We are ending 12 day cruise in Venice. Anyone know which district is most convenient to stay in? Have only heard of 2 hotels which were described as "awful". Both arranged through cruise line. We do not currently have transfers from ship or to airport. any advice on getting around?

You can look for hotels on Tripadvisor or www.venere.com - venere has a feature that you can pick what part of the city you want to be in. As to getting around - how cheap are you? If you want to "do it yourself" for limited euros you need to pick a hotel easily accesible by vaporetto AND not have ALOT of luggage. Venice with alot of luggage will either be expensive (think water taxi) or very difficult (think hauling bags on crowded vaporetto and then across multi-stepped bridges). So are you willing to pay for a water taxi or do you need advice on easy hotels to access from near where the ship docks?

Venice itself is not too large. Say 60 minutes to walk from one end to the other end. Unless you have a huge amount of luggage, there is not really a 'most convenient' area.

In order for Fodorites to help you with hotel recommendations, you need to need to tell us your price expectations and service expecations. (I know a really funky hotel in Venice. It opened 900 years ago and was significantly remodeled 300 years ago. However, your opinion might be that it is awful.)

I guess we are looking for moderate hotel that will be easy to get to from dock and then easiest effort to get to airport. Wondering if most hotels offer assistance with these transfers. Or should we go for the transfers from cruise line. After 12 days, there will be plenty of luggage!

Tell us a price in euros, dollars whatever, of what you consider "moderate." This can be very subjective.

What hotels were recommended that you said got "awful" reviews? Agree that more details will help. Most hotels can assist with arranging transfers, but private transfers can be very expensive.

It sounds like a hotel near Piazzale Roma would be best unless you want to opt for a water taxi or transfer from the cruise line - but I would think they only go to hotels arranged thru the ship (which are usually overpriced). Our ship had a bus that took the passengers to Piazzale Roma - you can catch a vaporetta near there but agin, if you have alot of luggage, its not going to be pretty.

"After 12 days, there will be plenty of luggage." I know cruising requires different packing, but 12 days is not a reason to overpack. Each person should only take as much luggage as he or she can handle without assistance.

I stay at the:
Al Campaniel Venezia b&b
San Polo 2889
Calle del Campaniel - San Tomà
30125 Venezia, Italia
Tel/Fax (39) 041 2750 749
Fax (39) 027 0053 9748
[email protected]
www.alcampaniel.com
simple, clean good breakfast just 5 min from the San Toma
stop. rates 75-100e per night

This hotel is convenient to the cruise port and Piazzale Roma (for easy airport access), gets reasonably good reviews, and is probably in your "moderate" range.

http://www.hotelantichefigure.it/eng/index.asp

Thanks all for your input. Especially the specific hotels. Will certainly rethink the overpacking! It was helpful to hear Venice is a small city.

Big-Red..So what is that 900 year old, renovated hotel. We just might like it

Renovated 300 years ago. Shared bath and bath across the hall etc. It's the Hotel Bernardi in Cannareggio. There is nothing wrong with it but there is nothing at all new about it either. No elevator. Popular with a young backpacker set.

I merely used it to bring up the diversity of hotel options that Venice has.

Incidentally, once you select a hotel, if you want a water taxi, then your hotel can make the arrangements. Budget euro100+ per taxi trip but the good side is they that they can often pull up within a few feet of the hotel entrance.

I have never stayed at
Al Campaniel Venezia b&b
San Polo 2889
Calle del Campaniel - San Tomà
30125 Venezia, Italia as recommended by Johanne above.

But I know the location very well, as we walked past it dozens of times. The location is very convenient, and the chocolate shop immediately opposite redefines the concept of "death by chocolate".

I highly recommend Hotel Palazzo Abadessa in Cannaregio http://www.abadessa.com/en/ I'd go back in a heartbeat. It's one of my favorite memories of that trip to Venice. Do a search for it on tripadvisor and you can read all the rave reviews - and a couple of not so. But the reason I bring it up is that if luggage is an issue the hotel has an entrance for water taxis to drop you off right at the hotel.

You are correct Death by Chocolate is a daily threat <G>