AZ Travels the World

rgm18k, what a great post. Very helpful and informative. While I didn't ask the original question, I will certainly benefit from your comments, as will many others I'm sure. Thanks! ^

Joelle

The Hotel des Bains is definitely a nice break from a crowded Venice.
A regular boat shuttle leaves from downtown Starwood hotels and gets to the Excelsior hotel in about 20 mn. You then have to take a bus shuttle to reach the Hotel des Bains (2 minutes).

The hotel has a wonderful park with a great swimming-pool.
The atmosphere is nice but a bit "old-fashioned", so are some rooms which could deserve a bit of renovation in some cases. And noise sometimes carries from one floor to another (I can remember some energetic toddler who kept on running in the room above our heads...).

However this is an place we like in Venice.

fly co to see the yanks

i've written extensively about this property but i haven't been there in about a year and a half. the hotel is really great with a top notch staff, a BEAUTIFUL pool, and a great management team.

staying on the lido is a no brainer for me...i will never stay in venice proper again. venice proper is easily accessible, so why bother? it's so crowded in venice and in the summer it's hot and gross. the lido is so much more relaxing and beautiful. and, when you are ready after a relaxing breakfast (from the wonderful buttet), simply take the water taxi over. the only negative of the des bains is that the water taxi leaves from the westin. so, one has to take a short shuttle bus ride to the westin and then take the free starwood water taxi.

this property is an A+.

FatBoyYVR

And they filmed "Death in Venice" there.....What more can you ask for?

slawecki

You don't say when you are going. I don't think that boat shuttle runs in the winter, at least not very often.

"when you get into the train station, you can probably walk to the spot near san marco piazza (or to the docks at any of the sheraton properties in venice) where the sheraton boat leaves from and just take the spg boat from there"

That walk is about 3KM, and over 5-10 bridges. Strongly consider :
A water taxi(Ive never taken the trip, but expect about €100.)

The #1 or possibly #82(first choice if the 82 is going to Lido) Vaperito.

rgm18

the des baines, i believe is only open from april to oct, and im pretty sure the starwood shuttle boat runs the entire time the hotel is open. but call and check on that.

yes, i think the idea of taking a public ferry to lido direct from the train station as the previous poster suggests is much better than trecking through v hard to navigate streets to get to the starwood dock. you will just get to the main dock in lido, about a mile walk from the hotel (or a 5-10 eur cab).

r

DZMAN

I am going the 2nd week of July. From what I'm hearing, I am leaning toward this property. I did get good advice from AZ before on Cipriano and like that idea too, but I think the kids will like this better. I will probably do points and cash. The local ferry sounds like a good option over EUR 90!! The funds will come in handy at meal time....

Thanks again.

Joelle

The local vaporetto going to Lido terminates on the other side of the island. This mean you have to walk at least 15/20 mn to get back to the hotel from there or use a cab.

As far as I know, the Starwood boat shuttle operates normally between April and October when both hotels, the Excelsior and Des Bains are open.

At some times of the day, there are boats every 30 mn, or at least every hour, and this from 7 AM until 11.30 PM.

slawecki

I think the vap costs €10 per day, or €22 for 72 hours per adult. There used to be a family rate. check the vap site.

DFW DL

You can also take the Line "V" (Green) bus between the vaporetto dock and the hotel. Cheaper than a taxi (probably two taxis in your case) and better than walking if you have luggage. As to the vaporetto, you want the No. 51 or 52 line (51 is a little faster) from the station to the Lido. You will need to buy tickets for your luggage, but IIRC the vaporetto ticket is also valid on the bus. For your normal transport between Lido and Venice, the hotel shuttle works just fine.

We stayed at the Des Bains for 4 nights (July 2003) at the end of a family trip to Europe. You are wise to book two rooms...we had four rooms for five adults and four children (ages 3, 5, 7, and 13) and the hotel got a little snooty with us about the extra person. That being said...the rooms were huge, the pool area fantastic, and the environment much more relaxed than Venice proper. The hotel does have hardwood floors and as another poster noted can be a bit noisy as a result.

The food at the hotel is, as you probably imagine, rather expensive and a little too fancy for most American children. If one exits the hotel to the left and takes a left along the first major street (Gran Viale Santa Maria Elisabetta...the street which leads to the dock), there are several reasonably priced family restauarants along this street. I recall one very nice open-air restaurant on the right-hand side about 1/3 of the way to the dock where we ate twice.

Hope you have a great trip.

bshor

I'm thinking of staying in this place for a two-day, two-night visit to Venice. We're coming in on a night train from Naples, so we'll be arriving in the Venice train station at 5:45 am or something like that.

What should my strategy be at that hour? Take the vap. 51/52/1/82 (which?) to Lido, then a taxi to the hotel? Do they even run that early? And will the hotel allow me to check in this early?

Or should I just chill out in Venice for a while? The problem is the luggage--I'd rather not lug them around.

Finally, does the hotel have a water shuttle to the airport?

TRAVELSIG

Check your luggage at the train station- should open at 06:00- and a night train from Napoli could well be late Walk around Venezia for a while- cross the bridge directly in front of the train station, go straight, and turn left when you see the first bridge, then take the first right and wander around- you will be near the university, Ca Foscari, which is a beautiful area and not *too* touristy. You can then take a vaparetto (I would go later as I doubt the hotel will let you check in at 0600 unless you book the night before)- #1 or 82- 82 is faster- to Lido. From Lido, you can walk if you would like (about 15 minutes) or take a taxi for around 10-15 EUR. Very good pool at this hotel. IIRC you can also use the facilities at the Excelsior which are also quite nice- as is the public beach which is around 8 EUR per person per day for a deck chair. You may want to consider simply flying from Napoli to Venezia- as on a night train you won't see anything anyway, and the flight with alpieagles or alitalia should not cost more than 100 EUR per person (thus making it around the same cost as the train). A water taxi from the airport in Venezia to Lido should cost aprox. 120 EUR- surcharge of 30 EUR at night. You can use the dock at the Excelsior.

DZMAN

Just stayed for 4 nights using points. 2 rooms for my wife and I and 2 boys (14 & 16). Great property as others have noted. Friendly and accomodating staff. Connecting rooms (1 junior suite and 1 regular) with a private hallway that had an external door. Nice for proximity but good distance as is needed on an extended family vacation. Rooms were old world spacious, clean, and well appointed. Bathrooms large and clean!!! Good service. The hotel is a grand style.. The swimming pool was an excellent oasis after touring in the rest of Italy. Right on the Adriatic too. Venice is very excessible with the free/comfortable shuttle. The island is a destination in itself. Bike riding, golf, tennis, Adriatic, pool, walking, strolling at night..

A couple of minor downsides... The food and beverages are expensive, but there are plenty of restuarants nearby. WiFi in the lobby, but it you don't have your computer there is only one computer available to connect and a little pricey.

This is the place for me when I go to Venice...

fly co to see the yanks

sensational property. great staff. awesome management.

glad you had a great time.

^

Joelle

Going to Venice seems to get more expensive each time !!! But the place is always wonderful.

I had booked a four day stay for our 10th wedding anniversary way back in March when I could get a hold of decent room prices. Two weeks later the prices had almost doubled and remained so until the last minute.

After a quiet flight from Paris, we get to the Starwood transfer desk and take the 1 PM shuttle to the Lido. When we get by boat (quick transfer – only 35 minutes) to the Westin Excelsior, the porter tells us that there will be no bus connection to the nearby Hotel des Bains since this is lunch time and break time for the bus driver!!! This is something that was not indicated to us at the airport…
He immediately calls for a taxi and we easily get to the hotel for an additional 8 Euro bill on top of the transfer price…

Check-in goes smoothless, polite and efficient. We get to our room, which was again… the exact room we had booked. Again no upgrade for a Gold member… on his 10th wedding anniversary… although the hotel was not fully booked… and the 10th anniversary was clearly indicated when making the booking…

The room is fine, maybe in a better state than some of the rooms we had been before at this hotel ; it is relatively spacious and the marble bathroom is great.

I did not want to go back at the reception and complain about the lack of upgrade, since Venice was our first opportunity in the last four months to relax and enjoy some quiet time together… And I also know that my husband could have gone a bit angry…

We slept very well (excellent beds) and enjoyed again the wonderful pool area with a large garden at the Des Bains. Very good buffet breakfast as always, nice to enjoy, specially when you can get a table on their terrace, since we had a beautiful weather during the four days. ^

The only little problems were:
- No “Do not disturb” sign to be found in the room.
- No daily supply of bath gel and shampoo (we had to go hunting for the chamber maids!).

Rooms are serviced twice a day. The “do you want the bed clothes changed every day” card was clearly visible.

The shuttle service to and from Venice was always on time. I always say that Venitians are almost like Swiss people !

Being in one of the Starwood hotels also allowed us to enjoy drinks or lunch in one of the downtown hotels and having it charged straight to our room. However prices for drink, food, etc have tremendously increased…

However this was a relaxing stay. We love Venice and we love the hotel. And it enabled us to get some rest after some hectic months.