Still deciding on hotel in Venice. Can either do basic room at Europa and Regina or Danieli or else canal view/balcony at something like Il Palazze or Londra Palace. Does anyone know about the Londra Palace??
Is great view at nice hotel better than basic room at "classic grande dame"?
Thanks,
Laura

You were given a number or truly great options on your other posts. Since you are not interested in any of them, it really doesn't make any difference. You are clearly looking for the place with the name, so do either of the places you mention. If the rooms are only mediocre or don't meet your expectations, it really doesn't matter. You will have still stayed at a very famous place and you can tell your friends where you stayed. Isn't that all that matters?

Wow! Telling my friends where I stay NEVER matters. Only our experieces! I am very sorry if you got that impression. I only had one friend who recalled the name of their hotel and it was the Danieli. Actually it makes more sense to me to stay in a less opulent hotel if we can get a better room, i.e. a view of the water and a balcony. I do not want to pay 700E to get that room in one of the "Grande Dames"! And I appreciate ALL of the advice I have gotten so far. The Londra was new to me and I had not seen it mentioned, so I was asking for some opinions. I do not know why you are so upset, but each to his own. I do appreciate ALL the constructive comments I have received, and I apologize if somehow I insulted you.
Laura

No, you didn't insult me. There were several suggestions given which you seemed to have dropped. Mine was simply that huge and grand junior suite at the Rialto Hotel. Have you tried that? If not, then please don't narrow yourself to a couple of big name hotels where if you don't spend the really big bucks you will be ostrcizeed to the back small rooms.

I checked and the junior suite you referred to is available for 250 euros per night. Sounds great. The same is available at the Londra (they have a stay three pay for two nights). Both hotels include VAT and breakfast. Do you think the Rialto would be better?
Thanks,
Laura

Laura D, don't take the fodorites too seriously.

I wouldn't stay near the Rialto even if the most handsome gondolieri came with a suite with terrace and all for free. The Rialto bridge is magnificent but the area is too commercial, overrun by retail establishments that range from cheap and tacky street vendors to overpriced, mid-market merchandise. Every time I visit the Rialto, I feel like I'm at the Mall of America and can't wait to escape.

I like the Londra Palace. Their rooms are typically larger and very, very charming. If you can get a grand room there for much less than the others, do it. You won't regret your choice and you won't regret your savings. Londra Palace is short on hype but long on satisfaction.

No, the Rialto Hotel is not as nice a hotel as the Londra, pure and simple. But the Londra will often not GUARANTEE you a room with balcony or canalfront. If the choice came down to having a non view smallish room at the Londra or having that big junior suite at the Rialto with the balcony, I would personally grab the one at the Rialto.
What Wesley says may be true about the Rialto area, but from our balcony right by the bridge the activity and scenes were fantastic. I loved the activity, but then I happen to like staying in the Times Square area of New York when there, some people don't.

The Rialto in Venice -- the Mall of America. Yes, I can see how they could remind you of each other, they are so similar!!!!! NOT.

We stayed in a nice room at the Danieli last year, overlooking the Canal, but friends stayed in a regular room at the same time, and that was not nice; very small, a bit dingy and overlooking the back. It was still expensive. Better to go for a better room in another hotel. I also did not like the restaurant; we could not eat outside, and inside was brightly lit with awful music playing. Food was ok, but atmosphere was not.

Please relax, Patrick. It sounds like there may be a tornado in Naples or someone endured a restless sleep. LauraD didn't really deserve such a sharp tongue for her query. A sincere apology could be a fitting resolution.

"I happen to like staying in the Times Square area of New York when there..." Well, that explains it. No visitor to New York could ever expect to get a "local" experience by staying in the Times Square area of New York. Just ask anyone who works in the new Conde Nast location how happy they are to be in Times Square. Times Square is designed for mass tourism, plain and simple. If given a choice, New Yorkers wouldn't want to "live" there. Even though Venice's Rialto has tremendous historical significance and deserves study and exploration, modern day Rialto is pretty much designed to accommodate mass tourism. You could use the same argument for San Marco but, at least, San Marco retains some dignity.

That said, I would concede that for a first experience in Venice, your hotel room suggestion might be rewarding for many. I would certainly appreciate your room's view to anything the Mall of America has to offer.

???
I am a bit confused by the importance given to this question...
Allthough I fully understand and appreciate the satisfaction a nice hotel , be it a 'classic grande dame' or one of the 4/5 star hotels in a historical building, may offer, the main fact is that when I am in Venice, the only thing I want to do is to get out of the hotel into the streets as fast as possible. Last time in Venice, I left the hotel at 6 am for a morning walk just to enjoy the city waking up. Breakfast at 8 and then began the family excursion.

The Rialto area is of course a bit noisier than the Daniele setting, but it is a great area to be. If you appreciate the setting up of a colourful morning market, e.g. the fish and vegetable market in front of Rialto bridge, then Rialto is the spot to be. It has nothing to do with dignity. It is the way people live in this place where you are a visitor.

I don't know if anyone cares at thiis point (I hate jumping into an ongoing personal debate!), but I have stayed at the Londra Palace in a Lagoon View Jr. Suite. It was very expensive, but I have never regretted it. The view is to die for . . . it's the quintessential view across the lagoon to San Giorgio that is on all the postcards and in every brochure. The room was large, the bathroom was luxurious, the service was excellent. I loved the restuarant there: Do Leoni. The head waiter took us under his wing and introduced us to the special foods of Venice. Perfect. That said, I have also visited the Bauer Il Palazzo. They have these suites on the top floor that are simply amazing, each with a huge balcony overlooking the Grand Canal. They have their own breakfast room and lounge up there, and a lovely large terrace where you can have breakfast or drinks outside in good weather. If you can afford either of these places, go for it!

Virgo and everyone else,
Thanks for your comments! We can stay at either for a similar price! I appreciate your response as it is so helpful when someone has stayed in a particular hotel and has personal comments about a place I am thinking about. I have heard great things about the Danieli also, but we cannot afford one of the "great" rooms. The Londra and Il Palazzo have great websites, and look as you described. Now which one???? Would the "Palatial view" rooms at the Il Palazzo be equiv to the junior suite or a deluxe room with view at the Londra? Do the deluxe view rooms at the Londra have a balcony or just the junior suites?I appreciate ALL the comments and plan on using them to pick the hotel, I know we will have a great time regardless! (As long as it doesn't flood too much!!)
Thanks,
Laura

To complicate things further, read this post about room 201 at the Hotel American

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34435416

OK, that sounds nice too! THis is going to be a tough decision!!
Laura

"It has nothing to do with dignity." Clearly, baldrick has no background in history, city planning or architecture. In my opinion, Venice's Rialto bridge is blighted by the mass presence of dime-store trinket carousels and t-shirt vendors. Everyone knows if you want cheap souvenirs (or anything) visit the Rialto bridge (or the train station). Also, where else in Venice can you find waiters barking on the sidewalk desperately trying to lure diners into those abundant tourist trap restaurants competing for the tourist's Euro? Surely this historical area and this beautiful bridge deserve more dignified treatment.

The term "location is everything" rings true to me when I'm looking for an extraordinary vacation experience. I, too, spend very little time in my hotel room when I visit Venice but, when I do, I want my interior surroundings to be as magical as this special city.

I also don't view this as a debate - an I'm right/your're wrong kind of thing. Fodors offers a variety of opinions and I like that. Hotels are chosen with specific criteria: location, affordability, and availability. I don't blame LauraD for wanting such precise information, especially at her chosen price point. The frustration comes in trying to find it.

Wesley, that Times Square deal has been debated to death. But what many New Yorkers don't understand is that while they would welcome a quiet residential neighborhood, that's where many of us tourists come from. When I travel I want an experience totally different from what I have at home. Times Square is just that and to me it IS New York. I've also stayed for a month is a lovely area on the upper East side and it was wonderful. But for a weekend in New York, give me the bright lights, the noise, the commotion, the tackiness, the theatres, and all that is TIMES SQUARE. As tourists we aren't looking for a place where we'd necessarily want to live, but a place to "celebrate" and "party"-- those are two very different things.

Same with Venice. Looking out to the Rialto Bridge and all the activity is just about as far removed from my own home life. For someone who lives in a busy city like New York, they may very well prefer a quiet, off the beaten tourist track location for their "relaxing" vacation. I think we all have to remember that not everyone is looking for the same thing in travel. Just like some people who lead a very hectic life welcome the chance to relax in one European location for a week or more. But some who lead rather quiet and even perhaps boring lives may actually prefer the activity or a night here and a night there, or even the 5 countries in 3 weeks approach. Different strokes for different folks.

Ooops. I got interupted while doing that last post. When I started it, Wesley's last post wasn't there yet, so I never saw it.

Again, this isn't meant as you say Wesley, an "I'm right/you're wrong thing". But I am amazed at your comments regarding the Rialto area.
I haven't been to Venice in a couple years. Has it changed that much? Although I've stayed at the Rialto Hotel twice, I have never ever noticed a waiter barking for tables around there. Maybe it happens, but I've never seen it. Although I have been "accosted" by restaurant hawkers throughout the city, particularly in the smaller passages right around and behind St. Marks. The area right behind the Rialto Hotel always seemed to me to be primarily a locals' shopping area with lots of little markets and stores -- not so touristy oriented. And although all of Venice is scattered with cheap souvenier places and t-shirt shops, the place I always thought they stood out the most was right around St. Marks, and right along the Schiavoni at those tacky carts they set up right by all those highest end hotels we're talking about.