Reading starflyergold's review of  Hotel Papadopoli Venezia MGallery by Sofitel reminded me that I didn't write about Mgallery LaGare Hotel Venezia

Location

Mgallery LaGare Hotel Venezia isn't on the main Venice island  but on the smaller more peaceful location of Murano. I actually enjoyed this retreat from the tourist hustle and bustle and with a water bus stop right on the doorstep and the option of a free shuttle on the hotel speedboat, getting around wasn't a problem.

LaGare Hotel Venice offers an exclusive free transfer service from and to the Venice Airport.

We went twice to Venice and LaGare Hotel Venezia. Both time, I mailed the hotel few days before arriving to book transfer service from  the Venice Airport (and ask for an upgrade).

The pier is a ten minute walk from the airport, the we had to wait for the speed boat. For our fist stay, we were the only two to take the transfer speed boat and it wes really an exclusive service.

The boat drops you right just in front of the hotel

Check In

Check in was swift but a bit slow, because we wanted to book sppedboat transfer to Venice main island for the three days we were staying there.

Nothing was said at check-in about the upgrade, and drinks voucher was handed over (for our first stay, drink voucher was only for a glass of Prosseco, for the second one, we enjoyed local Spritz)

Room

We were upgraded to a room on the third floor. I must say I can't tell what kind of room it was, because I could not find this room on the hotel website (but it was not the superior room I booked).

You have to know that Lagare Hotel Venezia is enclosed within the ancient walls of an old furnace, so you don't have any view from your room if you are not on the third floor.

View from our room (first stay)

View from our room (second stay)

Rooms on first and second floor don't have any view.

Service

We used the speed boat transfer to reach Venice. The boat drops you at Fondamente Nove which is 20 minutes walk to piazza San Marco.

The crossing back to Murano at night was a great experience.

Dining

Breakfast was included in the rate. Brekafast choices were more than enough and you could order differents italian coffee (expresso is definitely not americano !)

We also had dinner which was great but a bit overpriced. There are only few other restaurants and bars in Murano and they tend to close early (but Osteria Al Duomo just accross the bridge is great).

Overall

We had excellent stays at Lagare hotel Venezia. This hotel is quite cheap for Venice (half the price of Hotel Papadopoli which is on main island). The must of this hotel is the free speed boat service you benefit from as the hotel is not in central Venice.

Trip Info

I was sent to Venice for two days for work and had a couple of days off afterwards, I flew my partner down from Paris with me and booked a further 2 nights in this hotel (work accommodated me on the mainland).

Please note - As I'm new to FT, this is a review from August 2017, which I have already written, and tweaked a little to fit in with the format on this site. Also I do apologise for the size of some of the images.

Check In

The experience with this hotel starts at the Airport. Their private water transfer is an excellent touch, and is complimentary to all guests, but has to be booked in advance. The boat was clean, staff onboard spoke impecable English, and were very friendly. I shared the trip with an American family who had just arrived. We got to share a spectacular sunset together.

Room

I booked us into a Junior suite, the room number escapes me. The suite size was approximately 55m2. There was ample room for 2 with a large proportion being taken up by the bathroom. Included was his and hers sinks, separate amenity kits, a TV in the bathroom mirror, Shower, and toilet. Slippers and robes were also included. Being on the top floor I felt there was oppurtunity for the room to have larger windows, however the view didn't disappoint. Electric overhead blinds complimented the windows well, with the control switches being on each side of the bed.

Being a trip at the end of August the temperature control was essential, and again I found myself happy as the room maintained a stable temperature even with the windows open.

Service

As we were only here for a short stay, the service experience was limited. The room was cleaned daily and most amenitys restocked. I ordered us a bottle of Perrier-Jouët with the extras on the first night, which was delivered just shy of 5 minutes after calling room service. It came with some rather delicious cookies that my girlfriend ate before I got around to taking a photo (typical) ;).

Dining

This is not specific to the hotel, but for anyone that visits here, there are some fantastic local restaurants within walking distance, so if you are here for a short period of time, go to those!

Location

Those of you more familiar with visiting Venice will know that Murano appears very close on a map, however transportation options from one to the other are quite limited. Private water taxis can be pricey, and the public boats can be very slow. We opted for a 2 day pass to get between the islands, with the intention of getting a private taxi back later in the night if we decided to stay out for a little longer. So as long as you have done your reasearch, the location of the hotel is exceptional.

During the peak holiday season, Venice is exceptionally busy, and it's lovely to have the ability to retire to a quieter place at your own leisure. The hotel itself is located just off the Murano grand canal, it can smell a bit in the summer, but we didn't find it bad at all. If you plan on visiting Lido or Burano, they are both accesible from the water taxi stop near the hotel entrance.

Overall

Being someone that is used to spending half of my life in airport hotels, the character of the hotel is what won me over. It is modern, however there are subtle classic touches in all areas, without having the feeling of whether it is modern or not. Venini lighting in particular was a very nice touch. Given the prices I am used to paying for similar room classifications near Airports, I was taken aback by this hotel completely. If I visit Venice further down the line, I will definitely be returning.