Venice and Florence Hotel Recommendations

[cyclingmum67]

Does anyone have any recommendations for hotels/B&Bs in Florence and Venice ?

Travelling in mid September and willing to pay up to €200 per night for 2 of us in a double room. Arriving/Departing both by train, so want something walkable between main train stations/centre.

Finding myself suffering from paralysis by analysis with all the options available and cross checking them via Google, Expedia and Trip Advisor

We had a great stay at the Olimpia Hotel in Venice. It’s located as you first come onto the island, just over the first bridges from the main car and bus stopping points. We chose there as we didn’t arrive until midnight and didn’t want the hassle of trying to find a hotel at that time and try to navigate all the streets. It was lovely, clean and had a really good breakfast. 5 minute walk from the water bus or a just a really pleasant walk to the main sites.

Edited to add, if I ever go back I’d stay there again rather than go down the rabbit hole of accommodation again. No issues at all in recommending it.

We’ve just come back from a short trip to Florence, we stayed at the Hotel Croce Di Malta, very well located for the train station and a lot of the main tourist attractions. Clean, pleasant but not luxury. Perfectly fine for a couple of nights. Nice buffet breakfast included.
Restaurant recommendation- Osteria dei Cento Poveiri. Affordable but popular so book ahead.

The Michiavelli Palace on Via Nationale in Florence is very close to the station, it has a rooftop bar with amazing views.

We just got home from Venice and stayed at Pensione Guerrato which we loved! It's a small family run hotel, built in 13th century. It's only a few mins walk from the Rialto Bridge on the San Polo side of the Grand Canal but down a very quiet side street (we heard no noise at night). Staff were fabulous, so helpful and friendly, and it has a lovely breakfast room and service. Rooms are simple but lovely (old furniture/beamed ceilings) but spacy with great shower. Just a few mins walk away from good restaurants and the San Polo side of the bridge is quieter than the San Marco side. We also arrived by train. We chose to walk through the lanes to the hotel (about 15 mins from the station) which was a great walk but you can get the vaporetto to the Rialto stop just a few mins away from the hotel.

The only thing to note is that the rooms are on 3rd/4th floors and there is no lift (stairs aren't steep) and I think a small number of rooms have shared bathrooms (ours had private) so make sure you book one with private (assuming that's what you prefer). But would definitely recommend.