mrtdxb,
Many thanks for your effort and reply.
We are now firmly ensconced in our hotel, well for a few more minutes until it's time to go out and enjoy dinner.
We did indeed get a water taxi right to the bottom of the lane where our hotel is and then it just a 50 metre haul up the lane. Great service and the staff were great all the way through.
Can't say the same about the A340-300 with the old style horrible J class seats. I didn;t dare move too much in case my hips triggered the FA button.
And as you say, Venice is truly an amazing place.

Cheers
Johnny