What is everyone thinking for Venice Hotels. There are so many choices. Do I understand it is best to stay in San Marcos area?
I think there is no bad area to stay in Venice, as the entire city is amazing, BUT just keep note that the closer you stay to San Marco the more expensive hotels, food, shopping, etc will get. It is easy to walk to San Marco's square from pretty much everywhere... obviously, the farther you stay from San Marco's square, the farther the walk it'll be, BUT Venice is such an amazing place to just walk around, it's almost kind of fun staying far from San Marco's square because you have an excuse to walk all over Venice that way. Also, San Marco's Square can get SOOO crowded!! The farther you stay from San Marco's Square, the less crowded it typically gets.
LovesToRun
I will be great hearing about your recent Med experience, it may help a lot in planning for this cruise. We are torn between spending a week in Switzerland or 4 days in Venice prior to the cruise. Everything we are seeing indicates VEnice is a very easy walk around city so thinking we will stay somewhere central to the points of interest, where did you end up ?
I could share so much about our Med cruise... it was so amazing...every single day. There was not even a day where our kids (who were 10 and 12) complained about being too busy or doing too much. They loved every minute, too. You all will have to ask questions, because there is too much for me to share that I wouldn't know where to start!!
Yes, Venice is VERY easy to walk around... you will get lost the first day or two you are there, but you soon get to know your way around pretty well. we stayed in Venice for 3 days before our Med cruise this summer (we flew from Venice to Barcelona to catch the ship). It was amazing! It was DH and my 2nd time to Venice, and our kid's 1st time, and our kids loved it! We stayed at a small boutique hotel near the train station that was reasonably priced (for Venice... keep in mind, though, Venice is expensive no matter what, so you will likely pay more for hotels there, even the cheaper ones than you would in other cities, so "reasonably priced" in Venice might be "expensive" for other cities in Europe). I tried to book us at the same hotel again for next summer when we are in Venice, and they are already booked up for their family room (that fits 2 adults, 2 kids), but they may have space for rooms for 2 people. We LOVED it. It was called, "Hotel Canal Grande".
http://www.hotelcanalgrande.it/ We were so sad when we found out they were booked for their family rooms (which is a 1-bedroom suite) for July 2014 before our cruise. But, if you can get a room there, it's SO worth it, and for what you get, worth the price. And, now, after pricing other hotels in Venice that have rooms to fit a family of 4, I'm realizing this hotel (Hotel Canal Grande) is a GOOD deal for a family of 4 (even though it is expensive, but it's still cheaper than a lot of other hotels of this caliber that have rooms for 4). They have excellent reviews on Trip Advisor, too, and after staying there, I can see why. And, if you are coming in to Venice on the train, it's SO convenient. Literally a 5 - 7 minute walk from the train station (we came into Venice on the train). So, I highly recommend this place, but if you are a family of 4 (or more), I don't think they have space before the cruise, but if you are just 2 people, contact them to see what rooms they have. If you can get a Canal View, it's SOOO worth the price! We paid for a Canal View, and I don't regret on Euro we spent on that Canal View room.
But, they have non-Canal View rooms, too, that are much cheaper.
And, this hotel is about a 30 - 40 minute walk to San Marco's Square, which seems far, but honestly, it's just SO neat walking through all the little streets/alley-ways in Venice from this hotel to San Marco's Square that we didn't mind the walk at all. And, the food is way cheaper in this area than in the San Marco's Square area.
You can also take a water bus to San Marco's square for a lot faster, but then you are paying money to get there... and walking is free.
The hotel we have booked for next summer pre-cruise is called, "Palazzo San't Angelo".
http://www.palazzosantangelo.com/ . It is more expensive than Hotel Canal Grande for a family room, but I did a lot of looking around on Trip Advisor and the internet, and this is what we ended up with... it has excellent reviews. It is expensive, though! But, for what we get, it's MUCH more space and amenities than what we'd get near San Marco's square for the same price. Basically, unless you rent an apartment, staying in a hotel with a family of 4 in Venice is expensive, but worth it, if you can splurge, because Venice is an amazing place.
I will say that when I emailed Palazzo San't Angelo to inquire about rooms accommodations that will fit our family, they gave me a much cheaper quote in email than what came up on their website!! I was so surprised, and so we booked it right away because of the deal they gave us (even though it's stil expensive!) So, if you consider this place (or any hotel, in Venice, email them directly and see what quote they come up with and see if they quote you a better price in email than what their website brings up). Also, this hotel (Palazzo San't Angelo) does not have free internet in their hotel (you have to pay for it), but before I agreed to book the room, I got them to agree to throw in free internet for us for our entire stay, and we also get a free full breakfast every morning, too!
So, if anyone books here, make a request before you book to have them throw in free internet and breakfast and see if they will do that.
We booked a Canal View room at this hotel, so we are paying more because of that, BUT they had much cheaper options for a family of 4 (2 classic connecting rooms with no view for significantly cheaper, and fairly affordable). But, for us, going to Venice is all about being able to see the Canals, and having a Canal View room for us is all part of the Venice experience.
But, there are SO many lodging options in Venice with so many different prices... probably the most affordable is if you can rent an apartment. But, what you choose and what you pay just depends on what is most important to you, and what you want in lodging.
Just look at Trip Advisor for reviews, and if the lodging you are looking at has mostly 4 and 5 star positive reviews, then you are probably going to happy with it! I never book lodging where the majority of reviews on Trip Advisor are NOT extremely positive.
Looking at Paul G. in Society Cook Islands Feb 2015, don't like using other lines but have had to 5 times now.
I always wanted to celebrate my birthday in Greece, and now we get to!
this is going to be a great cruise
