Hotel in Venice, Italy

[KnoxvilleSam]

Are there restrictions on luggage when taking the public boats in Venice?

 

On vaporettos you are supposed to pay for taking your luggage - a nominal fee as I recall, but a fee nonetheless. Perhaps something on the order of one or two euros per bag. Since we didn't use a vaporetto getting to our hotel from the airport or from our hotel to the ship, I don't know if the vaporettos are enforcing this rule or not.

 

And yes, you can have a problem getting luggage on and off the vaporetto - at least at "rush hour" when LOTS of people, locals as well as tourists, are using the vaporetti.

 

Sam

[rebeccalouise]

In St. Mark's there is a ferry to and from the airport. The Vaporettos are the buses that run up and down the Grand Canal- they are smaller.

[rebeccalouise]

The ships dock just outside Piazzle Roma. There is no problem using the ship for a hotel. It is about 1/2 mile walk from the ship to the Vaporetto stand.

 

Venice is a magical city. I highly recommend spending two full days there. If time permits- you may stay an extra night or two.

[agabbymama]

After many hours of searching, I have selected two hotels near the cruise pier. Hotel Arlecchino and Canal & Walter Hotel. Both look fairly nice, but not outrageously priced like those closer to St. Marks, yet both are on the canal. Hotel description says you can walk to the pier, but with luggage it's better to take a taxi. I really like the Arlecchino but if it's unavailable I'll settle for the Canal & Walter Hotel.

 

So many of the hotels mentioned in this thread are so very expensive. And yes, while I am paying a couple thousand dollars to do the cruise, I don't want a two night hotel stay to cost as much as the cruise. I knew with Eruope going to the Eurodollar things were going to get more costly there, and they sure have. And it doesn't help that the dollar is so weak against the Euro. It used to be only Great Britain's pound that was better than ours, now the Euro is too. Sometimes you just can't win.

 

Have fun selecting your hotel, and then have a great trip!

[Travelbug 2]

Thank you for the information on this thread, planning is going to be fun. :)

[shellbeachjim]

We stayed at what was then called the Park Hotel and is now the Sofitel Venezia. This was several years ago, but we wouldn't hesitate staying there again. In fact our next cruise ends in Venice and we probably will have a short stay there before we head home.

I don't like to resurrect old threads, but here goes anyway...

 

We just left Venice after a two night stay at the Sofitel. It was simply ok, and has certainly declined in quality since it was called the Park Hotel. Having no hot water on the first morning wasn't particularly pleasant. We stayed at two other Sofitels on our trip (Athens and Cairo) and the Sofitel Venice wasn't at the same level as the others.

 

I think there are two schools of thought when it comes to this particular hotel. It depends on which room you get. To me it shouldn't matter what room you have. A great hotel is great regardless of what you pay.

 

By the way, Celebrity Cruises uses the Sofitel for pre- and post-cruise stays.

 

Jim

[welove2cruise*]

We stayed in the Abbazia two nights pre-cruise and one night post cruise last fall. We loved the atmosphere and the hotel staff. They were wonderful. The location is within walking distance from P Roma and very near the the train station.

 

If you go to tripadvisor.com and check the hotel forum for Venice you will see lots of good advice from people who have advice on where to stay.

 

The biggest tip I can give is to leave your big pieces of luggage at the hold luggage facility in P Roma. That was so nice.

 

Venice is very easy to explore by foot. We did take the vaporetto a few times, but mostly walked and walked through quaint campo's and lovely canals. It was one of those places where you constantly stopped in awe of the scenery.

 

Have a wonderful trip!

[agabbymama]

I posted earlier about the Arlecchino and Canal & Water. From other posters on this board, I was led to Ca' Doge. It is right at Piazzale Roma where the cruise shuttle stops and the bus to the airport too. There is also a vaporetto stop. Piazzale Roma is the transportation hub of Venice. Land taxis, buses, personal cars, a car park, buses, boats, etc.

 

It looks like pretty flat ground for rolling the suitcases. I have made my reservations there, directly with the hotel. Had to pay a little more than I had wanted to, but for the convenience decided to go for it. If the dollar will either just stay the same or gain some strength, that would be nice.

 

Hope you found a good hotel you are happy with. Have a great trip.