Venice hotels

[KAKTraveler]

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced hotel in Venice for pre-post cruise stays? Everything is either wildly expensive, or requires $100 water taxi fare to and from the airport and to and from the cruise pier....That's $400, if we are lucky and the Euro doesn't go any higher.

If you can't recommend a hotel, at least how about a good section of the city for making such transfers.

[Apexion]

The Marriot near the airport is where we stayed the last time there. It was arround 115 Euro. You can use a regular land taxi from/to the cruise terminal for about 20-25 Euro from the airport. The water taxis are nicer but much much pricer.

 

We finished our cruise in Venice and stayed a few extra days. The public transit is Venice was useful for getting around as well. It was around 14 Euro for a 24 hour day pass to the buses (both land and water) in and around Venice. There are water buses that go to/from venice from/to/ the airport but the land buses will get you into venice faster. There is a bus line that stops in front of the hotel and goes to the bus terminal at venice (no transfers needed.)

 

Link for the Venice Transit Authority

http://www.actv.it/english/

[bubbadog]

i agree with the above poster, the marriott is probably your best bet,there is one called sofitel i believe,but its a lil more spendy:))200 or thereabouts,so if it were me id pick the marriott,and use the regular taxi,not the 100$ one, i think its 12-14 euro for day pass,have fun and check out the port board for venice, it'll have alot of info for you:)):p

[nellydean]

The Al Piave is a lovely, family-run hotel, just 5 mins from St Mark's Square, so right in the heart of things. We've stayed there a couple of times, once in an apartment for 5 people and once as mum/dad and one child. The service is friendly, the place is spotlessly clean and the rates are reasonable.

Why stop at an airport hotel when you can be in the centre of this amazing city? You can ride the vaparetto up and down the Grand Canal and, at the top end of the canal, you can get a bus to the airport - it's MUCH cheaper than a water taxi and far more exciting! Also, if you have time, take a train to VERONA, which is about an hour and a half away, and is another fantastic city to visit for the day - don't miss Juliet's balcony! :)

 

http://www.hotelalpiave.com

 

look at tripadvisor.com, which gives 4 and 5-star recommendations, I really shouldn't be telling you because everyone will start booking it!

[SA Traveler]

We stayed at Best Western's Hotel Ala - great location in walking distance of St Mark's square and the accomodations were fine.

[beachnative]

Check out "Hotel Monaco and Grand Canal" (restaurant on the Grand Canal). We loved it. (Reduced rate through internet brokers like hotel.com, etc.) I't is next to Harry's Bar. We used the airport vaporatto for transportation from the airport. It docks about "a block" from the hotel (St.Mark's).

[skisteamboat]

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced hotel in Venice for pre-post cruise stays?

 

Reasonably priced and Venice are mutually exclusive statements.:D

 

That said, try a search for Locanda on http://www.tripadvisor.com. They are small family owned hotels all over Venice. We have stayed at a couple and they are good value for money. The farther away from St. Marks, they lower the price and its not much of a walk from anywhere on the island (if you don't mind the bag drag).

 

Cheers

[KAKTraveler]

Dear Nellydean,

I hate to burst your bubble, but the Juliet's balcony you saw is one LIKE the one in the movie, it is not the really balcony where Juliet supposedly spoke her lines. That said, I did hear good things about Verona, but I think we might do Padua for a day.

[SailyaCruise]

I could be so lucky to be looking for hotels in Venice. Sigh. We're thinking about next year though, and will try to book something on our Explorer cruise to Bermuda -- ON AUGUST 12 -- 25 days!!! -- not that I'm counting or anything!!:D YIPPEEE!!!

[agabbymama]

I've decided on the Golden Tulip Tritone in Mestre (rather than Venice proper) right across the street from the train station, at $143 right now. Train to Venice for 3 EUR, bus to airport for 3 EUR. Vaporetto pass for 25 EUR for 48 hours, to cruise the Grand Canal, San Marco, Murano, Burano and Lido.

 

I'm trying to do Rome 2 days pre-cruise and Venice 2 days post-cruise as economically as possible. It's tough with the terrible exchange rate. I'm doing some serious praying that the dollar gains some strength before Oct '08.

 

As skisteamboat said, Venice and affordable don't go together at all.

 

Good luck and have a great trip!

[lambs2]

Another very clean and reasonably priced choice in Mestre is the Hotel Mary. http://www.venicehotelmary.com/en/ We stayed there one night post cruise to be near the airport in the morning. the breakfast's there are EXCELLENT! Even made to order eggs! It appears to be a family-run enterprise. I highly recommend this hotel. I believe we paid just over $100. per night (US $$)

 

BUT...that being said if you only stay in Mestre you will definely miss the ambience of staying in Venice. For two nights pre-cruise we had chosen a delightful bed & breakfast, Palazzo Guardi,

http://www.palazzoguardivenice.com/en/rooms.htm

 

This was more reasonable than other places we had researched (about 155 Euros per night -a splurge for us but so worth it) and yet was only a 10 minute walk across the Accademia Bridge to St. Mark's Square. We loved our time there!

 

Friends of ours stayed here: http://www.abbaziahotel.com/en/rooms.htm

It is an old converted monastary and also very nice and reasonable by Venice standards.

 

Yes, you have to "pay" for the privilege of staying in Venice proper, but it is really one of those once in a lifetime experiences that you may not want to pass by!

[agabbymama]

KAKTraveler may feel it's once in a lifetime thing to sleep in Venice.

 

I didn't feel anything special toward Venice my first visit, except sadness to see it deteriorating away. If my friend didn't want to see Venice, I wouldn't even stay after the cruise.

 

I much preferred Stresa at Lake Maggiore or Cefalu on Sicily or a small town on the Adriatic, Fossacessia. I think Rome and Venice are way overrated, therefore their prices are way inflated.

 

But alas as long as travelers keeping pouring into Rome and Venice and being willing to pay $300-400-500 per night for a hotel room, prices won't come down. I won't pay that, I'll cancel my trip before I'd even think of paying that.

[KAKTraveler]

We've decided to stay pre and post cruise at the Hotel Plaza in Mestre, near the train station. It wasn't only the cost difference in staying at a 4 star hotel there or in Venice proper, it was the assurance that we will have no trouble reaching the dock or the airport without trotting luggage over bridges and down alleys or using expensive water taxis or slow vaporetti. I'm sure we will get our share of Venice Ambiance with three days there.

[berryhappy24]

We stayed a night there at the begining of July. It's a wonderful small (5 room) hotel 2 min from St. Mark's square. We were charged 100 euro for the night. Roberto is the manager and is friendly and helpful. He speaks English very well and will help you via email before your arrival. He also helped us with restaurants and tours when we stayed. They serve a light breakfast of pastries, fruit and cereal from 8-10am. There are stairs from the entrance to the lobby (on the 2nd floor), but Roberto will help you with your luggage. We stayed in the room, I think it was 101, that has the bathroom downstairs and the room up a tiny flight of stairs. It was a cozy room, we wished that we could have stayed longer.

 

www.locandacorrer.com

[okbrit]

Hotel Abbazia. It is about 3 minutes walk from the train station (Venice St. Lucia - where you can get the train to Rome or Verona or wherever you want) about 5 from the parking lot (I think you can get trnsportation to the airport from there - not sure as we got the train to Paris). No bridges to cross. Very near a Vaporetta stop. We paid 150E last July. It is an old convent and we really liked it.

[Member]

Okbrit, Hotel Abbazia is sold out but I see from one of its photos that the one hotel right across its Calle Priuli entrance seems pretty decent. Is it Hotel Ca' Lucrezia?

[High C's]

Last September we stayed at the Sofitel, which is located right off of Piazzale Roma. We took the blue bus (express) from the airport for 3 Euros each, and walked about 2 minutes to the hotel. Very easy!

 

Then, we walked (about 15-20 minutes without rushing) to St. Marks Square, getting lost as is expected in Venice but certainly part of the charm! We took the Vaporetto back to P. Roma to get to the hotel, which took us along the Grand Canal at night, under the Rialto Bridge, etc.

 

To us, the trip to/from the hotel to St. Marks was part of the charm of being in Venice. And because it was accessible very easily from Piazzale Roma, we did not have to incur the expense of a water taxi.

 

The following morning it was very easy to hop into a cab to take us to the ship (although we found out after that there was probably a shuttle from the cruise lines:mad: ).

 

Just another option for you to consider!! Either way, enjoy Venice. It is as wonderful as they say!

[Susan-M]

Last September we stayed at the Sofitel' date=' which is located right off of Piazzale Roma.[/quote']

 

We also stayed at the Sofitel at the end of our Med cruise in Sept. '05. It was one of the few hotels in Venice that would take a one night reservation on a w/e - and the location was great - as you mention, an inexpensive ride to the airport, convenient to the cruise dock, and close to the canal if you want to take a vaporetta. We walked to St. Mark's square a couple of times (once from the cruise dock and once from the hotel) because it's such an interesting walk. And the hotel is very nice.:)

[okbrit]

Okbrit, Hotel Abbazia is sold out but I see from one of its photos that the one hotel right across its Calle Priuli entrance seems pretty decent. Is it Hotel Ca' Lucrezia?

 

I don't remember the name of the hotel across from it. If you look at the venere web site it lists hotels in venice by area. Abbazia is in Cannaregio Ovest. http://en.venere.com/hotels_venice/cannaregio_ovest/

 

Find hotels in the area. Then I would strongly suggest checking reviews on tripadvisor - I found the user reviews very helpful when planning a trip last year.

 

Did you try booking direct with the hotel Abbazia? We booked direct with them through their website. They were always very quick and responsive to emails and questions.

 

I really want to go to Venice again. Maybe the next cruise I will do one starting from there. Have fun.

[jefarl]

If you stay in Venice (within the canals) you have the issue of a little higher price but its the best place to stay, not near the airport in the CITY. Since you are trying to avoid the water taxi cost, why not take the bus or a land taxi from the airport to Plaza Roma on the Grand Canal. From there you can stay at a nice hotel and reasonable (Hotel Santa Chiara) where we spent 4 days 3 years ago. No need for a water taxi, right on the Grand Canal at an express Vapporetto stop, and when you want to get to the ship, its a short land taxi ride 5 minutes.

 

The back of the hotel opens onto the Plaza Roma and the front on the Grand Canal! perfect place and since it's at that end of the canal its less expensive than nearer St. Marks and only a short trip.

[windycitymom]

If you need help coordinating anything (hotels, tours,etc.) in Venice, try Jayne@VeniceEvents.com She got us a gondala ride (family of 5) for 80Euro vs. for 150E (what the cruise ship said to expect to pay).