I only had one night in Venice so I needed a simple but safe place to crash for the night. Also it needs to very close to the water bus station as I was planning to arrive late at night. I didn’t want to have to walk too far to get to the hotel that late, especially since I was travelling alone.
Location
The location is superb – about 2min walk from the San Zaccaria vaporetto station. Turn left from the station, cross the bridge and turn right into Calle de le Rasse, and you’re there. If you are not on a tight budget, you can of course opt for Hotel Danieli, the red brick luxury hotel that you will walk past to get to Hotel Commercio & Pellegrino. When I got to the stop at 11-ish pm – there were still people taking walks by the canal so it was not scary or anything. I felt quite safe walking with my small backpack to the hotel.
Another plus point is that San Zaccaria also has an Alilaguna stop. My plan was to check out early in the morning, leave my bag at the hotel and walk around the city until it was time to leave for the airport. Plus the hotel is 5-6 minutes walk to Piazza San Marco. How central can you get? I think for that location, a single room with breakfast for a EUR100 per night was a good deal.
Service and Reception
Being a hotel, they have a 24 hour reception which I appreciate. I arrived late – so it was nice to be greeted warmly by the staff. Checking in (and checking out) was fast.
I just came from Florence where I stayed at Firenze Number Nine Hotel which was very modern. When I stepped into this hotel, I felt like I was travelling back to the past with its classic decor. Total opposite! The hotel has a lift, so that’s a plus point especially if you have lots of stuff with you.
Room
This was my second stay in a single room accommodation in Europe (first was in Florence).
First of all – the decor was really old classical style – perhaps that is its charm. Personally – it’s not my thing. I prefer clean cut modern designs. I appreciate that this may represent the real Italian classical style but I feel for a small room like this – if they go for clean, modern design with basic colours etc – it will give the room ‘volumes’. The busy patterns and the colours and lighting make the room feel even smaller.
The room is anyway really small and tight. The bed is quite basic and feels a bit on the low side. I needed a place to sleep that’s about it. So I was not too bothered. For a one night stay, this works but if staying more than a night, I would go for a standard double room.
The bathroom was a decent size for a small room. The hot water was good and everything was clean.
Breakfast
For breakfast they serve the usual cold meats and cheese, fruits, bread, pastries and cereal. The croissants were delicious. I had a good hearty breakfast – which was more than enough to sustain me up to lunch time. No complaints. Went downstairs early so it was not so busy. The service was good.
The Verdict
I would stay again – the price is great for the location. I don’t really fancy the classic decor and the furnishing is a bit dated. But the staff is great, the price is great, the location is superb – close to key attractions, close to the vaporetto and Alilaguna stops. There are many restaurants nearby and you are close to all the shopping areas too.
But like I said if I was staying more than one night, I’d get a double room. The single room is too tight, space-wise – you will feel like you just want to get in and out quickly.
Check out my other posts on Venice.