Hotel recommendations in Venice

We really like both Pensione Guerrato and Casa Rezzonico and they're well within your price range. As for "inexpensive transportation from the airport," you won't find a hotel that provides that. They might provide transportation but it will be much more expensive than doing it yourself. There's a very easy bus/vaporetto combination from the airport into Venice. The RS books cover the details.

Hotel Ala is right at the Giglio vaporetto stop. After years of trying other places I've stayed here every year for 6 or 7 years in a row. Affordable luxury! Don't use the Best Western web site, go directly to the hotel for best deals!

If you have packed light, then pretty much any hotel is walkable from a vaporetto stop. I have enjoyed the same hotels that Michael has. See who has rooms available before getting your heart too set on any one choice.

We really like Hotel Al Leon it's very close to a vaporetto stop and convenient to St. Mark's square. We stayed there in 2011 with my mother and payed Euro 125 cash for a double. Beware there are a lot of stairs though. You must go up one short flight to get to the first level of rooms. The breakfast room is up pretty steep stairways. However the proprietors were wonderful and put my mother on the first floor of rooms and offered to bring her breakfast to her! They were very nice and the a/c worked wonderfully! My daughter is staying there this summer again.

I stayed at La Chicca B&B and i definitely recommend it. Quiet, good sized rooms, comfortable, and the owners were fantastic. It's near the Accademia vaporetto stop.

We recently stayed at the Hotel Galleria. We were in room #1 and it was ok. A bit small but worked out very well. The walls were quite thin in this room which is right beside the check in desk. It is conveniently located beside the Accademia vaporetto stop. We had an early flight to Frankfurt and caught the 4 06 AM vaporetto to P Roma and caught the bus to the airport for a total of 13 euros per person. We bought our tickets the day before as not to worry about them the day of departure. The hotel is located close to Piazza San Marco and nice restaurants. Would recommend this hotel.