Please help with Venice hotel accommodations
 

I will be in Venice mid September. This will be a post cruise stay for 3 nights. I am trying to decide between 3 hotels:

La Calcina 161E/nt double w/canal view
Locanda Orseolo 240E/nt double w/canal view
Hotel Antico Doge 260E/nt Jr.Suite w/canal v.

I would like a romantic room/location with a canal view (and terrace, if possible) away from the crowds.

I visited Venice once before, for 2 nights, and stayed at the Splendid Suisse on Mercerie. It was a good central location but was very busy and had many chain-type shops that I had seen throughout Italy.

However, while we were walking around, and getting lost (which I enjoyed in Venice), I was enchanted with the little back alleys with their small neighborhood mom and pop stores, and the small quiet out-of-the-way piazzas. I would love to experience more of THIS Venice.

Please tell me your opinion regarding which accommodations would best suit us. BTW, we will also have an additional night in Venice on the ship, prior to our hotel stay, since Venice is the last night on our ship's itinerary. I am truly looking forward to 4 more days and nights to explore this spectacular city!

Sorry, sorry but if you can do a search here in the box above for each hotel, you will receive many comments. Just type in the hotel name.

I have done a search for these hotels. Originally, I had a much longer list but, after researching, I have narrowed my selection down to only these three.

Although I have read much general information about each hotel, I was hoping that I might get opinions on which of these 3 hotels would most suit us based on what we are looking for. I am very unfamiliar with Venice, so it is difficult to know which of these accommodations would give us the best match.

All of the comments for each hotel have been wonderful, which is the reason I selected them. All of the posters also said that each hotel was well located, yet, they are in very different areas of Venice. This aspect is what I am most unsure about.

If anyone could add any useful comments/suggestions, I would appreciate it.

In September 2003 we paid 160 euros per night double with canal view in Locanda Orseolo. We knew its price would go up very soon. This place became so popular that some rooms are now booked a year or longer in advance. Nice hotel but there is no elevator.

We stayed at the Albergo Paganelli a few years ago. Great location, right on the canal. Vaparetto stop right in front. Walking distance to St. Marks. Didn't notice that it was too noisy or crowded most of the time. Was great to wake up and open the window and watch the canal and people milling about. Reasonably priced for being right on the canal. The staff was wonderful. Our second choice was Hotel Fontana. More in the heart of Venice. Do a Search for updated prices. It was about $200 a night three years ago for three people.

Of the choices you've given,I'd choose La Calcina. It's location is away from the busiest area, yet still convenient. They have a roof top terrace which you can reserve & use privately & people generally like the hotel. I'm less familiar with the location of the other 2-I know L. Orseolo is near San Marco, though, which is part of it's appeal for many.

But if you want a terrace (which I think is a great idea in Sept.), there have been a number of posts here mentioning specific rooms at specific hotels. There's one at the Hotel American (I think Patrick has mentioned this one) & Bailey has posted a link to photos he's taken from a particular room at the Hotel Wildner.

Hi
If you wanted a central location than imo La Calcina would drop out. It is very well thought of, but to my mind its location is not central. But since you mention being away from the crowds, that would be the place.

Thanks to everyone for your ideas and opinions. Mclaurie, I looked at the websites for the American and Wildner, but were unsure about them. The view from the American did not seem to be that attractive based on the website. The Wildner looked nice, but why is it rated a 2 star, when the others are 3? They look similar, but there must be a difference. I will look at both of them again, though.

Thank you again. I would love to read more.

I can only comment on the antico doge. It meets all your criteria. Quiet location, on a piazza, small canal, about a 5 minute walk north of rialto. There is a nice street around the corner (towards ca doro) which has some retsaurants and shops. We liked it. Very good value. Have read good things about the other places as well.

We stayed at the Albergo Doni, a small no-frills family run place that is right off of a Vaporetto stop and a 3-5 minute walk to the Piazza San Marco.
It has a lot of atmosphere (our room had an old painting on the ceiling) and the bathrooms are small, but it was clean, very friendly (my wife used the owner's hairdryer each night) and had a great location.

They have a website: www.albergodoni.it

We'd certainly stay there again, but it is not for everyone (i.e. it's not what most people would call luxurious).

I have upcoming (in May) reservations at Casa Rezzonico, a new place owned by the same people who run the Galleria. It's in a great location in charming Dorsoduro. I got a big double room with private bath, San Barnaba canal view for 140 Euro, including breakfast out on their garden patio. http://www.casarezzonico.it/
There's been some talk here about it, all positive.

Thank you for the additional recommendations.

Jocelyn, I have tried http://www.casarezzonico.it/, but the website doesn't seem to be working right now. I will try again since Casa Rezzonico sounds like it might be an option.

Thanks again!

Would anyone be able to tell me how far of a walk it is from La Calcina to the Accademia Bridge? Also, how far is it from the bridge to San Marco? Thanks!

From La Calcina to the Accademia Bridge, maybe five minutes. From Accademia to Piazza San Marco, 10-15 minutes. If you walk like a local - fast. Even stopping here and there to look in a shop window, won't take you more than 20 minutes to get to the Piazza.

I love La Calcina and highly recommend it. You are on the Giudecca canal, they have a great staff, and nice rooms - at a good price.

Have you checked to make sure La Calcina is even available? Others on this board have commented that it's booked over a year ahead.

Yes, La Calcina is available. Thanks for the "heads up".

I would agree with the comments about La Calcina. And considering how small Venice is, La Calcina is still very walkable to all of the sites, unless you'd like to be five minutes from St. Mark's. We stayed there for our honeymoon, on the second floor, and had a large room with three windows -- two overlooking the Guidecca Canal and one overlooking a small side canal. Quite fascinating to watch the cruise ships come into Venice each morning. It was very romantic, although there was no terrace. They do have a floating dock on which you may have breakfast (as long as the weather cooperates). Another factor we enjoyed about the location was finding a few smaller shops in the area, like a wine shop just past the vaporetto stop where the owner offered to allow us to taste some wines before we purchased them -- and proceeded to pour each of us a full glass. Or the gondola shop across the canal from the wine shop, and the pizza place a bit further down (the best I've ever eaten in my life, and filled with Italians, though whether or not they were locals I don't know).

While I haven't stayed at either of the other locations, I did wander into a few hotels while there and was surprised at how large their lobby areas were in comparison to La Calcina -- if that matters to you. La Calcina is by no means luxury (despite the larger than expected rooms -- we were expecting closet size) but it is extremely quaint. It also is about a 3-5 minute walk to the vaporetto stop, which can be a hassle if you have a lot of luggage versus those hotels with stops right in front.

hlphillips2, thanks for the reply. La Calcina does sound charming. What year and what month were you there on your honeymoon?

Hi happy,

I haven't stayed at any of the places you are considering, but I've spent time in Venice and I have reservations at La Calcina in May. As others may have mentioned, La Calcina is in the Dosoduro which is an area I like very much. I specifically sought out a hotel in that area for my upcoming trip. The Dosoduro is less crowded than the San Marco area and much less touristy. There is a university in the Dosoduro and there are many art galleries. I also think it is a good location because you can walk to the Accademia, Peggy Guggenheim and the Accademia bridge in just a few minutes. There are also some very good restaurants in the Dosoduro (see Great Eats in Italy).

You may know this, but although you have a canal view at La Calcina, it is not the Grand Canal.

Cheers!

Daria

Daria, thank you so much for your wonderful description of Dosoduro -it really does seem like a charming section of Venice!

Would you mind sharing with me the reason you chose La Calcina over some of the other hotels in Dosoduro -like the American, Galleria, and Accademia?

Also, would you happen to know what the cancellation policy for La Calcina? I am fully intending on going on the trip, but you never know when there might be an emergency. I forgot to ask when I called, so I emailed them on Wednesday for the answer, but I haven't heard back yet.

Thanks again, Daria!