Venice Hotels
 

I am planning a 3 night stay in Venice in June. I think we want to stay in the San Marco area. I will need two rooms as there are 4 of us traveling.

We want to make there is air conditioning. I don't mind paying any where in the 300 to 400 euro range. I know we are in high-season. There has to be air conditioning and an elevator if the rooms are above two story.

I've looked into:

Palazzro Paruta, Palace Bonvecchiate, Pensione Accdema, and the Palazzo Barocci.

Has anyone stayed at any of these recently? Are there any other places you would recommend?

Thank you.

How did you come up with these particular hotels?

Have you read the reviews on Booking.com? They also have a list of facilities covering each hotel too.

I found these hotels on TripAdvisor, in the listing of hotels on Fodor's list and in Rick Steve's book.

Despite some good reviews I had a bad experience at hotel in Paris and so I am hesitant to book solely off online review. I know this posting is a form of "online reviews." But I have found the suggestions made on it to be more helpful.

If you mean Pensione Accademia, it is NOT near San Marco.

The reason I asked about your source was prompted by your obvious absolute necessity for air conditioning (which i absolutely agree with).

Generally those engines like booking.com will show whether or not a place has A/C and if it doesn't list it then the establishment probably doesn't have it.

I agree about booing based on reviews BUT how else are you going to know? I think the key is reading reviews very carefully.

I cannot help you further since the hotel we usually use near San Marco is not within your price range.

http://www.lacalcina.com

This is not at San Marco, but it's a gorgeous location. I've seen it recommended by many Fodorites in the past. It does have A/C.

We were not staying there (though we wished we were), but we had a lovely Sunday brunch at their outdoor restaurant.

Ellenem - Thank you. My first trip to Venice and while Pensione Accademia is in Dorsoduro - it looked "close" to San Marco, I did not really make the distinction.

Dukey1 - As I've learned, a lot of hotels say they have A/C but if it works well is another issue. Hence my bad experience during a heat wave in Paris two years ago. Since we're splurging a bit when we visit the Amafi Coast, I was trying to keep our nightly rate to 400 euros or less.

Tabernash2 - Thanks - I will check La Calcina out.

Can't help here. I never switch on A/C in Europe. So I don't pay attention. I leave a lot of reviews on hotels.com and booking.com so you have to pay attention to people like me who can give a very good advice when there is not even A/C.

Another issue for air conditioning is that in Italy, based on energy-saving laws and depending on the actual temperatures, air conditioning may or may not be turned on even if the machines are present. I believe this varies by region and/or city.

I can attest that I was able to turn on and regulate the AC in my room at La Calcina in mid-May.

Unless you book a modern hotel/business-type property or a very high end place, you really can't be assured the a/c will be up to your expectations. I've seldom seen the forced air gales like many are used to in the States.

Most is pretty anemic and as ellenem says, you can't always use it

Who was it, who kept a long thread on apartment rentals he suggested in Venice?
That could suit the OP more, as they need two bedrooms.

But wouldn't few be air conditioned?

I don't know, janis. I searched and can't find that thread. I'd assume some apartments are A/C, just like hotels.

I'm a person who hates hot weather, and also looked for A/C when we visited in May. They were usually those wall units, set high up by the ceiling. Worked fine for me, especially if there was a ceiling fan.

We were on a much lower budget, and stayed at the Hotel Riva*. No elevator, but A/C. Near San Marco, directly on the confluence of two small canals which singing gondoliers use. It was very nice, for a small boutique hotel. Except our bathroom and shower stall were extremely tight. But I was there on Mother's Day with DD, and a gondolier sang Ave Maria below our window. One of life's great moments. That was the day we walked to La Calcina and enjoyed a beautiful brunch/lunch.

Do you mean €300-400 per room or for all four of you. There are rooms that sleep four you know. If you really want two rooms and are talking €150-200 each there are still plenty of options.

Violino d'Oro is near San Marco and had great AC. Haven't stayed there lately as it's more than I want to pay and, being near Pz San Marco, it's pretty busy (there is a gondola stop right outside the front door).

Re the reviews - booking.com is probably more reliable since you have to have actually stayed there to write a review. And they make it super easy to do so - they email you a few days after your stay and you just reply with the review. I also try to leave reviews on Trip Advisor but sometimes don't get around to it, even if I really liked the hotel, so I think the reviews there are overall less accurate. But don't use the number or star rating, those are useless. Read a bunch of reviews and if the majority say something (like ' the AC doesn't work great') then you know it's probably accurate.

Booking.com has a map feature where you can actually see where the hotel is. Often hotels will advertise 'near San Marco' and not be even close.

Piazza San Marco is the center of sightseeing in Venice. Ergo it's also wall-to-wall tourists, especially in the middle of the day. I would avoid staying there or near the Rialto. Dorsoduro, where La Calcina is, is quieter. Also Castello and Cannaregio. The latter is closer to the train station.

The best thing to do in Venice is to wander around the back streets/canals getting lost. For San Marco, go first thing in the morning or at night. For the Rialto market, go the first thing in the morning.

Unless it's changed its rules, tripadvisor doesn't require posters to have stayed at the hotel they're reviewing. So it could be employees or the owners' relatives. You have to read the reviews very carefully. OTOH booking.com and, I believe, hotels.com, require the reviewer to have stayed at the hotel, so are more trustworthy.

Thanks everyone!

I was thinking 300 to 400 euros per room per night.

I will look outside San Marco.

Try Giudecca Island. Only 4 vaparetto stops from St Marks square but out of the hustle and bustle when you get back from sightseeing in the evening. You can also avoid the cruise ship visitors. Booking.com had quite a few. Having dinner in the evening and looking across the canal at Venice is really special.

I would highly recommend looking outside the San Marco area. It will be heaving with tourists (it was over Christmas, which surprised me, because there were no cruise ships in evidence - but still it was wall-to-wall tourists). Go to Canarregio or Dorsoduro or even one of the islands.

We stayed at Ca' dei Nobile not far from San Marco for about 100€ a night in a huge room in an old and beautiful palazzo, but I doubt it has AC (it was December, didn't check), but it was a 5-night stay and we got a good discount. Your budget is way beyond anything we ever spend in Europe, so I'm sure you can find something suitable, if not particularly "local".

Well, I'm not a nay sayer to San Marco. Hotel Ala has lovely rooms with AC and is "off" San Marco but nearby. I've stayed at the hotel twice and once in an apartment just steps away.

Elevator, AC, water door (if the tides are right). Nice place. In your price range, I believe you can get their rooms with balconies, but check their website.