Locanda Salieri

Thiwanka at reception made us feel welcome from the start. He was kind, professional, happy to help, and gave us recommendations that made the trip even better. The hotel itself was calm and welcoming, with a clean, comfortable room in a perfect location. We had a wonderful stay and would gladly come back.

We stayed three nights from April 23, arriving at 9 PM, and the room we were given had no balcony, TV, or air conditioning, despite those being listed in my Booking reservation. A canal view and balcony were the two things I cared about most, and I had paid for that room. If the hotel had not advertised those features, I would have booked somewhere else. I went straight back to reception with the reservation. The first receptionist agreed his colleague had mixed up the rooms and promised we would move the next morning. At 10 AM the next day, I went down with my suitcase while my husband was still finishing up in the room. The man at reception, a large bald stranger, started shouting before I could finish explaining. He said he decided which room we got, told me to go back upstairs or he would call the police, and claimed there were no balcony rooms. My husband came down after hearing the yelling and was shocked. The receptionist kept threatening to call the police, cancel our reservation, and throw us out, while saying the cameras were recording. It felt like an impossible tantrum, not a conversation. In the middle of it, the roomboy handed me a phone with the first receptionist on the line. He now said the hotel had no balconies. Why hadn't he said that the night before? I gave the phone back because I couldn't listen to more of what felt like lies. I ended up shouting too, because nothing else got through. I asked them to open two rooms; I was sure balconies were visible on the front of the building. I know they were French balconies, but still balconies. The receptionist refused, but the roomboy helped us, stayed polite, took our bags, and changed our keys. He was the only one who tried to sort things out. I think the owners have put the wrong person behind the desk. He should be cleaning rooms and keeping away from guests, because he seems to have serious anger issues. I also think he assumed I was alone and felt he could shout at a woman. I hate men like that. The hotel has a great location and canal view, but it's old, badly maintained, moldy, and the Wi-Fi doesn't work. The Booking listing was misleading and several basic amenities were missing. This was the worst hotel of my fourth trip to Venice.

The walls were so thin we could hear everyone on our floor, plus people in the upstairs hallways. Mosquitoes kept coming through the vent and holes in the ceiling, and the bathroom was falling apart. We only saw one staff member during our stay. There was no safe or door hanger asking staff not to enter. The room could have been nice otherwise. I'd spend a bit more to stay somewhere better.

The room looked over the canal and was clean, but the stale cigarette smell and all the mosquito bodies stuck to the walls were a bad sign. There were lots of mosquitoes, coming in through a hole in the bathroom ceiling. The bathroom needed attention too: a window opened between it and the towel cupboard, the showerhead was broken and held together with duct tape, part of the shower glass was missing, and the sink drained very slowly. These all seemed like things someone could have fixed with a little effort. Getting around was convenient, and there were some decent restaurants nearby. We arrived late and had been told how to get through the door and to pick up the key ourselves.