Hi all -

Two of us have spent the entire evening searching online for an affordable (US$150ish) hotel in Venice preferably near the Cruise port/ Santa Lucia train station.

The particulars are:
3 Adults (triple room)
early and mid-May /09 (two one night stays)
in-room bathroom facilities
prefer 2* or better
breakfast would be nice but not necessary

Can anyone recommend a hotel either from personal experience or that of a trusted friend?

Thanks for all input.

The reason you have spent a lot of time looking w/no success is b/c you are looking for something that really doesn't exist here. Did you search using "venere.com"

Italian hotels charge by the person, not by the room. Before you start thinking, we'll book and double and simply put a 3rd person in the room, you must submit passports to check in (its the law) and the clerks catch on when you are trying to get around it.

You might try looking for two rooms, one single and one double but I do not believe you will be able to find accommodations in Venice proper that will accommodate all of your requirements AND remain in your price range (at least not at the current exchange rate, if the $$ continues to strengthen, your options will increase somewhat - but just like Manhattan, London, etc.. hotel rooms are expensive).

A lot of what the previous poster says is correct from my experience. That said, never say never.

A very good place to look for Venice hotels is Kayak. I've found good deals in Venice with this consolidator site (it includes venere). You can also go to trip advisor and then look up the individual sites of well regarded hotels -- and hunt for specials -- but this will be time consuming.

If you can't find accomodation for 3, you could consider staying in Mestre, the mainland railway station that's only a couple minutes by train to the Santa Lucia station. There are chain hotels there that are more likely to accomodate 3.

Good luck, and let us know what you find.

in venere.com, put in 3 people. check the b&b box, and the under �125 box. 3 show up. i have never stayed in any of these, but would not hesitate.

you have a very limited choice with the conditions stated.

I was just going to mention the B&B check box for www.venere.com when the prior poster note popped up. So - I'm seconding slawecki's recommendation. I did stay at one of these B&Bs. Squeaky clean, a little quirky, but a decidedly Venice experience. Loved it. Minimal English by the host, but we managed quite nicely. Very warm welcome. Wonderful breakfast, and the room looked out over water and those big cruise ships.

Also, beyond the one in Mestre, Holiday Inn has a hotel about 1/2 hour train ride away:
2. VENICE EAST-QUARTO D'ALTINO

It is lovely. Rated a 4* but felt like a 5*. Train schedules are very regular, and it is close to the airport.
Romelle

Thanks!! Venere.com was the search engine I was looking for (but couldn't remember! )

I wasn't having trouble finding triples so much as not finding them in my price range and preferred location. Sadly most of them are wayyy more than I'd like to pay and are not in the area I want.

It does seem that I will have to make some adjustments to my criteria but they were simply a guideline of what I was hoping someone out there could direct us to.

I'm still working on figuring out what we are willing to adjust (location? money? no lift?) in order to find something that will work for us.

DD

p.s. My mother taught me better than that - and since she's the third person here...

If you end up using venere.com, it is worth a minute to first Google "venere promo". You usually find a 4 digit code that will take 4% off your bill.

And if all else fails, there is the youth hostel. About $25 gets you clean sheets, a shower, a bed (dorm style), and in the morning coffee and a roll. Not bad.

Romelle

More good info! I'll check for the promo.

I don't think Mama will go for a hostel without becoming hostile

For those who asked me to post what we decided to do:

We decided to book a simple 'no star' hotel Rossi for the first night (E120) and the second night at a three star Best Western for E199.

Since both hotels are flexible with their policies, we decided to put the rooms on hold while we continue to check other options. Also, by making the 'no star' option for the first night, it gives us financial flexibility for the second night!

DD

Best Westerns are much nicer in Italy than in the USA, and often have quite a bit of local charm.

I have stayed at a number of BW in europe. i think they are more of a booking agent than anything else. no bw standards, no bw management, etc. they are, i think, the largest booking agent in a number of european countries.

In a recent trip to Italy we walked by several BW hotels and were shocked to see that were nice places as compared to the US brand. They are not 5 star, but I would definitely stay in one if I was on a budget and wanted a well operated, clean and nice place to stay.

I have just recently used priceline and got the 5* Hilton Molino Stucky for $130/night in early May. Hotel's website has the lowest rate at 450 Euro.

You'll likely be assigned an "inside" room (no view of anything but a wall) but that price and the hotel amenities (esp. the rooftop pool area) will more than compensate.

A follow-up on our trip:

For our first night in Venice, we found a nice little 3* which we figured was worth the money for the difference of no * for E120 or 3* for E150. We were not disappointed!

The Hotel Belle Epoque is located near the Santa Lucia train station and is quite well situated. We needed accommodation for 3 and were pleased to find that the third bed was located in a small, separate room just off the bathroom. The main room was fine although the bed was a little crowded by the door, then there was an additional sitting area with a small sofa. The decor was pleasant. There was a very nice little breakfast room with both sweet and savory items to choose from - and not just your typical brioche or croissante and jam, either!

After the cruise we wanted a hotel near Piazzale Roma for a quick escape to catch an early bus to the airport. We stayed with the Best Western which can be seen from the bus terminal at P.Roma. The room was cute and we had a view of one of the canals (and the buses) but we quickly found that it was a noisy room! Aside from motor boats right under our window, there was a bar across the canal that was quite loud into the night. Unfortunately, the hotel would not turn on the airconditioning until the end of May so we had to leave the windows open but this let in the noise and... major mosquitos! It was a rough night Now I will say, they were kind enough to have a 'breakfast' bag for each of us with juice, an apple, pastries, actually, there was a lot of different 'stuff' in each bag. Kind of like they threw in everything they could think of It was welcomed at 5am.

All in all, the location of the BW was good for a quick getaway but the Belle Epoque was, in my opinion, a better hotel overall.

DD