Hotel
Five Favourite Venice Hotels
July 11, 2011 | 
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As one of the top holiday destinations in Italy – and in Europe – Venice is a natural choice for anyone who wants to enjoy compelling historical sites set against a backdrop of stunning scenery. When booking a trip to Venice, the problem isn’t trying to find a suitable place to stay – it’s narrowing down the list of fantastic options. One thing’s for certain: if luxury is what you aim for, then Venice hotels are sure to please. Take a look at the top five luxury hotels in Venice below.
1. Hotel Cipriani – Surrounded by lush, pleasant gardens – and located on Giudecca island, with a sumptuous view of St. Mark’s basilica – Hotel Cipriani is an excellent choice for anyone in need of elegance, class and style during their stay in the City of Water. Kick things up a notch by reserving the Palazzo Vendramin or the Palazzetto, noblemen’s residences that are sure to make your Venetian holiday truly unforgettable.
2. Hotel Gritti Palace – Enjoy the buzz and excitement of being in the heart of Venice by booking a room at the Hotel Gritti Palace. Located on the Grand Canal, the Hotel Gritti Palace is located in a 16th century Doge’s palazzo and is steeped in history and glamour. Another great perk? The hotel owns a private beach on the Venice Lido; take the free round-trip boat service to access this charming spot.
3. Hotel Boscolo Dei Dogi – For true five-star luxury accommodation, few hotels in Venice can hope to rival the amenities and impeccable service offered by the Hotel Boscolo Dei Dogi. Often referred to simply as the Hotel Dei Dogi, it is brimming with amazing architecture and breathtakingly regal decor. Choose a room facing into the hotel’s internal garden for a truly mesmerizing experience.
4. Hotel San Clemente Palace – Few Venice hotels offer the kind of idyllic, serene – and utterly relaxing – accommodations that the Hotel San Clemente Palace can. With its peaceful location on the Isola di San Clemente, this hotel is perfect for those who want to unwind in style.
5. Luna Hotel Baglioni – As the first hotel in Venice, the Lunda Hotel Baglioni has undoubtedly passed the test of time. Throughout the years, it has consistently offered guests some of the top amenities and accommodations in Venice. Snag a room with a grand terrace overlooking St. Mark’s basin for a real treat.
Tips and Suggestions For Choosing a Hotel in Venice
Venice, or “La Serenissima” (The Serenest) as it is also affectionately known, is one of the world’s most popular destinations. This picturesque city, with a population of about 100,000 inhabitants, is scattered across 118 small islands. Venice is famous for its numerous canals, inspiring architecture and general beauty. Many of the city’s sights are found on the main island (Centro storico), such as St. Mark’s Square and Basilica, Rialto Bridge, Bridge of Sighs and La Fenice opera house.
When you do your search for a Venice hotel on the net, you will see that there is a reasonably wide selection of types of accommodations, although on the main island there are very few large hotels. If you wish to visit the city during any of the high seasons, you should book early to avoid disappointment. Generally the high seasons in Venice are any of the bank holidays, September to October, April to June, and the periods when the main festivals take place.
However, before booking your holiday to Venice, you should note that the city is expensive! From dining out to taking a relaxing coffee break at St. Mark’s Square. Moreover, this also applies to the accommodation market. In general, a 3-star hotel will normally provide the average guest with all the comfort necessary for a relaxing and enjoyable stay. If you are on a tight budget and looking for an even cheaper option, then a good tip is to choose a hotel on the mainland and take day trips into the city, such as the town of Mestre or Marghera, both of which overlook the Venice lagoon and have good access to Venice via public transport.
We all expect to be given a clean and comfortable room when on holiday, but do not be too disappointed if your room is a bit on the small side – this is the norm in Venice, as most buildings are very old, as well as small and narrow – of course this adds to the quaintness of Venice! However, many of the hotels outside the city on the mainland are housed in more modern buildings and therefore offer more spacious guest rooms.
Below are four hotels to to give you some idea of the type of accommodation available, three in Venice itself and one on the mainland:
Hotel Palazzo Schiavoni is conveniently situated lies in the Castello district of Venice, and just a 15-minute walk from many of the city’s sights, such as the Arsenale and the city’s most famous landmark, namely St. Mark’s Basilica and Square. It is a small and quaint hotel that offers a personal and friendly service. Room facilities include air conditioning, internet access, en suite bathroom and satellite TV.
Hotel Santa Chiara is housed in a unique building that is some 500 years old. The location faces the Piazzale Roma and the famous Grand Canal. The hotel has been carefully updated to provide guests with comfortable accommodation, where they can rest after a busy day of sightseeing in the city. Also there is private parking, which is a rarity for a hotel in Venice.
Hotel Pausania offers rooms in the centre of Venice which have been elegantly furnished in a traditional Venetian style. Located in the central sestiere (district) of Dorsoduro, the hotel is housed in a beautiful building which was originally the residence of an aristocratic Venetian family. Amenities include a cosy sitting room, a bar and a large veranda, where, weather permitting, breakfast is served in the morning.
Hotel Nuova Mestre is located in the town of Mestre, just over the bay from Venice. The town has great public transport connections to Venice and the hotel offers a cheaper alternative to staying in the actual city of Venice. The hotel was originally built in 1955 and is located in the newer part of town. Ideal for lone travellers, couple, families and small groups, the establishment offers many useful on-site amenities, such as a restaurant, garden area, free parking and a professional concierge.
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Tags: Holiday to Venice, Hotel, Inspiring architecture, Numerous canals, Venice Hotels | 
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Finding Hotels That Are A Home Away From Home
Marvin Gaye once sang, “Wherever I lay my hat, that’s my home”. Well, it’s easy enough for anyone to lay their hat (or luggage) anywhere in the world nowadays, but you’ll find that laying your hat down in a hotel which provides all the conveniences and comforts of home makes for a much more enjoyable experience.
What Makes A Hotel A Home
Whilst hotels, even the most top-end hotels, cannot offer you your own ‘pipe and slippers’, you may be surprised at how homely even the most generic chain hotels can be. Forget about the pipe, but fluffy towelling robes and matching slippers may not be out of the question.
Here are a few of the things to look for before you book a hotel in an unknown destination.
• Location – When buying a property, the first priority is invariably location, location, location. Although you’re not buying your hotel room or apartment, it’s still a top consideration for your new ‘hotel home’. Being close to all the facilities and attractions you want can save you a whole lot of time and money, as well as being convenient. By choosing city-centre hotels, you may even find that everything you want to see and do is within easy walking distance. This avoids the expense and hassle of using taxis, public transport or rental cars. In most modern hotels, double-glazed windows, insulation and sound-proofing ensure that the noise of the city doesn’t disturb your sleep.
• Price – The beauty of booking your hotel online is being able to find great hotel deals quickly and easily and being able to compare prices for similar-style accommodation. After all, there is no point in blowing your budget on your hotel, if you can’t afford to leave it.
• Recommendations – Look to the online community to see which hotels they review positively before you book. If enough ‘friends’ liked it and felt at home there, the chances are that you will too.
• Hotel Services & Facilities – These can really make the difference between which hotels feel like home and which ones don’t:
• Friendly staff – Welcoming staff can make the difference as to how you feel about a hotel as soon as you step inside. If you experience a particularly warm or frosty welcome, why not write a review about it, so you can give other people the heads-up or heads-down. Check to see if the reception is staffed 24/7 – great for security as well as convenience.
• Catering – Every decent hotel room should offer you at least a basic tea or coffee making facility as nothing says home like having a decent brew whenever you want it. However, many hotels will also offer apartments or studios with kitchenettes that you can use to cook up almost anything from the Sunday roast to a full-cooked breakfast. If you don’t cook at home and don’t want to start when you’re away from home, check to see if your hotel has a restaurant on-site and what opening hours it has.
• Internet – If you need to log onto the Internet, make sure your hotel offers high-speed, Internet access from its rooms, or can provide computers and access for its guests (preferably in a comfortable lounge).
• Laundry – If the dirty laundry starts to pile up, it can be very depressing. Keep on top of your travelling holiday or business wardrobe by ensuring your hotel offers laundry and ironing services.
• Fitness – If you’re staying a while, look for a hotel that caters for body as well as soul. The best hotels offer guests free use of on-site gyms, fitness centres or swimming pools.
• Room service – If you want to take it easy, make sure your hotel offers room service which can deliver food and drink to your door. At a more basic level, your room can include a television, radio/clock/alarm, wardrobe, iron, telephone, chair and desk space.
How To Find A Hotel With The Best Location
Have you ever booked a room in a town or city that you’re not familiar with, only to arrive at your lodging and find out that you are miles from the center of town? The hotel’s website promised only a ‘short’ walk to all the fine dining, shops and entertainment, but upon arrival, you find you are forced to drag your tired family on a twenty-minute trek back and forth between your hotel and all the places of interest. This happened to me once, on a family vacation, and my family won’t ever let me forget it! Since then, I’ve learned a few things to look out for when choosing a hotel or inn to make sure that my family never accuses me again of choosing the wrong hotel on the wrong side of town. Here are a few of my most recent discoveries that will ensure you find just the right place to stay when you plan your next family vacation:
First, when searching the internet for a place to stay in your destination city, make sure you find your hotel listed in your search results on Google Places. This will give you an exact pin-pointed location of your accommodations, and there will be no guessing whether or not the lodging is on the downtown end of Main Street, or if it’s on the end that happens to have the waste-water treatment plant and industrial park. Google Places can be found when you search on Google and locations listed have a red pin marker when a Google Places result is found. Knowing exactly where the property is in relation to the rest of the town is very important in determining how close your hotel will be to all that is important to you.
When you locate the website of the hotel you are considering, look for verbiage that says “in the heart of downtown” and “minutes walk from the center of town”. Now, even though a website may claim these things, sometimes these statements are subjective. Yes, a twenty-minute walk to the nearest restaurant could still be considered “minutes walk from downtown”, but it’s not necessarily what you and your family are looking for. I have found that it’s best to contact the hotel directly by telephone and find out exactly how close they are to everything. You should consider asking questions like these:
.How close to your property is the best restaurant in town?
.How long does it take to get there on foot?
.How close is the nearest grocery store?
.If we are planning on walking everywhere, how long will it take us to get to the best stores in town?
These are just a few questions to ask to be sure that the location you are choosing is in the heart of the downtown area. If you are still skeptical about the location, you could consider doing some research on your own. Call the hotel and ask them if they can recommend any local restaurants that you should visit during your stay. When they give you the names of these places, search the internet for the addresses of these restaurants, then do a Google Maps search of these restaurants and find out the distance in relation to the address of the inn you are considering. If the distance is very short, then you can be sure your choice of lodging is really in the heart of it all.