As soon as I hear from them I will let you know how much they want upfront. I will be staying 3 nights.

It is strange. I am glad I came across your post. Since this is their protocol I guess I will have to accept it or find another hotel, but this is the hotel I want to stay at.

We stayed at La Calcina and thought the rooms were overrated on this forum. The beds were extremely hard with pillows as flat as pancakes. The breakfast was the same each morning with the exception of some leftover cake from the previous night.
The only plus was the outdoor dining on the canal.

I have reservations for June '07 and had to send a check for 3 nights (staying 4). We've decided not to go due to the temps at that time of year...so we'll see about my deposit!!

"The breakfast was the same each morning" ???

I've stayed in hotels of all standards but never found one which offered different breakfast each day !

I don't necessarily agree with whitewoman BUT I like that her post counter balances a bit all the other rave posts about this hotel. It's a small hotel and everybody cannot stay at this hotel after all.

Regarding their breakfast, I agree with Caroline's comment BUT by comparison, their breakfast was not as good as e.g. Pensione Accademia's but that was ok with me who am not a big breakfast eater. Also La Calcina's rooms are rustic (my impression is lots of bare wood) and not an elegant venetian room (e.g.tissue covered walls, etc) you might expect. I still think considering the very reasonable prices (for Venice), this hotel is of a great value.

Madison,
I leave on vacation today, so won't be able to check this thread until after I return on Aug. 7th. I am most anxious to see what they tell you!

When we sent off our personal check to them in the mail, I emailed them at the same time requesting that they email us back as soon as our check reached them. They did this. So when we arrived there, I had copies of all the emails verifying the amounts sent and that they had received our check. No problems.
We had originally booked three rooms, but actually needed only two in the end. When we cancelled the third room weeks before arrival, they emailed us asking if they could keep the deposit and apply it to our bill for the two rooms. All went fine.

We loved the location, the rooms were lovely and the staff was very helpful and made last minute reservations for us for the Secret Tour of Doges Palace. Hope your trip and cruise goes well.

Interesting. I stayed at La Calcina this past May for 5 nights. I was not asked to send any check but gave my credit card number to reserve the room. I paid in cash when I departed. It's interesting they are asking for a check.

I stayed in a single room, which was very comfortable for me. The room faced on the side canal, but I still had a nice view of the Giudecca canal. Their outdoor terrace was wonderful for breakfast. Loved the location and everyone was friendly and helpful, especially with booking restaurant reservations and giving me vaporetto times/schedules.

Monica ((F))

TropicalKerry - I promised to get back to you. I heard from La Calcina and I cannot even get a reservation for April/2007. They are booked. What a disappointment. It's funny because before I heard of this lovely hotel I was checking into booking in other hotels and they aren't even taking 2007 reservations yet. HOpe you are enjoying your vacation.

I contacted a couple of hotels in Rome for October 2007 and they're booked already!!

Monica ((F))

I booked months ago at La Calcina for our October '06 trip. They did request a check for 1 of the 2 nights. They did cash it already. We received confirmation of our reservation when they received the check.

I also paid La Calcina in full in advance last summer through my travel agent.

I just booked this hotel for 6 nights in Oct 2007 and they are asking for a deposit to cover 4 nights. I feel alot better about sending it now that I see I'm not the only one.

I just posted the same question before I found this thread. I have reserved at La Calcina for 4 nights in May 2007. They want a check for 3 nights by September. After reading this thread, I'm still unclear about their cancellation policy or if they even have one. I wrote to them to ask but have not heard. They seem be inconsistant in how they do this.

It's unhappy to hear that someone had a real emergency and that La Calcina would not refund the money sent. Our trip is 9 months away...anything could happen. After reading such rave reviews about the place, we were excited to go there. I'm not worried that they will try to claim not receiving our money, just that if an emergency happens we'd be out $779! that's 3 nights at 201 euros a night for the corner room w/ clear canal views.

Plafield;
I believe it is a 20 day in advance of the arrival date cancellation policy. Here's what they said to me in their email and we arrive Oct.21:

"We would like to remind you of the conditions of our offer and repeat that you will lose your deposit only if you cancel this booking after 12.00 noon Italian time of 1st October 2006.
In case of departure earlier than agreed, we shall charge the total of the remaining stay".

And they mean business! (snicker!)

Travel insurance.