just wonderful having that view. <BR> <BR>As others have mentioned, there is a walk of 69 marble steps to get to the Sturion. It seemed a small price to pay, and I didn't gain any weight even after all that gelato!

richard j vicek

Good evening, Shelly A room with a view comes mostly advanced room rate., <BR>however since it would be your first <BR>trip, personnlly would consider it, even <BR>if above budget. Only concern with a <BR>room without a view would be one not <BR>located directly overlooking a calle <BR>which can be noisy all night long. <BR>Might look at the Marconi as it has <BR>a good view of the Grand Canal..... <BR>Richard of LaGrange Park,Il..

Chris

Short answer - YES - Get a view. While I am not familiar with the hotels you mentioned, my wife and I stayed at the Gritti Palace on the Grand Canal. We had a corner room with a view of the Santa Maria. Each morning we would open the windows to our terrace and be able to hear and smell Venice. The sound of singing gondoleers and the smell of flowers was as romantic as the view itself. We like in Manhattan, so the ability to look outside and be surrounded by water and feel the openness of Venice was also wonderful. Lastly, Venice itself is a living museum, to be able to see it from up top and afar as well as with, will make your sense of remembrance and awe be all the more incredible.

TexasJaz

Venice, and you can get a view (and can afford it). You've got to be kidding folks. <BR>Yes, Yes, Yes. <BR>I was there last summer. Our hotel was on the Grand Canal, and our room overlooked another room's bathroom. Yes, we weren't there much, but we probably would have sat out and watched the people if we had a room overlooking the Canal, as I saw people doing every evening. We didn't spend much time eating breakfast either, but I really enjoyed looking out across the Canal during breakfast. After all, isn't that a large part of going to Venice anyway? <BR>Venice doesn't have the best gelato, but eat some for me anyway. <BR>And when things don't work, just remember that "It's Italy" and there's nothing you can do about it, so relax, forget about it and enjoy yourself.

Thomas

Go for broke, THE Rialto Hotel at the Rialto Bridge. Canal view could be tough if not booking well in advance. <BR> <BR>Get a view if you can, why not? Must be dozens of hotels, if there's one. Don't hesitate to call the hotel direct and ask flat out what they have for views.

Jane

Richard, you mentioned that overlooking a calle can be noisy. What is a calle? Is it an aqueous 'street' or a solid-ground one? Would a calle be noisier than the Grand Canal? Thanks

elaine

Hi Shelly <BR>I just don't see how anyone can answer your main question for you. We all have different preferences and priorities, whether it be the view, or having <BR>air conditioning, or having an elevator, or having a large room, or just having the lowest price. <BR>What else is important to you? Location for example? How about evaluating the hotels on the things you're sure you want, (close to San Marco vs more removed from San Marco, air conditioning or not, elevators or not, etc) and then when you've narrowed it down to two, decide on the view or not, if a view is even an option at that point. <BR>I'm someone who has been obsessing about hotel choices recently, until I reminded myself that there is more than one good hotel in each city, more than ten good hotels in each city. The ones each have us have tried and liked are the ones we recommend, but that doesn't mean there aren't other great ones that we just haven't tried yet. <BR>

Ursula

Jane: A "calle" is a solid-ground small, narrow street. And yes, Richard is correct, it can be noisy all night long with pedestrians shouting and laughing around all night long.

carol

I've been to Venice a number of times and managed to fall in love with it despite the fact that I have never had a room with a view. I happen to love the location of the Ala, it's on the same quiet little square (campo)as the 5* Gritti Palace, very convenient to all the sights, but not in the hectic areas. There's also a vaporetto stop a block away. I like the Fenice, especially if you can get a room on the courtyard, but the reconstruction of the opera house next door makes it kind of messy now. I'd pick the Ala for the view and the location--I definitely prefer it to the Rialto area which is much more crowded and noisier and not as serene.

Tina

If you can get one, yeah, it's kinda nifty to have "a room with a view" --- but really quite unnecessary. Think about it --- how much time are you planning to spend sitting in the room looking out the window? Maybe 10 minutes in the morning when you get up & perhaps a bit in evening ??? <BR> <BR>As others have outlined, there's alot more critical factors (location, location, location) when selecting a hotel. I'd place the 'view issue' below following: <BR> -- location <BR> -- convenience <BR> -- cost <BR> -- cleanliness <BR>

richard j vicek

To whom it may concern: <BR>This posting has made me realize tht <BR>after many trips to Venice, we have <BR>never had a room with a view of the <BR>Canal or major sight. Mostly the most <BR>prominent view of Venice for years was <BR>a third floor windown overlooking the <BR>Ponte Ostreghe, with people going up <BR>and down all day and night, and a bar <BR>opeing early and closing late. Still <BR>was wonderful. Next time wil get a room <BR>with a view. Richard of LaGrange Park, Il...

Shelly

Thank you all for your help with this question. I still haven't made a final decision but will focus on location, service, cleanliness, and with a view! This has helped me realize that wherever we end up staying it will be wonderful. It's just hard when you have never been and aren't sure what to expect and what's important. That's what makes this board so useful. Thanks again.

Patti Suttle

When I travel I usually don't like to stay right in the thick of the tourist areas. Venice is where you should walk around until you are on quiet canals away from the hustle and bustle. And, that is exactly what we did. We stayed at the Iris Hotel-not fancy-but clean and we loved it. It was on a little canal that provided the greatest ocean breezes and in the morning the locals were walking by to work. There were little chesse shops, bakeries and lots of other little Venetian shops for the locals-no tourists around much. Our room was right on the little canal and it was great-esp. the feel of that cool air. <BR>Venice is wonderful! <BR>Patti <BR>Patti

Linda

Hi Shelly, <BR> <BR>I'm leaving for Italy next week. I have never been to Venice, and was wondering the same thing about the view. I reserved a room for one night at the Pensione La Calcina after reading rave reviews on this site & others. It' in the Dosoduro area, and some rooms have a view of a canal. This area is supossed to be less crowded and quieter than the San Marco area. For the 2nd night (couldn't get in to the La Calcina on both nights)I reserved the Hotel Metropole, which is in the San Marco area. This hotel is a 4 star & received good review on Fodors.com & in The Karen Brown Charming Inns & Itineraries -Italy book. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps you plan. Also, I've used e-mail to make all of my reservations, and it seems to have worked great. Guess I'll find out when I get there! There is another good web-site I used at www.venere.it. You can make reservations on-line. <BR> <BR>Good luck!

Melissa

On my trips to Venice, we got hotels fairly close to the train station.....as opposed to getting a view. I found that the magic of Venice is found through walking around, discovering the nooks & crannies and lovely people. Rising early and coming home late, there was not much time to enjoy any kind of hotel view! <BR> <BR>I'm not saying view is not important, it's just not important to me. If a view adds that much more romance to your trip, go for it! And have a fabulous time!