Now for the Venice hotel
 

I booked this hotel for 4 nights in May. We can cancel with no penalty. It looked good, seems right in the heart of everything, and we got a great rate of $283/night, including taxes (not the city tax due at the hotel) including breakfast and WiFi. The only thing I see as a potential inconvenience is getting from the train station to the hotel. The hotel has a private jetty, but taking a private water taxi would cost, I would think, a lot of money. Thoughts on this hotel, its location, and how to get there from the train station?

http://www.hotelcolombina.com/Upload...lombina(1).pdf

http://www.hotelcolombina.com/

How many are you, how much luggage do you have and can you easily deal with it on the steps up and down over bridges?

I now the web sites says 100 steps from San Marco - the vaporetto stop - but I can;t tell how many bridges you might have to cross.

Yes, a water taxi would not be cheap but with enough people and luggage that you can't easily handle it might be worth it.

I would contact the hotel to get specific directions from the closest vaporetto stop (I assume San Marco) but do realize the v will be mobbed as will the stop - and you will have to move quickly to haul your luggage off before the crowd starts to get on.

Two of us, one spinner bag each. The hotel website has explicit directions, link above.

From the location on the PDF map, I know exactly where this is. The walk is shorter and less crazy with people from the San Zaccaria stop. The map shows correctly the number of bridges-- only one from San Zaccaria. Many evaporator routes that serve the train station (Ferrovia) also stop at San Zaccaria.

See options on the route map here:http://www.actv.it/en/movinginvenice...rvicetimetable

Evaporator! Spellcheck does it again--vaporetto!

Thanks! That route map looks more complicated than the NYC subway map! I have 3 months to figure it out.

I'm assuming the hotel is in a good location?

Here are a few basic ideas to understand vaporetto routes.

= Most routes travel either a route in both directions on the Grand Canal (routes 1, 2, N) OR follow a circular route around the edge of the main island (routes 4.1, 4.2, 5.1. 5.2)

= Routes have boats traveling in both directions, so you must be careful to board a boat headed in the correct direction.

= There are other routes besides the ones mentioned that travel to other islands.

To reach your hotel via the Grand Canal, take the 1 (slower--many stops) or 2 (faster--few stops).

Is this your first visit to Venice? If yes, this is a very central location close to much of what you will want to see. Most of the visitors to Venice will be packed into this area.

After more than a dozen visits to Venice, I prefer to stay farther away from San Marco.

I prefer to stay further away from San Marco as it is generally mobbed. On our last trip to Venice we literally could not easily walk thru San Marco. If you enjoy being right in the thick of things, it's a good location. If you prefer less crowded area but might have to walk a touch further for some main sights I would consider elsewhere.

I haven't been to Venice in 35 years and DH has never been there. What areas do you prefer? I can cancel if I see something better.

My recent favorite is Hotel al Ponte Mocenigo for its less busy area and reasonable restaurants, yet closeness to Rialto markets and very close to San Stae vaporetto stop. But it is not quite as grand as the hotel you have chosen. My budget is not as big as yours.

What do you require of your hotel?

<i>After more than a dozen visits to Venice, I prefer to stay farther away from San Marco.</i>

Agree 100%,Ellenem! Over the years of visiting Venice, we've come to favor being a good hoof away. Discovered The Mocenigo a few years back and stayed there twice. Still walking distance from San Marco, but light years away...in one of the nice neigborhoods near vap stop St. Stae (a few blocks from La Zucca ristorante...excellent) The city fish market and the Rialto Bridge are also short walks. The Hotel is on a mini canal...and very quiet at night. Of the half dozen locations we have stayed in Venice, I rank this tops.

Another hotel we liked back in he 80's, The Bucintoro, is also in a pleasant location across from he customs building...it just reopened after major renovation.

Laurie:

http://www.alpontemocenigo.com/

We stayed in apts in San Polo and liked the area a lot.

Tower, that hotel looks lovely. Unfortunately, no rooms are available for two of the nights. I'll check back though, something might open up.

We also prefer farther from P. San Marco.

I need light and air, and many hotels on narrow canals and passages are too dark and, for me, a little claustrophobic. We've stayed the last two times at Pensione la Calcina in Dorsoduro. There is an Alilaguna and vaporetto stop about 50 meters from the hotel.

http://www.lacalcina.com/

I disagree with the San Marco "crowd" complaint. We ALWAYS stay within a few minutes walk from San Marco and as crowded as San Marco can get (and yes there is a very good reason why a whole lot of people <B>keep going there</B> I have yet to walk out of our hotel and feel hemmed in by people.

So what if it is jammed? Stay away or go later in the day but don't let it stop you from staying in a hotel you feel is worthwhile just because it is close by.

Like Dukey1 I also feel San Marco gets bad press. Yes, it is crowded, but these are mostly day trippers, from 4 pm to well past 9am the next day it is relatively calm. We stayed at an apartment a few minutes away last June and loved it, though we mostly spent the mornings farther away.

Now I'm kind of torn. I found what looks to be a nice apartment, which would save us some money and may be easier to get to. How does this location look?

http://www.booking.com/hotel/it/ca-d...=total;ucfs=1&

I'm also wondering if we should spend 3 nights in Venice instead of 4, then go to Lake Como for 2 nights and then to Milan for our last night. Neither of us have been to either Lake Como or Milan.

Whether the hotel is in a "good" location is obviously up to you. As you can see from other posts, some people like to be near San Marco, and some don't. That's up to you. Otherwise, the hotel is in a fine location. I don't see that getting there from the train station is a nonstarter.

It's hard to find a "bad" location in Venice, but again, that's a personal preference. People I know have stayed in the most remote areas -- where I'd never stay -- and said they loved it.

Your Plan B is LC for 2 nts and Milan for 1 nt. (Are you flying out of Milan?) Realize that getting to LC from Venice is going to take just about a full day of travel, if you take public transportation and by the time you get to the Venice station, change trains in Milan, and arrive in LC. Are you OK with that?

Vin, no, I'm not okay with that. I thought we could get to LC in early afternoon. Our original plan (flying in and out of Milan) is leave Milan airport and go straight to Florence by train (we already have non-refundable hotel reservation for 4 nights in Florence). From Florence, train to Venice, 4 nights Venice, then, train to Milan, with our final 2 nights there.

Is 4 nights too many in Venice? I assume there is enough to do there? I haven't been there in 35 years, and I was only there then for a few days on a "school trip". I was living in Siena at the time in a college program.