Going to Venice early April. Saw PBS special about flooding. Leary about staying in pricey hotel only to wake up to knee deep water and "stinky sewage" permeating the place. Any suggestions for reasonably priced accomodations not prone to flooding, mold or mildew? Would settle for mainland lodging that's a short bus or train ride away. Thanks.

Saw the same special. I was there in July so there was absolutely no flooding, but from what I've heard April is not particularly bad, I think it's mostly winter that aqua alta occurs. Before I went I had heard about Venice being "smelly" - especially in summer. Well you'd have to have an extremely sensitive nose to be bothered by it. Some people just like to complain. I certainly wouldn't worry about waking up "knee deep in stinky sewage" as you say. We stayed at the Hotel Canal and Walter for $150 a night for a quad in July. The floors were marble, the furniture antique and the walls covered in fabric wallpaper. It was about as far from a "dump" as you can get, yet it's considered somewhat of a budget hotel. It's near the train station so some people don't like that idea but we found it fine. Venice is wonderful. Definitly stay in Venice not on the mainland. We almost did that becuase I didn't think we could find accommodations cheap enough but I'm so glad we did.

I saw the special to - didn't look like fun. However we were there two Septembers ago, and it was absolutely fine - no flooding or smells at all. We stayed at the Galleria, a small hotel with tiny rooms that overlooked the Grand Canal for about $85 a night. Would go back again in a flash!

Hi<BR>First, the canals are not sewers, the toilets of Venice empty into a sewer system that ends in sewage treatment plants. I'm not saying there's never any garbage in the canals, just that it is not the primary sewer system.<BR><BR>Second, as mentioned, aqua alta is most common in the late fall and winter and is caused by a combination of wind and tides. It is not a daily occurence.<BR><BR>Although there are occasional instances of aqua alta that result in serious damage, most of the time it means that in Saint Mark's Square, the lowest level in Venice, you need ankle-high boots and may need to walk on raised planks. Some hotels even keep pairs of boots around to offer to their guests.<BR><BR>Would you not stay in California because there are occasional earthquakes? If your answer is yes, then look for accommodations in Venice in areas closer to the train station which I believe is an area (not the most charming, imo) that is less-often affected by flooding. There are hotels in your price range. If you do a search at www.venere.it you will come up with some suggestions, or do a search here on Venice train station and you should come up with previous suggestions.<BR>You should do what you're happy with, but imo staying outside of Venice is missing the experience of it entirely.<BR><BR>It is worrisome that Venice and its friends have not yet implemented a plan to deal with this centuries-old problem that is only getting worse.<BR><BR>

Take a look at www.hotelmercurio.com.<BR>We had a nice double with canal view in Sept 02 for $165 with an excellent breakfast. Without canal view was cheaper and not sure about April prices, but their site will tell you. They have 19 rooms and are located between Rialto Bridge and San Marcos Sq. It's not on the Grand Canal, which a lot of folks here prefer, but it was nice and the staff were very helpful. There was flooding in the San Marco Sq. in the early afternoon when the tide came in, but they accommodated by putting up raised walkways which were a little inconvenient but not a problem to most. The floods were gone around 3 or 4 and we didn't experience any &quot;stinky sewage&quot; or unpleasant ordors. You'll enjoy Venice - like others say, don't stay on the mainland which is too removed.

In September my wife and I stayed at the Hotel Marin which was extremely clean and the room was fine. The owners are very nice and the cost was $85 with a nice breakfast.<BR><BR>They have a web site:[email protected]<BR>(no &quot;o&quot; in hotelmarin)<BR><BR>Cross the bridge from the train station and go less than 2 blocks.

Elaine,<BR><BR>I watched the Nova show as well. I thought that they said that Venice does NOT have a muncipal sewage treatment facility. It wasn't clear (at least not to me) from watching the show exactly what kind of sewer system there is in Venice, and they did show a few clip of waste water going directly into a canal. <BR><BR>

I was in Venice this past year in mid April, the weather was perfect. We had no flooding issues and it was still cool enough not to smell, even the the temps were in the 70's. We stayed in the Hotel Monte Carlo just off St. Marks Square, looked like a room in a hotel in the states big and very nice for around $200 on the hotels.com with breakfast, but the season was difficult getting a room since it is close to Easter.

I also watched the NOVA program about Venice --- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/venice/ --- and it did sound like Venice doesn't have a sewage system. However, I'm inclined to believe Elaine's comments. Realistically, Venice must have some process to handle waste products; if all was just dumped into the canals, then typhoid &amp; cholera as well as other health problems would occur.

We stayed in the fall of 2001 in a nice little hotel in the San Polo/San Toma area: Hotel Iris, e-mail at [email protected]. They have a web site, too. Less than $100/night. Simple but nice furnishings and clean. Breakfast included. Walked or took the water taxis everywhere.<BR>

<BR><BR>I saw the PBS Nova special on Venice and when it said that Venice has no municipal sewage treatment facility, the implication was that raw sewage--all of it--goes directly into the canals. As I recall, the program showed water spilling out from a house and the narrator intoned something like &quot;You can often see soapsuds...and even worse.&quot; (You can probably figure out what he meant by &quot;even worse.&quot <BR><BR>However, on this britishexpats.com forum, when someone asks how Venice deals with sewage and waste treatment, a person responds that buildings in Venice each have their own sewage treatment unit that processes waste water before it is discharged. <BR><BR>http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...threadid=92612

I am also going to Venice in April (Easter weekend, to be exact!) and was very worried about finding accommodations that wouldn't break my budget. I found a single room at Hotel Galleria for $70 per night. From what I hear, it is a nice place that is conveniently located. I recommend you e-mail them at [email protected]. Who knows? We may even run into one another there! I'll be the one with stars in my eyes...<BR><BR>In regards to a previous poster who mentioned Hotel Marin...I looked into staying there and the owners e-mailed me to let me know they are going out of business next month. That's a shame. I had heard great things about it.

Try looking on www.allvenicehotels.com where there seem to be some good deals.

Stephanie,<BR><BR>I've stayed in that single room at the Hotel Galleria; do be aware that it's TINY. How small? I could stand with my arms outstretched and touch either side of the room. I stayed there as money was an issue; they only charged $50 in Oct-2000. The bathroom down the hall was clean &amp; I never had problem running into anyone. Location of this hotel is excellent. And yes, as little as the room is, you do have a window and excellent view of the Grand Canal. Would I ever stay in that room again? Nope. If I could afford extra dollars, I'd opt for one of their larger rooms --- I had no complaints about the hotel itself, but the room size ... it's really, REALLY small. Plus, at that time the single bed was in need of a new mattress.