Exploring Venice..

Venice! A name that conjures images of gondolas gliding through the winding canals! With its historic, striking palaces rising gracefully from the water. The alluring Venetian masks portraying secrecy and romance. It has been showcased in the many movies, such as Casino Royale, The Tourist and even the remake of the Italian Job! However there is so much more to Venice if you immerse yourself.

In our comprehensive guides, we’ll reveal the best places to stay, dine, and explore! Sharing with you extraordinary experiences that will create lifelong memories.

We’ll reveal hand-picked accommodations that offer a glimpse into Venetian authenticity. We’ll provide you with invaluable insider tips and expert recommendations. We will delve into the heart of Venetian gastronomy! Sharing our experience of a unique cookery class, probably one of the best we’ve ever attended. We’ll give you our pick of the best locations to savour the Venetian ambiance and enjoy the most exquisite cocktails.

Following several trips to this enchanting city, our guide is designed to inspire and empower you. Encouraging you to create your own unforgettable experiences in this outstanding location. 

So, where to stay in Venice?

When it comes to accommodation in Venice, you have a range of options to choose from – hotels, Airbnbs, or private rooms. But let’s be real, some of those fancy hotels with their exquisite history and ornate decor can cost you an arm, a leg, and possibly your firstborn child. We don’t know about you, but we prefer to keep our soul and wallet intact for future travels. So, for those who want a taste of luxury without breaking the bank, we’ve got you covered with some awesome recommendations below.

But, if you happen to strike it big on the lotto, well then, by all means, check out our top-end recommendations. Who knows, maybe you’ll bump into George Clooney who has been spotted there several times. He loves the place, making it one of his homes and holding his star studded wedding there. Without further ado, let’s check out our top picks for accommodations in Venice.

The Venice Times Hotel

Price range €€ – location Central, 250m from Santa Lucia Train Station and water taxi’s, the Grand Canal and Venice Casino.

This hotel is in a great location and it’s very reasonably priced for what it offers because it is about 1.5km from St Mark’s Square.  It has a Venetian charm in a modern style, so if you’re looking for a traditional Venetian stay it won’t be for you. Rooms are typically large and well equipped, though there are some smaller rooms so be sure to check what you are booking.  We had a great stay, with all of our group of 8 really enjoying it.

The breakfasts offered a great selection of meats, cheeses, pastries and fruits, it is self service with waiters taking your orders for hot drinks and eggs.  We found all of the staff to be attentive.  There is an evening bar where you can gather and it’s got a great vibe with fabulous art work on the walls. In the summer a delightful outdoor terrace is open, where you can also take breakfast. It is set over four floors with lift access to all floors.

Hotel Becher

Price range €€ – location San Marco, close to water taxi, St Mark’s Square and Doge’s Palace. 

This bijou hotel is in an ideal location if you are staying for a short time and want to be located in the centre of everything for ease of access. Arriving by private boat taxi as the hotel has its own jetty was a particular highlight. We absolutely recommend arriving this way, because you get to see so much more of Venice this way.

We loved this small hotel and the excellent personal service they offered.  The decor is traditional Venetian, with luxury fabrics in the rooms, some might say a little dated but we found it charming.

Standard rooms are traditionally decorated and feature mosquito nets, the rooms can be on the smaller side, though they have everything you need. If you book a canal balcony room, you can watch the gondolas pass below. Breakfast offers a good variety. The breakfast room is small but functions well, if you time it right you can grab breakfast on the table over the canal.

It is close to a theatre/opera house and the staff will be happy to let you know what is on during your trip! They’ll even help you if you want to book ahead. In fact the staff are super helpful with everything. It would be difficult to book a stay here and be disappointed.

Hotel AD Place

Price range €€ – location San Marco, close to water taxi, 5 minutes to Saint Mark’s tucked away on a quiet canal.

Another hotel in San Marco district. This hotel is a quieter hotel, except for passing Gondaliers and occasional crowds at the nearby opera house La Fenice.  Vivid coloured fabrics adorn the walls, in a dramatic, theatrical Venetian style. Fabrics on the walls is often a feature found in hotel rooms in historical buildings such as this. There is padding behind and the fabrics are high quality, it’s quite unusual, but very effective.

Every room has its own unique design, there are lots of photos of the 12 rooms here in a feature from the Telegraph’s hotel travel guide where this hotel features as a recommended hotel.

We stayed on the lower floor where the Gondaliers pass by! Often with a loud serenade for the tourists! So if you like to lay in, this is probably not the ideal room for you, but we loved it.

Since our stay they have also added some self catering apartments. If you prefer not to take breakfast. Speaking of breakfast, it was great quality and offered good variety. AD Place also has a cute little roof terrace, where you can kick back and watch the world go by. Just a word of warning, the property does not have a lift and some of the stairs are a little irregular! Though they do add to the character of the hotel.

And now for something different…

So there ends the hotels we have stayed in where we can offer our personal experiences.  (Drop us a line if you have any questions on them).  Now we move onto other options within Venice, these are the luxury end of the price range, because why not?

Belmond Hotel Cipriani

Price range €€€ – location Giudecca, across the lagoon from Saint Mark’s.

The name Belmont is iconic and this hotel speaks for itself. Opened in 1958 by Giuseppe Cipriani, the founder of Harry’s Bar More about that in our blog on where to get the best cocktails! There is a fascinating history to this hotel, read in more depth here. Featuring in Casino Royale, where James Bond arrives to the hotel by boat! Did you know, the inside shots were actually filmed in Prague?

Despite it being unusually located across the water from St Mark’s Square (it offers a 4-minute shuttle boat), it is one of the most exclusive hotels in Venice, in fact the world. George Clooney is a huge fan and stayed there often before buying his own place, but we’re told he is still seen there regularly. He and the hotel’s head barman have created some wonderful signature cocktails, including ‘Buonanotte’ and ‘Goodnight Amigos’.

It is the epitome of luxury with the only Olympic size pool on the island and four restaurants one of which is Michelin starred.  You can hire the hotel’s private boat ‘Shirley’, to take bespoke tours of the city. It’s a haven of tranquility and is no wonder that it hosts many famous people. The Cipriani will (for now) have to stay on Nicki’s bucket list.

The Gritti Palace

Price range €€€ – location Campo Santa Maria del Giglio, five minutes from Saint Mark’s.

The celebrated Gritti Palace is a 15th century Palazzo that has been welcoming visitors as a hotel since 1895. It features a cooking school and an award winning spa.  Visitors here do like the finer things in life, but they don’t feel the need to shout about it.  It has undergone a renovation in recent years, the interior is superbly styled but it has maintained connections to its roots. 

The service is said to be exceptional and it is no wonder it scores top marks in its reviews.  In fact at the time of writing, it’s Trip Advisor score is 5.0 from 1847 reviews and it sits at 45 of 381 hotels in Venice. We feel this is likely to be due to price rather than service, as the service is outstanding.  If you wanted to treat someone special in your life to a once in a lifetime hotel, this could well be it.

Hotel Danieli

Price range €€€ – location Castello, on the Grand Canal, close to Doge’s Palace and Saint Mark’s Square.

This magnificent hotel has the most stunning, jaw dropping Grand staircase as you enter. From the moment you walk through the doors you will be in awe of the marble floors and decorative ceilings.  Formed from three buildings, the oldest being 14th century, you can not escape the grandeur of this palatial hotel. Though from the outside, it is incredibly deceiving. You have to search for it at the waterfront, understated yes, but what a contrast inside.

The atmosphere will transport you back to times gone by! The delightful staff are super friendly, smartly dressed and a credit to the hotel.  Bar Danolo has a great vibe! It is possible to pop in for drinks as a non guest, we highly reccommend the experience. It’s a fantastic lounge bar, the red and gold interior is opulent and luxurious! Look up, the Venetian chandeliers are exceptional. Watch people as they enter and see them say ‘wow’.

You may recall that it featured in the film The Tourist, starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. The most memorable scene of JD running across the roof tiles in his pyjamas.  Once owned by the Aga Khan it is in 2023, again being closed for renovations. In 2025 it will re-open as the ‘Hotel Danieli, Venezia, a Four Seasons Hotel’.  We look forward to seeing the outcome of the extensive refurbishments.

Wrapping up …

There are so many places to stay in this beautiful city.  We have covered the medium to high price range with our recommendations! However, a really good option is often a room in a private dwelling.  There are lots of great hosts in Venice that rent out lovely rooms or apartments.  The Venetians are friendly people, shown here by the high review scores on AirBNB. Yes, you can of course lower priced hotels, but these tend to be out of the centre! This is ok, but if you are just there for a short stay, a little tiresome.

We hope you’re tempted to visit this amazing city. Read more to prepare for your trip in our other mini blogs in this series! You’ll want to know how to get to Venice, where to eat, where to enjoy cocktails! If like us, you like to do something that is a little bit different, we’ll give you some ideas! If you want to explore the best of Venice, do take a look.

Follow us across social media – just search for Elnika Travel Guide or scroll through our website. Finally, wherever you’re travelling you will find our Airport Tips really useful.

Remember, we’re always happy to answer any questions, so don’t hesitate to reach out!

Nicki and Paul x