bdemaria

Its all non smoking inside

saaveraward

Spent two nights in a Grand Canal room with two exposures. Wow. The view beats the Sydney Opera House, Vicoria Harbour in Hong Kong... anything you can think of.

Furnishings were fantastic and the room felt refreshed and classic at the same time.

Make sure when they bring your luggage you have them open the windows at the same time so you can enjoy every minute of of it.

Concierge staff was a little "cold" but very helpful in recommending good restaurants.

The bar is fantastic with great staff and wonderful cocktails worth the price and view.

Don't be intimidated by the water taxi to San Marcos. If you have small luggage and don't have mobility issues it's easy and it's a simple walk.

I had a monster bag and opted for the private, direct taxi. Well, when I got to the airport pier it was a free for all with no staff directing you where to go and no line. I would have gotten to the hotel faster via San Marcos and saved 75 Euro.

I will remember this room forever!

Overall 9.5/10

no1cub17

Agree! We stayed in March, lucked out with no rain and temps in mid-70s, was just beautiful. Sounds like we may have had the same room LOL.

Can't comment on the bar or breakfast as we didn't spend much time in the hotel. Maybe next time! Definitely one of the better SPG properties. Not quite Westin Florence quality, but up there.

And now I realize I should've followed up this thread after posting earlier this year. When I called SPG to ask, they did not know that the property was smoke-free, and I did not ask. Certainly the website clearly demarcates smoking and non-smoking rooms. Would definitely be good to confirm this.

nologic

Agreed...the canal fronting rooms/suites at this property are amazing. Also, the water taxi is very easy and we each had a mid- large suitcase. It's abt. a 5-7 min walk to the hotel...the only "challenge" is that I believe there are least two small footbridges to go up and over, which can be a little cumbersome carrying luggage up and down the steps, but not overly so. Also, I believe the bellmen will help you bring bags to the Station on the way out...tip will be a lot less than private water taxi costs.

saaveraward

Fun fact, there are only 20 full Canal view rooms on property. I was on floor 1 which I preferred because it was the closest to the water. You could hear every word of the gondola singers. Priceless.

lkar

There are some references and questions about whether they will give breakfast for plats to an entire family of four staying in two rooms (the only way to do it), or whether they limit it to only 2. Any recent experiences?

bombnthud

Stayed at the end of June and can confirm that the hotel is non-smoking. Of course, every time you walk in and out the main entrance, there's always a group of smokers right outside, but that's Europe.

Enjoyed my stay here. Arrived via private water taxi to the hotel dock, but no bellmen to help get luggage off the boat. Received a nice upgrade to a canal room from a Premier Deluxe booking on points. (Check-in agent made sure to comment how rare they upgrade guests to canal rooms). Unfortunately, given the structure of the building, my view of the Santa Maria della Salute was blocked by another room. Still, it was nice to hear the gondola singers from the room.

Johnny Rocket

Can someone give me a little more information on how to reach this place by public transport from the train station?

The hotel want to charge 110 EUR which seems ridiculous.

saaveraward

Got your PM, but can answer here.....

From the train station, it's easy to "hail' a water taxi and it shouldn't cost anywhere near 110 Euro to reach the hotel. Rolling luggage also won't be a problem.

Going from the hotel to the airport, unless you are going to take a public, shared water taxi, you'll need to book a private transfer which will be expensive. Ask the concierge or front desk to try and match you up with another departure for a shared water taxi.

Be advised, it's a very long walk from the arrival port at VCE to the main terminal.

dlerner

The public Vaporetto (water bus) goes from Ferrovia to very near the hotel. Looks like the N, 2 or 1.

The ACTV map is here:
http://www.actv.it/sites/default/files/ultimamappa.pdf

But I find it's easier to use Google Maps on my phone, it does public transport very well in most places.

Here's local transportation info from the hotel web site: For travel throughout the city, guests can catch the vaporetto, or waterbus, at the S. Marco-Vallaresso stop—a four-minute walk from the hotel. ACTV, Venice’s public transit authority, sells tourist cards for unlimited travel by land and water.

Note: the Vaparetto is expensive compared to NYC subways - as I recall around 6 or 7 Euro a trip. But with only 70,000 local residents, someone has to pay for all the services in Venice!

LeviFlight

Spending a few days over Christmas in a Grand Canal room with a balcony on the 4th floor. It is my wife's birthday and we were also greeted with prosecco and cake. The view is spectacular and I have a very, very happy partner. Also the breakfast is lovely and the bar is a cool throwback.

slawecki

slawecki

one does not "hail" a taxi. i tried it. fail. the taxi stand has a large TAXI sign on it, and it is east of the train station. take the handicapped exit out of the train station and go down to the canal. although not 110 euro, the fare to the weston is probably around 60-70 euro.

the last time we stayed at the hotel, we had the west corner room. the shower was so tiny, could not raise my leg to wash it.

there was a loading dock just below the room, and all the hotel goods were delivered through that dock, starting at about 6 am.

the view was terrific.

jamienbaker

Respectfully, if the walk from the port at VCE to the main terminal is one's definition of a "very long walk", then the decision to visit Venice is highly suspect.

saaveraward

Respectfully, in the opposite direction, if it's a .5 mile walk in 85 degrees with a 50 pound bag followed by no organization on the pier and an endless wait without shade then maybe you should keep your opinion to yourself. I take walking tours all over the world in all conditions, and as an airport experience, this was definitely cumbersome.

Respectfully, of course.