If you were going to Venice, where would you stay?

[Aridane]

I am bewildered by the choice of amazing looking hotels with amazing views (though appreciate individual rooms may not share those views).

If you’ve been to Venice or are planning to go, where would you stay?

Op so glad you're having a great time. Is your hotel lovely. I'm very jealous of your photos they are so beautiful, lit well... Very nice.

@lynsey91 - can you reschedule (and book in a covid test)?

Lido. You get the best of both worlds then. Beaches on the island and the city a short vaporetto ride away.

There are some lovely restaurants on Lido and you can hire bikes to explore the island.

Stayed at Ai Mori d'Oriente Hotel 5 years ago and I really like did - on a canal. Maybe a bit dated but it was very pleasant, turn down service and reasonably priced. Walking distance to food places and all the main attractions. Got a taxi boat from the train terminal to it and also got taxi boats to the beach whenever we wanted to visit it (we visited in July). Really liked Venice and if you have time, make the relatively short train journey to Verona and visit Juliette’s balcony 😍

I'ld also recommend the Venice lido, we stayed at Villa Edera and loved it - best to stay close to where boats arrive.

Looks a lot more empty than normal - would love to see it like that but wouldn't risk it atm as higher risk and think I would have issues getting my 2 to do covid tests.

Hi @lynsey91 if I were you I'd try to book a night or 2 away somewhere in this country, after Mondays announcement from the powers that be in case they stop movement around the UK like in Wales and Scotland.
When we had our Spain holiday cancelled a couple of nights away helped us recharge.
The decorating would just bring me down further as I should be having fun.

[quote Aridane]@lynsey91 - can you reschedule (and book in a covid test)?[/quote]
We can't easily reschedule. DH is self employed and has lots of work at the moment. He managed to make next week free but has work booked for a good 6 weeks after that and would not let his customers down.

I don't think Ryanair let you change flights so we have lost our money with them.

I guess it just wasn't meant to be. Hopefully we might get to go next year although if it goes back to being really busy I don't think I want to bother

Had you,already paid for the hotel?

Hotel Commercio and Pellegrino was lovely, around the corner from San Marco's square. Loads of great food nearby.

Very cosy and convenient

We stayed here. Very nice and very good value. Friendly artist host. Location was relatively quiet with a more genuine neighbourhood feel. But still extremely central. But it's a BnB. You may be looking for a grand hotel! www.bed-and-breakfast.it/en/veneto/aria-e-luce-venezia/40256

@Aridane yes we had paid for the hotel but we will get that back. It's just the flight and airport parking we have lost so about £200.

Could be worse but I am sad. If they had brought the new rules in a bit earlier we would have been ok. I know 3 people who have had tests and they waited between 3 and 5 days for their results. So even if we had been able to get a test yesterday we probably would not have got the results in time

We went around this time to Venice pre covid and stayed on Lido which wasn't busy at all, neither where Murano and Burano. Round St Marks Square was heaving as was round the rialto but away from there it wasn't crowded so you can avoid crowds even in normal times. We just went quickly to crowded places, you can pre-book some things that are busy so no queueing.

Our airport parking refunded this year, maybe worth asking.

Flights refunded within Europe refunded if cancelled which they were. They might cancel yet.

@lynsey91 - just went on to Ryanair app to see if they’ve cancelled flights. Seems they haven’t but that October flights are transferable without fee

The Gritti Palace...

Just do it

@Aridane DH was looking last night at changing our flight but there is only a flight from East Midlands on the 19th October and then no flights until some time in December.

19th October is not really any good for us. DH has 5 customers booked for that week and he really does not want to let them down.

Not sure if we could change the airport and still just transfer them. They fly from Stanted through November but that is a long drive for us.

We don't really want to go to Venice in December or particularly in January or February. He looked at flights in March and to change flights we would have to pay the same again so not worth booking now as we could just lose it all

@KoalaRabbit

Is that hotel on the water or road? I've just looked it up and it's own map looks unclear as if it it on a road?
But it says the water boat is front of the hotel?

Is it close to a beach?

Lynsey

We went 1st time in February!
It was perfect! It6 wasn't cold, magical mists in the morning, we arrived in mist... Falling away over buildings in grand canal.. It was fabulous and not busy

@Aridane just tried changing to flying from Manchester airport in November and even though the actual flights are cheaper it ends up that we would have to pay £187! That's more than we have already paid so not sure how they work that out

This what Ryanair say:

"Flight change fees are charged per one way flight/per person and vary by season.

In addition to these flight change fees, any price difference between the original fare paid and the new fare chosen is charged. Please note that if the fare/fees on the new flight is lower, no refund will be made.

Flight dates and times are changeable (subject to seat availability), such changes can be made up to 4 hours prior the scheduled flight departure time"

Autumn It's on a road, a few minutes walk from where the vaporetto (boat) drops off. The beach is 5 mins walk the other way from the boat. The Lido is a reasonable size and the boat only stops in one place so some hotels on there are a 10 minute bus ride away from boat but that one is very close.

@lynsey91 - I don’t understand this in light of what they have plastered across their app

Are you using their website or app (not that it should make any difference)?

@Aridane I didn't really have time to look into it properly this morning but will try again now.

I am using their website but, as you say, it should not make any difference. Their website I find pretty annoying so it would annoy me more trying to use it on my phone!

It definitely showed that we would have to pay another £187 on top of the £140 we have paid but maybe I did something wrong.

It would be great if we could go next month. We will just have to make sure we get a test within the time period stated and, of course, that we both test negative.

DH actually had a text this morning from track & trace saying someone he had been in contact with has covid but when he looked into where he and the other person supposedly were it said Wales. We haven't been to Wales for 8 years!

DH works in people's houses and can go into as many as 10 to 12 houses a day. He wears a mask and sanitises his hands all the time but he is touching items in their houses (he says he can't wear gloves as it makes his job more difficult) and I am not sure he uses sanitiser every single time.

If either of us were likely to test positive it would be him. That's what worried me about having the test at Marco Polo airport as if he tested positive and I tested negative they would make him go to a set hotel/hostel or wherever they put people and I would be left to holiday alone. Plus some people have been in Italy 2 months or longer having tested positive and waiting to have a test showing negative.

I do hope for you that this can be sorted and you can enjoy Venice while it remains free of hordes of visitors.

To those with the recommendations for where to stay, many thanks. So much experience of Venice! I stayed right by Rialto Bridge, walking distance of St Marks. At a time when Venice is quiet, I am pleased to have stayed in its heart. I did visit Murano and Burano though - charming but very different and ‘rural’ compared with Venice Venice.