Hotel in Venice for seniors-please help

[maclady]

We will be staying in Venice in October 2007 prior to the Millenium cruise. We are both in our late 60s-faily fiT- but I think dragging the luggage we will need for a 14 day cruise over cobblestones may be beyond us. Can any one suggest hotels in an area that we might reach by taxi-then take day trips to Venice by vaporreto? I believe there is an area called Piazza Roma(I may be grossly misspelling this ) Has anyone stayed there?Any other suggestions? We sure appreciate your help:) ;) :o Karen

[ab0si]

Karen:

 

P. RQoma is the parking ramp area. this would not be my choice of areas to stay in -- nor the area, fairly close, by the train station.

 

Some hotels are right next to a vapo stop -- which greatly reduces bag schleping. Some hotels (mainly upscale ones, of course) have their own dock for water taxis.

 

There are porters who, for a fee, will schelp your cases for you to/from the water taxi or water bus.

 

A matter of opinion, of course, but to me it is well worth the extra cost/hassle to stay in one of the nicer areas of Venice.

[ldog]

It is worth the money to take a water taxi from airport to hotel and hotel to ship. It's about 90Euros but the ride is FANTASTIC. We stayed at the Ca' Fomenta for 200 Euro a night. It's a short walk to San Marco and closer to the gardens and parks. They have a landing for the water taxi. It would have been one bridge from the Arsenal vaporetto stop.

 

Venice is stupidly expensive any way that you look at it but it is a special city so you should make the most of your time there and stay in the city.

 

cheers

[cusyl]

We are in our 70s and opted to stay on the mainland in Mestre since we were not able to drag luggage over the bridges.

It made easy access from the airport and to the ship by land taxi.

 

It was reasonable and 10 minutes to the island of Venice by train.

We settled on the Best Western Boglona in Mestre and would recommend it. It was directly across the street from the train station and you can buy tickets at the hotel front desk. Traveladvisor.com also mentions other hotels in the area.

[Sea Day Cruiser]

We stayed at the Sofitel which is right next to the Piazza Roma. You have to cross one bridge between the piazza and the hotel. There are 12 wide steps up and then 12 down on the other side. We are two women in our mid sixties and we managed to get our bags across. The hotel is very nice. When you leave the hotel if you go one direction you go back to the Piazza Roma. If you go the other way you are right in Venice and very close to the water bus stops and the Grand Canal.

 

We stayed at the Sofitel before our Princess cruise. On the day we boarded the ship, we dragged our luggage back to the Piazza Roma about noon and there was a free shuttle bus there to take people to the port. I think it was supplied by the port rather than Princess. I don't know if it went to other ships or not.

[maclady]

We are in our 70s and opted to stay on the mainland in Mestre since we were not able to drag luggage over the bridges.

It made easy access from the airport and to the ship by land taxi.

 

It was reasonable and 10 minutes to the island of Venice by train.

We settled on the Best Western Boglona in Mestre and would recommend it. It was directly across the street from the train station and you can buy tickets at the hotel front desk. Traveladvisor.com also mentions other hotels in the area.

Thank you for your suggestion. We are still debating staying in Venice at a hotel with a dock or staying near connections to Venice. The Hotel Boglona has great rates.About how much was the trainfare to Venice ?Do trains run in the evenings? We would probably spend our days in Venice, have dinner there,then return to the hotel. Karen and Dean

[cusyl]

I can't remember the fare, but think it was less than $2.00. The trains run quite often, every few minutes and run until 11:00 at night.

Staying on the island of Venice of course would be a great experience, but we opted for the least expensive and easiest transportation option.

We spent all day in Venice and only came back to the hotel to sleep the night before the cruise. They furnished a complimentary breakfast before checking out in the morning.

[maclady]

We sure appreciate the suggestions that we have received and hope others will keep their comments coming. We just discovered Cruise Critic prior to our last cruise and have found the message boards so helpful in trip planning!This will be a really exciting cruise -14 days from Venice to Barcelona with a two night stop in Rome as well as stops in Naples, Athens, Dubrovnik, Ephesus, Naples, Florence/Pisa, Sicily, and Villefranche. We would also appreciate input on tours in any of the ports. I am going to be scanning a number of the boards as we begin to make plans. Do hotels in Venice proper tend to be noisy-with the boats on the canals and all? Karen

[Bruin Steve]

I have been to Venice four times now...

Three of those times, we stayed near the Piazzale Roma (Sofitel, Carlton, Capri) and this last time,we stayed near Piazza San Marco at the Anastasia...

 

http://www.sofitel.com/sofitel/fichehotel/gb/sof/1313/fiche_hotel.shtml

http://www.carltongrandcanal.com/en/

http://www.hotelcapri.net/en/index.htm

http://www.hotelanastasia.com/

 

BOTH areas are quite nice...

The Piazzale Roma area IS more convenient to ground transportation, but you will have a short walk with luggage or maybe need to get a porter...With wheeled luggage and not a lot of luggage, it is easily do-able...

You can also get right to the Sofitel or Carlton by water taxi as both have private docks...The Carlton is right on the Grand Canal...

 

Staying elsewhere in Venice, you do have the issue of schlepping luggage on and off vaporettis or dealing with water taxis...and still may have some logistical issues unless your hotel has a dock or is right at a Vaporetti stop...

 

I would NOT stay in Mestre...it just doesn't have any charm...and however short or cheap the train ride, it simply isn't quite the experience you have by just walking out of your hotel at night and seeing the Grand Canal in front of you...

 

We just sent my parents on a trip to Italy for my Mom's 80th birthday (and she had just had hip replacement surgery about 43-4 months before)...along with my aunt and uncle, my mom's cousin and a couple of friends...8 people between the ages of 72 and 83...I booked them into the Residenza Canareggio--which gave them all ground floor rooms--they found it very nice...but, to get there, we arranged water taxis for them--taking them and their luggage directly to the hotel...

 

http://www.residenzacannaregio.it/english.html

 

Once you are ensconced in your hotel, you can get anywhere in Venice easily using the Vaporetti (buy a 24 or 72 hour pass for 12 or 25 euro pp respectively)...

 

Have fun...

[Bruin Steve]

Do hotels in Venice proper tend to be noisy-with the boats on the canals and all?

We've never had an issue with noise in any of our stays in Venice...The Sofitel is on a side canal, sort of away from the traffic...likewise, the Capri is on a side street of sorts...The Carlton put us in a "courtyard" room and it was very quiet...The Anastasia shares a small courtyard with the Westin...sort of a dead end that just goes to the two hotels...very, very quiet...I've heard the Violin d'Oro, just outside that courtyard, has a noise issue because it fronts right on the Gondola Station...Read tripadvisor.com for reviews on all of these hotels...

 

This will be a really exciting cruise -14 days from Venice to Barcelona with a two night stop in Rome as well as stops in Naples, Athens, Dubrovnik, Ephesus, Naples, Florence/Pisa, Sicily, and Villefranche. We would also appreciate input on tours in any of the ports.

 

Great itinerary...we've cruised to most of those ports a couple of times now...and have visited during non-cruise vacations as well...

 

As to tours, do you prefer ship's excursions? Or would you rather hire private guides? We've done both and each has its advantages...Of course, it's hard to not enjoy either one...

 

In Rome, the ships dock at Civitavecchia, which is about a 50 mile drive outside of Rome...some sort of tour is necessary...We actually like the idea of a ship's excursion here since most of the private drivers in Italy are not licensed to do tour into the Vatican and museums and archaeological sites...so they can only drive and drop you...There is a LOT to see here...

 

For Naples, we've done both a shorex (in 2003 to Capri, Pompei and Sorrento) and a private tour (this past July to the Amalfi Coast)...If you want to do the Amalfi Coast, I'd recommend a private guide--we used Salvatore, who was excellent--much better to do this in a small van than a big bus...But, I really recommend seeing Pompei--it is truly remarkable...Again, if you have a private driver, you'll need an additional guide for Pompei...

 

For Athens, we've also done both...If you're visiting the Parthenon and Cape Sounion, the shorex is just fine...We used a private guide for a trip to Mycenae and the Pelopennese this last time--which works in a bit more than the shorex--and private guides are fairly reasonable in Athens...

 

Dubrovnik you can do on your own--make sure to walk the walls...but we really enjoyed the shorex to the winery/farm this last time...We didn't think much of Cavtat--avoid that...

 

Florence, you might want a private guide to avoid the longer walks--the buses can't get you close to the sites...We had a great shorex to San Gimignano...

 

Sicily? We've been once and did the Shorex to Mt. Etna...I wish we'd done something different...

 

We had a shorex in Villefranche to Monte Carlo, Eze and Cannes...nice, but it would have been better managed witha private guide...Try Alain at Dreamtours...

 

Good luck...

[Bev]

Hi

 

DH and I have just returned from the RCI Transatlantic crossing of the Splendour of the Seas. We flew in to Venice two days pre-cruise and stayed at the Best Western Hotel Bologna in Mestre (a suburb of Venice).

 

We really enjoyed our stay there because:

- we had an Early Booking Rate of 99 Euros per night

- the breakfast, included in the room rate, was excellent

- the hotel was modern and clean with large rooms (by European standards)

- Federico and other front office staff are very helpful

 

The hotel is right across the street from the Mestre train station. It cost 1 Euro for a one-way trip and the trains ran frequently both into and from Venice. It only takes about 10 minutes each way. When you reach the Venice train station you can then get on a vaporetto or water bus - the number 1 will take you to the Doge's Palace/St. Mark's Square.

 

I would highly recomend staying at the Hotel Bologna.

 

Bev