Hotel Ambasciatori Delfino

The staff were kind and professional, and breakfast was average, nothing special but fine. The corridors were clean, which was about the nicest thing I can say about the building. The area has plenty of shops and supermarkets along a busy main road, but for Venice it’s not ideal, with about a 10-15 minute walk to the train station. The car park signs and exterior make Hotel Delfino in Mestre seem much grander than it is. The entrance is tucked under a portico, and the reception looks more like a shop than a hotel lobby. The building seems to have about eight floors, yet the numbering begins at 10, so a room on floor 14 is actually on the fourth floor. The room numbers have four digits for no good reason and are hard to remember. My room wasn’t terrible, just dated. The shutters didn’t work right, and the curtains didn’t close all the way and looked like they needed washing. Neither the air conditioning nor the heating worked, so I had an uncomfortable night with the window open. That brought road noise and mosquitoes, and I ended up trying to fan myself with a piece of paper. I’m tired of asking about room temperature in Italian hotels and being told it’s “not hot” or “not cold.” Guests should be able to decide for themselves, since everyone is different. The bathroom was dated too, with a few broken fixtures and stray body hair left on the floor by previous guests. There wasn’t any hand soap, just two unlabelled bottles that could have been shampoo or lotion. The hotel left me feeling it promises more than it delivers, with uncomfortable conditions and too little attention to basic comforts. It wasn’t the worst place, but I wouldn’t stay again.

Having a separate room for the kids gave our family some welcome space, and the bed was very comfortable. The room was clean, too. Restaurants and a grocery store nearby made the location convenient. We did notice noise at night from upstairs and from the road. For a four-star hotel, it was surprising there weren’t complimentary tea or coffee facilities in the room. They were available, but cost €3. It worked well for a short family stay, though soundproofing and basic comforts could be better.

The room had plenty of space, and the location made it easy to catch buses to Venice. Beyond that, we didn’t find much to like. We arrived for an early check-in on the 8th of April as a family of four, with children aged 4 and 6. The receptionist said we could leave our luggage, but stressed that the hotel wouldn’t be responsible if anything went missing. That felt disappointing and like poor customer service. The bathroom was the biggest problem. There was no proper shower area or cubicle, and water overflowed badly because the drainage was so poor. It even made using the toilet difficult. I wouldn’t recommend this for families with young children.

The internet was extremely slow and unreliable, and the service felt very basic for a four-star hotel. We were two people but got only one key card, and had to leave a deposit to get another. There was no courtesy water or even a glass in the room, no kettle, coffee or tea, or mini bar, so bring your own water. The room was 25 degrees, but there was no air conditioning, only an air system controlled by the hotel. We couldn’t adjust the temperature ourselves. It’s disappointing to book a four-star hotel and find something that should be rated two or three stars.