Hotel Olimpia in Venice?

It's been a few years now (2015) but my family and I stayed at that very hotel. It was good -- nice room, good breakfast. Affiliated with Best Western (many European Best Westerns are fine hotels). I wouldn't say it's oozing with "character" but it's a comfortable hotel in a perfectly good Venetian style building on a canal. Yes, a bit of a walk to St. Mark's, etc., but not too far. Being at a hotel so close to the station and Piazzale Roma (for airport bus) was a big advantage -- so nice not to have to struggle with vaporetti and difficult directions to get to and from hotel with luggage. The neighborhood is fine, some nice restaurants nearby.

We like the Cannaregio area, about 15 min walk from the train station, on the quiet back canals. We stay at the Hotel Ai Mori d'Oriente, which has great charm and staff. If you book directly, you'll get a 12% discount. I have always found it easier to have booked directly if a problem arises, and it's a bit cheaper.
This hotel is about a 10 minute walk to a vaporetto stop on the Grand Canal.
Have a great trip!

@Slate, thank you for that reassurance! I agree not having too struggle with luggage over extra distance can be a big bonus, as long as that convenience does not put the desired activities too far away. I was hoping to stay at one of the family run hotels, but there is only so much time to make inquiries and check reviews, etc. :-)

@Pat, thank you for that additional recommendation! If we decide against the Olimpia, I'll definitely consider it. I do appreciate a nice, quiet neighborhood (but not desolate -- though I get the impression that's not really a thing in Venice.)

Hotel Olimpia is a fine hotel for a short stay in Venice. The location is very convenient if you are arriving by train, or by bus from the airport.

I booked our daughter and her partner a room at the Olimpia when we were there last September. We and the rest of the family were staying at their sister hotel next door, but our hotel was full. This was our 5th time in Venice but the first time we had stayed near Piazzale Roma. I was pleasantly surprised by the “local” feel of the neighborhoods we walked through to reach either the Rialto/San Marco area, or the Zattere in Dorsoduro. They had the narrow, twisted calli, some lined with little local shops, that let you know you really are in Venice. And the main language we heard spoken as we walked was Italian. Not Venetian dialect—so likely they were Italians from other parts of italy.

@Lola -- thank you so much for that info! I love the idea of being in a neighborhood with a more "local" feel, even if it's not strictly native Venetians. Were there areas of Venice where you did hear the Venetian dialect spoken?

No, not even when we spent a whole month in Venice. But the majority of the people you hear when walking around are tourists (even if they are Italian). The Venetians are mostly busy at work! And they speak standard Italian with visitors. (Or switch to English).

@Lola -- That makes sense and yet is still fascinating to me that even in an entire month you did not encounter the local dialect. Hopefully that is not a sign that the dialect is on the way to extinction, but that's a long, sad road traveled by many regional languages and dialects (and even accents) in our modern world.

I stayed at Hotel Olimpia in April. I though it was a great place to stay. Very nice breakfast. The espresso machine puts out horrible espresso, but the breakfast room staff with make "a traditional Italian espresso" if you ask for it.

Thanks, Dave! Good to know. I do appreciate a good breakfast, and I know that's generally not a significant meal in Italy. Luckily neither my partner nor I are coffee drinkers, so that detail won't be an issue.