Did you request a quote for non-canal view? Honestly, I don't think the canal view is worth it...the whole city is "canal view" and you'll really only spend the time in your room sleeping. :)

Thanks Bean. I had requested a quote for view and w/o view, but they only quoted canal view. I just sent another request.

Funny, in another thread, I just asked if it was worth paying an extra 30 euros a night for a canal view at another hotel.

Just returned from a trip which included a rental apartment in Venice for a week. It was in San Polo area, a street off of the canal by the San Silvestro vaporetto stop. So convenient and so near to everything. Good food markets (Rialto) and shops and not as crowded as the San Marco/Ferrovia side of the canal. We had a great visit, it is so enchanting! I noticed several same pensions in that area which I think may be reasonably priced, because they are not in the main piazzas.

What's the name of the place in San Polo. We'll be in Venice 3 nights with 3 kids. Would you recommend an apt or hotel? Any recommendations?
Thanks.

I stayed in an apartment in San Polo near the San Silvestro vaporetto stop (don't know if it's the same one) which was called the San Aponal apartment with Venice Rentals. We really enjoyed the quiet and local feel of the area and found we were still very close to most attractions. Of course, we also enjoyed staying in Cannaregio on our last visit. I agree that San Polo is closer to most major sites, however.

ranlee, in answer to your question, I prefer apartments over hotels due to space, price, and convenience. I have used www.venicerentals.com twice now and have been very happy both times.

Thanks so much for the info. I'll see what I can get for July.

I've always stayed in Cannaregio, but my favourite neighborhood in Venice is Dorsoduro.

On the San Polo apartment...we used a website RentalinRome, but they also have referrals for Venice and Florence, so we did all of our rentals through them. They all worked out very well and the prices for 2 bdrms, 2 baths were very reasonable. The Venice (not surprising) was the most expensive, but it was huge and quite elegant and right off of the canal (we paid 1400 euro, about $140. per night per couple). Our address was actually San Polo 1121 (via Pasena). It felt like home very quickly!