Rated 4 stars. Very good location for seeing the major sites of Venice. Aprx. 2 blocks from the nearest water taxi mooring at the Rialto Bridge the hotel has a superior location that is central to the entire island. The walk from the mooring to the hotel wasn't a problem for us since we only had two rolling carry on bags. Compares to a Motel 6 or Comfort Inn in America although European rooms are all typically smaller than we're accustomed to.
The Room
The room was not similar to what is pictured on their web site. While it was not uncomfortable you have to be prepared for the smaller size of European rooms and Venice rooms in particular. Ours had a full bath, large closet, and the bedroom area was two twin beds with a small desk/mini bar/table. This area of the room was a little cluttered since the TV sat on this furniture and there were two chairs which were usually more in the way than useful. Our room was on the canal side and we had two windows with shutters that could be opened for ventilation. By Italian law A/C cannot be turned on in the Spring and the room was a little warm for us. We usually left the windows open as long as possible before going to bed to get comfortable. If you leave them open at night you can hear people talking, walking, and boats passing, not to mentioned the church bells that seem to ring through the day beginning early in the morning.
Amenities
The rooftop seating area was okay but there's really not much to see from the roof top other than other rooftops. St. Mark's bell tower is visible and it might be a nice place to have a drink or get some air but I was unimpressed.
The restaurant was convenient but we only ate our included breakfast there since we had recommendations of other restaurants in Venice from travel shows / books. The breakfast typically consisted of coffee, croissants, fruits, lunch meats, cheeses, several cold cereals, scrambled eggs (soft)and bacon, and yogurt. There was also orange, pineapple, and apple juice along with mineral water available.
Most restaurants are quite expensive in Venice if you intend to sit down and eat. Pricing is higher if you use seating as opposed to "self service" which typically is a carry out item. For example, the restaurant across from the hotel cost us $82.00 for lunch which included a $24.00 bottle of wine.
