Horels in Venice

Will be in Venice for 2 days post cruise. What are good hotels with easy walking and travel to airport?

We're staying at Locando Orseolo Botique Hotel. It was recommended by friends who stayed there previously. Email communication has been excellent.

In Venice travel to the airport is an interesting question and gives you a dilemma. Unless you are going to take a private water taxi and stay at a hotel with its own little dock you do have a luggage dragging issue.

One option to avoid the high cost of a private taxi is the Hilton as the airport waterbus stops at it. The downside is you are on the other side of the lagoon so have to take shuttles in. However you are on the smaller island which has much better value restaurants.

If being near St Marks matters, hopefully someone who has stayed there can help you about the luggage issue if you are using a public waterbus. (You are at risk of having to drag luggage up and down over canal bridges for some hotels so you need the advice from someone who has done it there).

We once stayed somewhere near the Rialto that assured us it was one bridge and they met each waterbus or we could call them on our mobiles.....phone was unanswered and we were trying to drag cases up through the tourist mobs over the Rialto - never again!

In Venice travel to the airport is an interesting question and gives you a dilemma. Unless you are going to take a private water taxi and stay at a hotel with its own little dock you do have a luggage dragging issue.

One option to avoid the high cost of a private taxi is the Hilton as the airport waterbus stops at it. The downside is you are on the other side of the lagoon so have to take shuttles in. However you are on the smaller island which has much better value restaurants.

If being near St Marks matters, hopefully someone who has stayed there can help you about the luggage issue if you are using a public waterbus. (You are at risk of having to drag luggage up and down over canal bridges for some hotels so you need the advice from someone who has done it there).

We once stayed somewhere near the Rialto that assured us it was one bridge and they met each waterbus or we could call them on our mobiles.....phone was unanswered and we were trying to drag cases up through the tourist mobs over the Rialto - never again!

Our friends took a water taxi to our hotel. It has a Canal entrance. I didn't want to drag luggage either. That was another deciding factor and the location. We stayed at Hilton Molino the first time we were in Venice. We loved the hotel and the rooftop bar.

We stayed at the Locanda Orseolo last October. It is a lovely, with helpful staff, and lovely breakfasts. You can arrive by water taxi and the door is actually the window in the breakfast room. Not at all like a Hilton ! We have done the water taxi thing before and didnt want to spend that much money and the other alternative of getting to the Vaporetti stop in Piazalle Roma did not appeal with luggage. Therefore we got on the Alaliguna Blue Line Water Bus from the Port to San Marco. Then it was an easy walk through the lovely square and over one bridge to the Locanda Orseolo. There are very clear walking directions on their website. We also used the Alaliguna water bus back to the airport. It was very convenient.

We stayed at the Hilton Molino Stucky for 3 nights and thoroughly recommend it. It's a huge converted former old factory right on the canal where the cruise ships all go past. Azamara ships are docked right opposite at San Basilio pier. The hotel provides free boat shuttle throughout the day which has one of its stops on the other side of the canal, only a 10 minute walk from San Basilio, from memory there was only one bridge to walk over. The other shuttle stop was near St Marks.

To get from the airport we took the Alilaguna ferry as it has the Hilton as one of its stops, so very easy.

The location of the hotel is very quiet compared to the rest of Venice and we enjoyed watching the cruise ships arriving in the morning from our window.

We have stayed at HotelArlecchino, which is in Venice but on the edge opposite the bus station (for airport shuttles) and there is 1 bridge crossing 'in between' and als the trainstation nearby. We flew into Venice, took the airport shuttle, walked from the square where the bus station is, to the hotel. Also the Venice People Mover (=metro above ground) is near and it stops at the cruiseport. Kindly note: the ticket machine of the VPM accepts only credit cards with a chip, so please have otherwise euro coins ready (around 2- euro per person).

The hotel offers a special via facebook, so that rate is always again less than any of the published rates via agencies via websites. Enjoy!

The best hotel on the grand canal at the Rialto with a private dock is in my opinion Al Ponte Antico. You do have to book well in advance and it's pricy but you won't regret it.

I've just reread and see you are wanting a hotel post cruise not beforehand. I would still recommend Hilton MS as it would be so easy to do the 10 min walk from San Basilio at the end of your cruise to where the free Hilton shuttle would pick you up and cross the canal to the hotel. It was great getting that shuttle boat and using it as a means to explore Venice on foot, and avoid paying for expensive water taxis or massive amounts of people on the water buses.

Our friends took a water taxi to our hotel. It has a Canal entrance. I didn't want to drag luggage either. That was another deciding factor and the location. We stayed at Hilton Molino the first time we were in Venice. We loved the hotel and the rooftop bar.

It's good to know the Locarno Orseolo had a canal entrance for future reference thanks.

I've just reread and see you are wanting a hotel post cruise not beforehand. I would still recommend Hilton MS as it would be so easy to do the 10 min walk from San Basilio at the end of your cruise to where the free Hilton shuttle would pick you up and cross the canal to the hotel. It was great getting that shuttle boat and using it as a means to explore Venice on foot, and avoid paying for expensive water taxis or massive amounts of people on the water buses.

Apologies I have also now spotted post cruise. A great one we've stayed in is the Ca Pisani near Academia. You can use the waterbus to the airport and it's a level street to the hotel and one or possibly two bridges from San Basilo. I know we walked to there for embarkation with three cases between us and were ok.

Marittima, not San Basilio?

An Azamara rep told me this week that Quest will be docked at Marittima, the main passenger terminal, for our May 5 cruise.

I also read recently that starting in 2017, cruise ships will no longer be permitted to dock at the smaller pier.

Following is some great information on Venice cruise ports, transport, hotels and Venice itself:

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