italdesign

If it's exiting Choice, would they honor award bookings made prior to the exit? I don't want this to happen.

Guess I'll be booking a refundable backup option.

sdsearch

If you go to:

http://www.hoteldianavenice.com/english/

it calls itself (in half the places anyway) Comfort Hotel Diana.

But if you go to the Italian (default) site:

http://www.hoteldianavenice.com/

and ask Chrome to Translate for you, you'll find there's no mention of Comfort in the translation.

But I don't know how long this website existed and whether there's always been this discrepancy or whether it's new.

And, btw, there are available rates for plenty of future dates at their direct website.

Has anyone tried contacting Choice to ask about why the hotel shows no availability on the Choice page but is still showing on the Choice page, including a redemption chart for months to come?

Besides hotels permanently leaving Choice before, I have seen cases of hotels renegotiating with Choice and not showing rates while they were in limbo. So the question is Comfort Hotel Diana leaving for sure, or is it not decided yet but Choice has pulled the rates until it's decided?

2RETIREDTRAVELERS

Checked in today 2 rooms with points NO PROBLEMS! Great deal, great location,good A C......

elva

Could you ask them if they are leaving or will they continue to be in the Choice system?

2RETIREDTRAVELERS

I just talked to the front desk. They have left Choice Hotels due to a "property change" He said no worries about rooms already booked.
Sorry, looks like we lost another good one😒

italdesign

This is the only thread I can find about this property, so I'm posting my question here.

We had a last minute change of transportation mode. We are arriving 10:30pm by air at VCE. Anyone know what's the best/cheapest way to get to the hotel at that time? According to hotel website, "take water transport from Marco Polo International Airport or Santa Lucia Railway Station to Piazza San Marco."

Thanks.

sdsearch

This hotel is indeed steps away from Piazza San Marco (St Mark's Plaza), so the best way to get the hotel is the same as the best way to get to Piazza San Marco.

The water transportation they're referring to are essentially water buses. There are four lines which go from the aiprort to Piazza San Marco, and the links for their schedules is here:

http://www.alilaguna.com/en/lines/line-timetables

(The info you need is not hotel-specific, it's Piazza San Marco specific. The only hotel info you need is how to get to the hotel once get to Piazza San Marco, and that you can get either from the hotel or from Google Maps.)

italdesign

Thanks, sdsearch.

Do I need to buy it in advance, or is it pretty safe to buy it upon arrival (in case flight is delayed)?

Looks like the fastest route takes about 85 minutes. I don't suppose there is a train or bus that would be faster?

sdsearch

You might want to ask these questions (or look for threads that already answer them) in the Destinations: Italy forum:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/italy-634/

I arrived and left by train (I flew into and out of Milan MXP, as not my whole vacation was in Venice, only part of it). I don't recall any problems buying the water bus tickets onsite (I didn't even know they could be purchased in advance). But that's a much shorter trip, with probably a higher frequency.

There is no train (or any other non-water transport) all the way to Piazza San Marco. You may be able to get a train (or combination of other non-water travel) from the airport to the train station in Venice proper, but from the train station in Venice proper you have to take the water bus (or other more expensive water transportation) to get to Piazza San Marco, as the only "flat" route between the railway station and Piazza San Marco is the Grand Canal.

(The direct water bus from the airport doesn't need to take the whole Grand Cancel. It comes in from the ocean side, I bet. Piazza San Marco is toward the end of the Grand Canal, so the ocean is much closer than the railway station.)

But I don't know whether doing these transfers would get you there faster or not (you'd have to wait for at least one train, and then still have to wait for the water bus). And I don't know what the cost will be of mixing train and water bus (or whether discount combo tickets are available or not), relative to the cost of the direct (though with a stop) water bus.

Btw, do you still have the backup paid reservation? If so, and if you're arriving after midnight (factoring everything in), you may want to resolve that ahead of time, because you don't want the hotel automatically charging you on your paid reservation just because they didn't see you by late evening! (And, in any case, a refundable reservation would probably not be refundable after midnight.)

rove312

Alilaguna tickets purchased online would have a 1-euro discount; you'd still need to exchange a voucher for tickets at the booth by the docks. You run the risk of missing the last one, I think at 23.45. Water taxis would be available for around €100.

italdesign

Thanks guys. I'm checked in now. Made the late night water bus fine. It is awesome to arrive by boat after dark. The scenery seen along the way is a great way to start. Hotel definitely has some quirks to this American, but the location is incredible.

Rebelyell

Has anyone seen any availability for Hotel Diana over the past few months? I put in a multitude of dates, and is always shows that no room is available, regardless of whether it is an award or cash booking.

I would hate to lose this one!

sdsearch

I think it's already gone. Please post 20 above. I think the Choice website has simply not been updated to remove it from the list of Venice IT hotels.

My guess is that if you call up Choice on the phone (the only way to bypass the currently-botched website) they can probably verify that it's left the Choice program, and that it's only a website glitch that it still shows there but just "no availablitiy".

(Either that, or it's gone but they're hoping for it to come back?)

iahphx

If there are any updates on their status, I'd love to hear them. I have a trip to Venice planned for early next year and have also noticed that there's no current availability at the hotel, even though it remains on the website.

I have stayed here in the past on points, and it's a heck of a deal.

I did notice that the Hilton is offering a "cash and money" reward for my dates that's pretty reasonable (78 euros and 20,000 points) so I've booked that as a fallback. I'll also start looking at independent properties.

sdsearch

Well, have you tried calling Choice on the phone, as I suggested in what you quoted?