Looking for a moderately priced Venice hotel. Dorsoduro or Castello areas are preferred. Had heard that Cannaregio was not as nice an area, but would be interested in reviews on that area as well. San Marco is obviously a great location. Any good deals there?

For me in May

www.hotelpausania.it 59 euro #211(canal view suite)

booked on www.otel.com

best deals priceline.com bidding from $120

Hilton Molino Stuky and Boscolo Bellini in the past

www.betterbidding.com Best deals I have found lately.

eurocheap.com/venice other options great budget city guides

www.eurocheapo.com/venice sorry typo also last year I got

A canal view suite for spg.com cash points with Amex card

3 nights GRAND canal view suite 60 euro plus 4000 points/nt

At Westin Europa Regina PERFECT San Marco location so

might check that out... bauervenezia.com nice there in

SM/Canal area too from 200 euro plus cash back www.otel.com

Happy Planning!

Years ago we stayed at Hotel Flora (near San Marco) and loved it. It's not on a canal, but it's very quiet and charming with a private garden area to sit and have breakfast or an afternoon cafe.

Just stayed at Ai Tagliapietra in Castello. It was a great place. We had a room with a king bed and a twin bed. Plenty of space. Bathroom was also good-sized. The owner is helpful, nice and eager to make your stay good. He met us at the vaporetto stop and brought us to the B&B (not sure we would have found it on our own the first day!). Would definitely stay there again. Less than 10 minute walk to San Marco and probably a few minutes longer to the Rialto Bridge.

http://www.aitagliapietra.com/

Another vote for Hotel Flora, which is conveniently near Piazza San Marco and a vaporetto stop without being too close to the crush of either. Stayed there for 10 days. Near La Caravella, a wonderful restaurant. But, as you'll see if you type in "Venice hotels" and hit "Search", there are plenty of other solid options.

As for Cannaregio, there's nothing wrong with that sestiere. Certainly a little more off the trodden track, and good place to wander about to get away from crowds — plus you'll find there Madonna dell' Orto, a church not to be missed, with Tintoretto masterworks and his tomb.

What is your definition of "moderate" - up to how much ?

Excerpt from my TR:

I searched the internet for a hotel that would be in my projected price range and came up with a place called "Palazzo Guardi." Trip advisor reviews although mostly positive, were mixed but the negatives were not the things that I thought to be very important. The web-site pictures showed very attractive rooms (when do they not?). The description was so full of superlatives and hyperbole that it was in truth somewhat off putting. The clincher for me was the Dorsoduro location, a stones throw from the Academia. The price was right too. An unbelievable 70 Euro/night including breakfast [That was January,09]. Email communication with the hotel was quick and a good sign of a place that cares.

Arriving in Venice, we bought 72 hour vaporetto passes and quickly found the hotel down the expected very narrow alley. The elevator had enough room for one person and one suitcase or two people without a suitcase, but only if they embraced. This is not an exageration. Thus it took a bit to get our luggage up to the reception on the 3rd floor. The reception area was very nice and the desk staff friendly.

All of the hotel rooms open to the reception/breakfast area. Our room, number 2 although not large, was more than adequate and was decorated in "traditional" Venice decor [it was windoless though]. That is padded damask walls, Murano glass fixtures, painted furniture. All looked new, including a very modern bath. After settling in, I mentioned to the fellow at the desk that if I had known that some rooms had a canal view, I would have requested one. He said that it would not be possible for that night, but room 4 overlooking the San Trovaso canal would be available for the 3 following nights and that we could be moved there at no additional cost. We jumped at that and found room 4 to be considerably larger than 2 with a wonderful view, not only of the canal, but a church across the canal and if you crane your neck, you can see the gondola workshop. If you go to the hotel's web-site, be assured that rooms look EXACTLY as depicted. Ours was done in pink damask and because it was large, also had a sofa. Rooms 4 and 5 are identical in size and view. If staying at the Pallazo Guardi, request one of those.

Since the rooms opened to the breakfast hall we thought that noise might be a problem but it was not. In fact the only outside noise head were the church bells chiming and we liked that. Breakfast was fine. Yogurts, cold cereals, pastry, breads, croissants, coffee and tea and fruit salad that although canned, was welcome.

> Had heard that Cannaregio was not as nice an area

Cannaregio is fairly a large area and maybe those who spoke to you of it was thinking of the immediate area of the railway station and the road that leads to Strada Nova, quite crowded but I had a great stay at a 4* hotel in Canneregio but closer to Rilato. And as mentioned above, it would be nice to know what's your "moderate" Or are you flexible to adjust your moderate de Venice's moderate?

Careful, I think Qwovadis's reco's are either points or otherwise non refundable rates ( priceline - otel.com ) hence lower rates.

Venice is a very popular destination and can be very crowded for a good part of the year. If you don't like crowds, it's better to avoid the areas around the Piazza San Marco and the Rialto bridge. We liked the Dorsoduro. Venice is not very big so there's no great advantage in staying close to the sights.

Another vote for Palazzo Guardi in Dorsoduro. The location is wonderful with a very good wine/cichetti bar and a gelateria close by in one direction and the Trattoria San Trovaso in the other. It's not as cheap as it was but still reasonable for Venice.

You can skip the breakfast in my opinion, why waste an opportunity to have a cappuccio and cornetto in a bar, Da Gino in Calle Nuova S.Agnese for example.