Charming Palace Santa Fosca

The private terrace off the Canaletto Room looks onto a peaceful canal, which was hard to beat. Inside, there was plenty of space, a queen bed, and two single beds, one tucked into a smaller room. The air conditioning struggled during the unusual heatwave in mid-June, though the room cooled down nicely at night. We also had a mini-fridge, which may have been added recently judging by reviews I'd seen. Reception is technically on the other side of the building, but that caused us no trouble, and the staff were very friendly.

The location was a real plus. It's lively around here, but still about a 10-minute walk from the hectic areas near Rialto and San Marco. The rooms and bathrooms were beautiful, the shared space had lovely furniture, and the beds were very comfortable. Two people would have had a lovely amount of space, but three with luggage felt cramped. There are only about seven or eight rooms, so reception is shared with the hotel behind this one. Nobody sits at the desk, but ringing the bell brought someone over. There are no phones in the rooms, and ours had no iron, toothbrushes, or other amenities. Service felt a bit lacking: we had to carry our own luggage up and down the stairs, and while towels were changed, neither the room nor bathroom was cleaned during our stay. You can only get there by boat, which adds about 100E each way, and you have to get your bags over the bridge yourself. That's probably the case in most places here.

We opened the window to cool off after being unable to work out the air conditioner, and got eaten alive by mosquitoes. The room was warm. The hotel itself was cute, clean, and nicely decorated, with what we needed. It's near the river, a restaurant, and a bar, but off the busy path, so it was quiet. The lobby is in another hotel, reached through the restaurant next door, which didn't bother us. Remember to bring cash for the city tax on arrival.

We were there for three nights and had a good stay, with a very spacious room, a great view, and lots of restaurants nearby. The location was just about perfect. They held events in the hall next to the rooms, which could get noisy when we were trying to sleep, though they kindly made up for it with breakfast. A small fridge and room service would be good additions. Thanks, and it may be worth checking the hotel's own site for decent rates.