Guide to Venice Hotels

Your key to Venice hotels is the same as in any other city -- location, location, location.  In Venice, the best hotel location is close to St. Mark's Square.  That's where many of the tourist attractions are located.  The bad news is that many of these hotels are expensive -- really expensive.

If you stay near St. Mark's, you can drop into your hotel room during the day to rest or freshen up, and have a snack.  In the evening, you can stroll through St. Mark's, have dinner, and linger to listen to the bands entertaining the tourists. 

As in other European cities, there are several questions you should ask before booking any hotel in Venice:
1.  Is the room air conditioned?  (many are not, and Venice is h-o-t in summer)
2.  Does the room have a shower?  (many rooms only have bathtubs)
3.  Can the hotel confirm a nonsmoking room?
4.  Is there an elevator?

Our recommendation:

Best Western Cavalletto -- reportedly the oldest hotel in Venice, the Cavalletto is literally steps off of St. Mark's Square.  We found the front desk staff to be very efficient and courteous, and the buffet breakfast that was included each morning was extensive (including our own pot of coffee for our table each morning, a nice touch).  And the room -- well, we quickly abandoned our concerns about Venice hotels as we stepped inside a room that was large, very clean and well decorated, and had a phenomenal air conditioning system.  And the bathroom was almost elegant.  Note there are two parts to this hotel.  We stayed in the new section, which is just across the street (alley) from the main hotel.  Best of all, our rate was very reasonable (we booked direct with the Best Western website).  When we checked out, the front desk clerk called and reserved a water taxi for us, and then called a porter to come and get our luggage.  Highly recommended.