xweb

I was all set to book a room at La Calcina when I started reading these message boards, and now I have more options!

Prices (total for all 4 nights):
- La Calcina, 300E, single w/partial view of Guidecca Canal
- Locanda Barbarigo, 320E, single use of double w/canal view (probably "Smeraldina" room)
- Hotel Sant'Elena, 160E !!!, single
(http://www.venere.com/cgi/hotels/pgweb.php?htid=198933)

I'm not usually a bargain hunter, but the price at the Hotel Sant'Elena is amazing! I hope you can help me decide. I have a few specific questions:

1. Is the Sant'Elena district walking distance to St. Mark's? They claim 20 minute walk on the website, but it looks to be quite far from the downtown on the map.

2. Has anyone stayed at Sant'Elena?

3. Is the construction on the Zattere in front of La Calcina finished?

4. How long does it take to walk to St. Mark's from La Calcina?

5. Can you see the Grand Canal from the rooms at Locanda Barbarigo, or just the side canal in front?

6. Will there be gondoliers singing and gondola-ing in late November?

7. If you've stayed at any of these hotels, do any of them offer hot breakfast foods (eggs, bacon)?

8. Does the night vaporetto stop at Sant'Elena? (If it even runs in November?)

I had been leaning heavily toward Barbarigo, until I ran across that price for Sant'Elena on venere.com (thanks for the tip!). It's an old convent, and a 4-star hotel, but I'm a little leery of the lack of feedback on this board. I also prefer walking, but I don't want to hoof it for an hour to get downtown, or back in the middle of the night!

Thanks for all of your help! This is the best forum I've found for travel, entirely due to the informed and responsive posters. I always look here before booking a hotel.

RufusTFirefly

Any location within the old city is within walking distance of P. San Marco. Venice just isn't all that big, but the Sant'Elena is just about as far away as you can get. Looks like a mile or two walk allowing for twists and turns of the streets.

Therese

We stayed at Locanda Barbarigo in April and liked it. Very close to San Marco, but also quiet as it's on a small dead-end fondamenta (a fondamenta being a walkway parallel to a waterway). Very nice rooms, very clean, lovely bathrooms (we stayed in two different rooms during our week there), breakfast not a hot breakfast(except for beverages), but certainly sufficient.

You cannot see the Grand Canal from the rooms that front the canal, just the small side one, and even then you have to lean out of the window, as the windows in the rooms do not reach to the floor, and the exterior walls are thick. The side canal is heavily frequented by gondolieri, though, so we were serenaded quite a bit. The amount of gondola traffic will depend to a great extent on the weather---sunny days will bring people out, rain will keep them off the water.

I'm not familiar with the Sant'Elena, but nothing's very far in Venice.

xweb

Mr. Firefly, Therese:

Thank you for the responses!

The price is actually 180E @ Sant'Elena (45E/night), my mistake. Still very inexpensive, though.

It helps that you think it is probably not so far to walk to Sant'Elena! It is my first trip to Venice, so I do not yet have a great idea of the scale of the city. But I'd like to be able to walk back to my hotel when Harry's kicks me out! Should be able to walk 1-1/2 miles in about 20 minutes, I hope. (Plus time for side-to-side weaving.)

I was afraid of not being able to see the Grand Canal from Locanda Barbarigo, but I was going to stay there regardless, because of the central location, great reviews in the forum, and cheap price(!!).

But then I saw Sant'Elena on venere.com with the amazing price! It has a number of good reviews there, but the time pattern is a bit suspicious--30+ positive reviews in a couple of months, is someone stuffing the ballot box?

I think my decision is now between Locanda Barbarigo and Hotel Sant'Elena--should I be the Fodorite guinea pig for this hotel?

Any more opinions are welcome! -- Will

mclaurie

There are 2 excellent reviews of the Sant Elena on tripadvisor. One of them mentions the hotel is on a small island of the same name (?) but you can evidently walk into the center of Venice. I find this a bit confusing but pass the info along.

The only other thing I would say is the rooms in Venice are notoriously small, so if that matters to you, perhaps a single use of a double room might be better.

While I didn't stay at La Calcina (I was at the Accademia), I know where it is & would say a walk to San Marco would be about 15-20 minutes.

teach905

We stayed at Loacando Barbarigo and that price is really very good. We needed a triple so we paid considerably more than that. The place was fine. There are steps and no one was available to carry our luggage when we arrived or departed. Just want to have you be aware. The room was very large, the bathroom was great, and everyone staying there seemed quite happy.

I would stay there again if I wanted to stay in that area.. It was only a 5 minute walk to st Marks. But I believe next time I will try a different area of Venice.

Diane

xweb

mclaurie, Diane:

Thanks for the tips!

I am very much looking forward to visiting Venice. From the discussion on this board, it sounds as though, even off-season, it will be a wondrous place.

I am leaning toward Hotel Sant'Elena now, even though Locanda Barbarigo sounds lovely. I will save 140E to spend on wine, food, and gifts--that's hard to pass up. Plus I can report on the hotel for the message board!

But I will sleep on it, and perhaps tomorrow the answer will be apparent.

Thanks again--Will