Residence La Fenice

The only thing going for this place is its central Venice location. Room 305 was awful, and this is not a 4-star hotel. It deserves no more than 2 stars. The walls were dirty, the bathroom extractor was noisy, and there were dead insects on the ceiling. It was so hot under the roof, but opening the window wasn’t an option because of the bad smell outside. One of the worst places I’ve stayed. Don’t go!

The small bathroom was the main drawback. The shower is tiny and drains poorly, so I had to stop the water from time to time. There’s no shelf or caddy in the shower, so toiletries have to go on the floor. The little glass shelf over the sink isn’t level and things slide off, while the sink has little space around it for anything else. Those inconveniences didn’t leave me with a bad impression, though. I wouldn’t hesitate to book again and would recommend it. We had a good stay in one of the smaller, perhaps smallest, rooms, which was fairly standard for two people and had a small fridge for drinks. There’s no reception on site, but a sister hotel eight minutes away has a 24-hour desk where you can store luggage. We used it before check-in and after check-out. If you need a 24-hour desk or want luggage storage in the same building, this may not suit you. Our room was on the third floor, the fourth by American standards, and there’s no lift. The AC gave us trouble, but Lara came over from the sister hotel and got it working. She was prepared to move us if she couldn’t fix it, and offered again even after it worked, in case we still weren’t satisfied. Issues happen, and the way she handled this one, efficiently and with empathy, made us happy with our stay.

The room under the roof was very hot, and its air conditioning didn’t seem to work. We also couldn’t get coffee in the end. There were only a few capsules for the machine, and although we were willing to buy more, we couldn’t find any and staff couldn’t help. The location was very nice, within walking distance of many central Venice sights and transport. Staff were friendly and eager to help, including carrying a suitcase up the many stairs to the apartment. There’s no elevator. The rooms were large and mostly clean, though we found medicine containers from former guests under a bed. Towels, slippers, soap, and other basics were provided. Be careful with the Booking photos, since they show different apartments, not just the one you’ll get. The terrace appeared in the photos but wasn’t part of our apartment.

Nothing special. We rented two apartments, entered from a small street, and there was no elevator. We asked for separate beds in one apartment and were told “Of course” when booking, but nothing had been arranged by the time we arrived. The bedrooms had no view, and their ceilings were covered in moisture. The rest of the apartment was okay.