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[Leaving Jan 2023] The Danieli, Luxury Collection, Venice, Italy [Master Thread]

[Leaving Jan 2023] The Danieli, Luxury Collection, Venice, Italy [Master Thread]

Old Sep 19, 2018, 10:14 am
  #166  
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Originally Posted by rwm818
Yeah, for me that is so strange. One reason I like to use email - is then you have the requests (and the hotel's response) in writing! Maybe they are trying to avoid that?


I did a search and someone posted this (see below) ~1 month ago on TripAdvisor...but it's not even a complete email address? is it @luxurycollection.com? (or I googled and saw some emails as @luxurycollection.marriott.com ?)


"I always have special requests. In this case i wrote to the concierge and they fullfilled ALL my requests. Here they do not allow me to put the adress but it is
concierge.danieli
Then write the symbol for At
then
Luxury collection"
Same here. Both Hilton and IHG allow you to email the hotels. Marriott would not provide such info and remove it from SPG hotels. Many times I need to find out the parking situation of a property when it does not provide any info on hotel's own website.

I sometimes call reservation line and the reps there could find it. Though on one occasion even Marriott Reward CSRs could not see any email address listed in their internal system. So frustrating.

One way to try is go on FB to see the hotel's listing. People reported having luck to find email info.
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Old Sep 20, 2018, 10:29 am
  #167  
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The Twitter team will give you concierge email if you DM them.

The address above worked for the Danieli in October.

We had our 5th and first disappointing stay at the Danieli that month. There was a period when it was our favorite hotel in the world. 😕
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Old Sep 22, 2018, 7:07 pm
  #168  
 
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Wife and I will be staying for New Years, 5 nights on points, at the Danieli for first time (second visit to Venice) .

Would it be reasonable to potentially expect some sort of upgrade as Gold at check-in time or is the hotel going to be booked out?

Also, has anyone done the kiss & toast love thing in St Marks Square? Wondering whether it's worth it or not, because it will be crowded and best place to view the fireworks will be on the rooftop terrace of the hotel. Maybe I'll go to the square for a while for the music shows and then head back to the hotel before the countdown.
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Old Dec 3, 2018, 4:20 pm
  #169  
 
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Great Hotel...Amazing Views...Timeless Elegance

Just back from a wonderful trip to Venice, including one night at the Danieli.

Pros

1. Views: The Lagoon/Grand Canal views from all three of the Danieli buildings are among the most spectacular in Venice...meaningfully better than the views from the Gritti Palace, for example, because the location of the Danieli is beyond the end of the Grand Canal, looking back toward the big church and Grand Canal with great sunset views, or across the Lagoon with so many other great Vistas. It's also fun to watch the hustle and bustle of the gondolas and tourists, based, etc. below. If you can get a Lagoon view room with a walk out balcony, you Coen hours just absorbing and watching. Keep the patio doors open and you'll be entertained by gondoliers signing opera. Note: there are on 8 rooms and 2 suites with Lagoon view balconies.

2. Lobby: Grand elegance.

3. Concierge/staff.

4. Restaurant: we only had breakfast, but very nice and in spring/summer, roofdeck would be amazing (closed during off season).

5. Location: right in front is all major transportation: bus stop, water taxis, gondolas, etc., and just around the corner is Doge's Palace, St. Marks Square, etc.

Cons

1. Bathrooms and small and bathtub showers are tight, awkward.

2 Rooms are small.

3. Hotel is disjointed, combines 3 buildings with interior walkways up and down stairs. Difficult to wheel your own luggage. Windy corridors to get to lobby.

4. Low Tech: tiny flat screen TV in corner of room, no outlets next to bed for recharging.
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Old Jun 18, 2019, 4:26 pm
  #170  
 
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My husband, daughter (16) and I just had an incredible two night stay here. We booked a regular lagoon view room on points and put in for an upgrade which we doubted we would see but low and behold, we were upgraded to a magnificent corner lagoon front suite with an enormous living room and two balconies. We were treated wonderfully by Sarah upon checking in. My husband is lifetime titanium with them, but still easily requalifies every year. They sent us a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates to welcome us as well. There was no charge for the extra bed (person) and for some reason there was no charge for the third breakfast (they told us two would be comped). I have NOTHING to complain about concerning this hotel and our stay. Yes, it is in a very busy part of Venice but that is not their fault-it is magical if you get out to St Mark's before the daytrippers and the cruisers. I got there at 7:30 and there were three other people in the entire square with me. A lovely hotel and a superb stay. I felt everyone was friendly, but the bar waiters, who were a bit aloof, but oh well- so is my local butcher!
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Old Jun 18, 2019, 5:12 pm
  #171  
 
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Originally Posted by odie11
My husband, daughter (16) and I just had an incredible two night stay here. We booked a regular lagoon view room on points and put in for an upgrade which we doubted we would see but low and behold, we were upgraded to a magnificent corner lagoon front suite with an enormous living room and two balconies. We were treated wonderfully by Sarah upon checking in. My husband is lifetime titanium with them, but still easily requalifies every year. They sent us a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates to welcome us as well. There was no charge for the extra bed (person) and for some reason there was no charge for the third breakfast (they told us two would be comped). I have NOTHING to complain about concerning this hotel and our stay. Yes, it is in a very busy part of Venice but that is not their fault-it is magical if you get out to St Mark's before the daytrippers and the cruisers. I got there at 7:30 and there were three other people in the entire square with me. A lovely hotel and a superb stay. I felt everyone was friendly, but the bar waiters, who were a bit aloof, but oh well- so is my local butcher!
I'm also lifetime titanium and just had a fantastic stay last week with my two daughters 8 and 12. I booked two basic rooms for 60k each 3 months ago and the level of service is the most incredible I've seen.
I e-mailed them to ask about extra child policy 2 months ago and they spontaneously looked up my reservation and asked my preferred bed types, then promised me to put us in two rooms close to each other. When my 8 years old daughter saw the photos on marriott.com she started to refer to Hotel Danieli as the "Pink Room Hotel". I asked her not to keep the hope too high as that would require at least double upgrades from our basic rooms. 1 week before arrival I saw in the app our rooms were upgraded to Luxury Excelsior Rooms which are "Red" rooms that looked really nice.
The day before arrival I saw they upgraded us again to a huge Grand Dandolo Suite and a Dandolo Room right next to each other. Both are "Pink Rooms". We arrived on water taxi and my daughters were extremely happy with the rooms. They also offered a $36 EUR discount on breakfast for my other family members. (2 adults free) The girl who checked us in had a bright smile and seemed very welcoming and the other lady who checked us out was extremely professional and courteous. She took time and verified every single charge with me to make sure they are correct. The rooms are not only spacious but also in extremely good conditions given the hotel was built in the 1300s and has almost been a hotel for 200 years.
My daughter drew on a piece of paper 3 hearts, 3 stars and "This really is a Luxury Home!".
I honestly have never been so impressed in my 1500+ nights of hotel stays. (mostly Marriott and Hilton properties)
It is really hotels like Hotel Danieli that make me want to give my business to Marriott.
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Last edited by yjc281; Jun 18, 2019 at 5:22 pm
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Old Jun 18, 2019, 5:21 pm
  #172  
 
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Let's hope it does not get #Bonvoyed
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Old Jun 21, 2019, 1:29 pm
  #173  
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Unfortunately our recent experience as a Gold member booking rooms with points was nothing close to the description provided by yjc281 and odie11. Based on our experience, I doubt we will stay here again and cannot recommend the property to anyone who books a standard room with points during peak summer season and am sorry we did not book the Gritti Palace or even the Westin E&R. Certainly it is not worth E700+ per room per night for what we received

We received some of the worst rooms in the hotel - nothing close to the website photos but rather 2d floor rooms in the "historical" (read: unrenovated) wing with small pedestal bathroom sinks. the first set (55 & 56) were connecting rooms that were reasonably large but did not have adequate A/C (a common tripadvisor complaint) and maybe a view of building tops towards St. Marks. When I returned to the desk to express my disappointment, we were offered rooms 145 & 146, which had zero view and shared a common door at the end of a corridor (then 2 interior doors). These rooms were a bit smaller but much cooler and had separated toilet/shower areas (both with sinks) with a formica counter that provided a little space for toiletries. 145 also had a separate closet/dressing room. Both had the usual safes and refrigs (prestocked, but drinks could be moved). There was some afternoon and evening street noise from the alley below though it thankfully tapered off before midnight. As the A/C was adequate (not great) we kept the latter rooms. In response to our dissatisfaction with the rooms, the front desk staff gave us free breakfast for all 3 days which was a huge gesture as the "discounted" rate offered at checkin was E35 per person per day with no discount for children. For 3 nights that would have been E420 just for an average breakfast (and the only option)!

As noted above:

Pros
  • Location - close to prime tourist attraction (St. Marks) with ACTV/vaporetto water bus stop a few feet away. Plenty of restaurants, gelato, bars and other shops nearby.
  • Lobby - still elegant with a great bar (E12-20 drinks) and music at night though unfortunately many lookie-loos and improperly supervised children running around (several admonished by staff)
  • Small water bottles restocked every day
  • Maid service generally good. Bathrooms had windows which provided decent ventilation.
  • Staff - pretty much every staff person was nice and helpful, except for the rooftop hostess (more on that later). Checkin staff gladly made room change for us and extended late 2pm checkout on request. Concierge provided advice and made reservations without complaint.
  • Rooftop restaurant - this is one of the prime reasons to stay here, but only if you plan to enjoy daily buffet breakfast. The views are amazing and service is generally good, aside from the cranky hostess who would quote wait for tables despite quick turnover (we were always seated immediately or within 5m). The buffet was okay - not as good as Eastern Europe properties (or even lounges in Asia) and not close to Four Seasons but enough choice to eat well before setting off for the day. There was an omelet station and the staff will bring as many cappucinos as you like. O
  • Plenty of round 2-prong euro electrical outlets by desk.
  • Fruit and cheap bottle of wine (E10) waiting in room on arrival.
  • Robes and slippers and lots of large white towels
  • No surprises on final invoice
Cons
  • Location - I hate wading through a stream of people every time I enter/exit hotel and most of the nearby restaurants are overpriced low quality. Gritti area seemed a bit less hectic. Really glad we did not stay in Grand Hotel dei Dogi or the JW, which would be too far from the action (though the latter may be a better option for kids if you don't plan to go back and forth multiple times daily to the main tourist areas)
  • Rooms are small, old and tired. Stains on carpets and walls. A/C is inadequate in summer. No balconies or views unless you luck out. TV channel selection weak
  • Bathrooms are small, old, tired, with insufficient counter space. The small bathtub showers are tight & awkward, esp. for this price point.
  • Wifi is spotty, kept disconnecting so Mrs. B ended up exceeding her roaming data limit.
  • As noted above, Hotel is disjointed, combines 3 buildings with interior walkways up and down stairs. Difficult to wheel your own luggage. Windy corridors to get to lobby.
  • Rooftop restaurant - it closes at 10:30am on weekdays and was unbearably hot and humid - unpleasant for those of us from colder climes who never experience humidity. Would be great outside summer.
Overall, I feel that the property is resting on its historical reputation (my grandparents stayed here in the 50s) but has not really upgraded itself sufficiently compared to other luxury properties like St. Regis Rome and Florence. Grossly overpriced with rates of E600+ though we can't complain too much paying only 60k per night. Highly unlikely I will ever return given the multitude of options in Venice. Did not expect a balcony grand canal view but would have been nice to get something modern instead of worst rooms in hotel.

Will update soon with local dining thoughts. Also note private water taxi from train station was only E70 if you take the less scenic route (not Grand Canal) but was charged E130 to go to airport with 9 bag. Seemed a bit excessive.
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Old Jun 21, 2019, 2:00 pm
  #174  
 
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Thanks for sharing this.
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Old Jun 21, 2019, 2:16 pm
  #175  
 
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Originally Posted by Boraxo
Will update soon with local dining thoughts. Also note private water taxi from train station was only E70 if you take the less scenic route (not Grand Canal) but was charged E130 to go to airport with 9 bag. Seemed a bit excessive.
Bit off topic, but how did you get the EUR70 water taxi? Did you reserve?
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Old Jun 21, 2019, 2:25 pm
  #176  
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Originally Posted by Boraxo
.........as a Gold member booking rooms with points...................
Unfortunately, Gold doesn't really qualify for comp room upgrades.

Originally Posted by Boraxo
...........the front desk staff gave us free breakfast for all 3 days which was a huge gesture as the "discounted" rate offered at checkin was E35 per person per day with no discount for children. For 3 nights that would have been E420 just for an average breakfast (and the only option)..................
That's above and beyond. ^

Originally Posted by Boraxo
................Also note private water taxi .... was charged E130 to go to airport with 9 bag. Seemed a bit excessive.
Going rate for water taxi to airport is €100-150 depends on amount of luggage. You did pretty well with 9 bags.
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Old Jun 21, 2019, 3:40 pm
  #177  
 
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Originally Posted by Boraxo
Unfortunately our recent experience as a Gold member booking rooms with points was nothing close to the description provided by yjc281 and odie11. Based on our experience, I doubt we will stay here again and cannot recommend the property to anyone who books a standard room with points during peak summer season and am sorry we did not book the Gritti Palace or even the Westin E&R. ...In response to our dissatisfaction with the rooms, the front desk staff gave us free breakfast for all 3 days which was a huge gesture as the "discounted" rate offered at checkin was E35 per person per day with no discount for children. For 3 nights that would have been E420 just for an average breakfast (and the only option)!....
As others have mentioned, Gold does not entitle you to an upgrade. Considering it's summer season, nobody should expect an upgrade at any level. And yeah, it is a big gesture to comp you breakfast. The combination of the setting (sweeping Venice views) and the food made it the best breakfast we've ever had, excepting perhaps the terrace breakfast at the Grand Bretagne in Athens. I would not expect to stay at the one of the premier hotels in one of the most expensive tourist cities in the world and get a cheap breakfast.

We stayed two weeks ago as Ambassador guests and used SNAs to upgrade to a beautiful (albeit view-less) suite with two balconies. We were concerned by some of the previous negative reviews. But our overall experience was comparable to what yjc281 and odie11 described above. Service was really quite impeccable.

If you don't like the crowds out the front door, you take two quick left turns and you're out of the crowds in about 90 seconds. But anyhow, it's Venice. It has been crowded with tourists for literally hundreds of years. Thomas Jefferson was a tourist in Venice! If you don't like crowds, go elsewhere. We just came from a stay in Sarajevo, for example. Didn't see a single American tourist there. Not one.
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Old Jun 21, 2019, 7:49 pm
  #178  
 
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Originally Posted by porciuscato
As others have mentioned, Gold does not entitle you to an upgrade. Considering it's summer season, nobody should expect an upgrade at any level. And yeah, it is a big gesture to comp you breakfast. The combination of the setting (sweeping Venice views) and the food made it the best breakfast we've ever had, excepting perhaps the terrace breakfast at the Grand Bretagne in Athens. I would not expect to stay at the one of the premier hotels in one of the most expensive tourist cities in the world and get a cheap breakfast.

We stayed two weeks ago as Ambassador guests and used SNAs to upgrade to a beautiful (albeit view-less) suite with two balconies. We were concerned by some of the previous negative reviews. But our overall experience was comparable to what yjc281 and odie11 described above. Service was really quite impeccable.

If you don't like the crowds out the front door, you take two quick left turns and you're out of the crowds in about 90 seconds. But anyhow, it's Venice. It has been crowded with tourists for literally hundreds of years. Thomas Jefferson was a tourist in Venice! If you don't like crowds, go elsewhere. We just came from a stay in Sarajevo, for example. Didn't see a single American tourist there. Not one.
I kind of understand his frustration as I had a similarly bad room at Westin Excelsior Rome. However I'd say Danieli's customer service is a lot nicer that they kindly offered free breakfast to him for 3 days. (Westin refused to do anything at all for me as a Titanium member) I learned at Santorini (right before Venice) regarding tourist crowds. Basically I had to follow the "9AM rule" to take any important family pictures before 9AM to avoid 100s of people in the background. At Venice we visited Doge's Palace in late afternoon (maybe 5PM or so) with very few people in it. It was a much nicer experience.
For water taxi, 130 EUR going to the airport is not a bad price. I paid 153 EUR from the airport to Danieli for 5 people and 7 bags.(though Chase covered 1/3 as I used UR points) For water taxi to the train station I paid 81 EUR. I do agree that "enhanced Internet" at Danieli is still very slow so I had to rely on my Vodafone data plan which I bought in Greece.
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Old Jun 21, 2019, 8:17 pm
  #179  
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Originally Posted by TerryK
Unfortunately, Gold doesn't really qualify for comp room upgrades.
Originally Posted by porciuscato
As others have mentioned, Gold does not entitle you to an upgrade. Considering it's summer season, nobody should expect an upgrade at any level. And yeah, it is a big gesture to comp you breakfast. The combination of the setting (sweeping Venice views) and the food made it the best breakfast we've ever had, excepting perhaps the terrace breakfast at the Grand Bretagne in Athens. I would not expect to stay at the one of the premier hotels in one of the most expensive tourist cities in the world and get a cheap breakfast.

We stayed two weeks ago as Ambassador guests and used SNAs to upgrade to a beautiful (albeit view-less) suite with two balconies. We were concerned by some of the previous negative reviews. But our overall experience was comparable to what yjc281 and odie11 described above. Service was really quite impeccable.

If you don't like the crowds out the front door, you take two quick left turns and you're out of the crowds in about 90 seconds. But anyhow, it's Venice. It has been crowded with tourists for literally hundreds of years. Thomas Jefferson was a tourist in Venice! If you don't like crowds, go elsewhere. We just came from a stay in Sarajevo, for example. Didn't see a single American tourist there. Not one.
As Gold, I did not expect a suite or lagoon view upgrade. But I did not expect the crappiest rooms in the hotel. According to the website Bonvoy Gold receives an "Enhanced Room Upgrade" which is defined as Well do our best to upgrade your room, based on availability at check-in. Upgrades are subject to availability identified by each hotel and limited to your personal guest room. Obviously others such as yourself lucked out. But it is important that people understand the range of experiences.

Mrs. B and I also used points to stay at both the STR Rome and STR Florence earlier in the month. Both were sold out well in advance of arrival, and we arrived after 6pm. Yet we each received some of the nicest rooms I have ever seen (particularly with 2 beds). This mirrors my experience over 3 decades at pretty much every Marriott (and former SPG property) - except the Danieli.

I am not sure how much you have travelled but the breakfast at the Danieli is not the "best I've ever had" - it is pretty marginal for a buffet and even inferior to some lounges. Yes the views are sweeping as one would expect. And of course until Bonvoy this was a Marriott Gold benefit - until March when the transition ended. Yes, we appreciated the breakfast, but it does not make up for 3 nights in the rooms I described, which don't hold a candle to the STR properties.

Of course we knew there would be crowds in June. But we passed many other 4* and 5* hotels that did not have throngs from morning to midnight. Every location has its +/- And no, you cannot turn left twice and be done with the crowds. Not in June.
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Old Jun 21, 2019, 8:42 pm
  #180  
 
Join Date: Sep 1999
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Experiences vary. Ive had three amazing stays at this hotel. Amazing upgrades each time. But my status said I should get it. Then I got more upgrades each time on top of those.

Im lifetime plat e Marriott and have never had what I would consider an upgrade while plat. A different view or two bottles of water isnt an upgrade.

So again experiences vary. I believe they vary more broadly and frequently now that the Marriottization has begun. My guess is you got #bonvoyed.
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