Italian Lakes and Venice trip

mimi,

Some Hotels to consider.....

• Zürich - have a look at Hotel Walhalla. I don't know if it's "family run" but it's a very modern hotel and the location is perfect, almost directly across from the main Hbf. Some of city tours depart from a lot directly across the street from the hotel, so that's also convenient, and the Trams run right by the front door.
• Lake Maggiore - I would highly recommend Hotel Saini in Stresa. It is a smaller family run hotel, has a great location close to the lake and boat docks, and there are a good variety of restaurants within a short walk. It's not posh but very nice. The owner is really nice and extremely helpful (he will have some good restaurant recommendations - I'd have to check my notes for the details).
• Lake Como - sounds like you've already got that worked out.
• Lake Garda - I was there a few weeks ago, and my suggestion would be to skip it and add more time on the other lakes. Getting around to the various towns on Garda is quite "awkward", especially without a car. Of the towns I visited, Peschiera del Garda was the town I liked the best. If you're definite on seeing Lake Garda and decide to stay in Peschiera, you might have a look at Hotel Garden. For those travelling by rail, the location doesn't get any more convenient than that. The hotel was very comfortable, the staff were great and the food in the restaurant was good quality (at least IMHO).
• Venice - One of the big favourites in Venice is Pension Guerrato, however it's not exactly on the Grand Canal. I'd suggest checking the Italy Guidebook for listings. I suspect prices may be higher for hotels right on the canal. Of course, if you have a very generous budget you could stay at the Belmond Hotel Cipriani or the Aman Canal Grande, which were used by the recent Clooney wedding party.

One other lake you could look at is Lake Orta, although I don't have any information on transportation there.

Ken mentioned Lake Orta. I recently did Rick's Village Italy tour and we ended in Orta San Giulio on Lake Orta. I loved the area as it was quite different from Tuscany, Umbria and Liguria, but I don't know if it is different from your other Lake choices. The transportation from Orta San Giulio was very awkward. No train stop there but a nearby town has a station. HOWEVER, there is no ability to buy a ticket either from a person or a machine at that station and no validating box, so you need to figure out your exit strategy before you arrive and if it is by train, purchase your departure ticket before you get there. I took a taxi into Milan when I left.

The best part of Lago di Garda is the north end, where you will find stunning views of lake and mountains. It is easiest by car, but you can travel up the lake from Peschiera by ferry. We stayed in Malcescine, a charming town with narrow cobbled lanes and a ruined castle. Monte Baldo rises 5000 feet above the town; you can ride a revolving cable car up for views to the Dolomites. We stayed at Hotel Villa Carmen, a small family-run hotel just across the road from the lake. it is out of town to the north, so not easy unless you have a car. For something closer to the ferry dock, consider Hotel Castello. This is a family-run hotel right on the beach below the castle. It gets rave reviews on Tripadvisor.

For Venice, I have no personal experience with hotels on the Grand Canal, but this looks like a pretty good list:

http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/veneto/venice/hotels-on-grand-canal.html

Note that some people find hotels right on the canal noisy, because of the vaporetto and other commercial traffic. Also, the list does not include waterfront hotels east of San Marco, because that area is the Bacino, not the Grand Canal.

Personally, I would choose a place with rooftop terrace over a Grand Canal location. We had a waterfront room in Dorsoduro on the Giudecca Canal at Pensione La Calcina, which we liked very much. We did have to get used to cruise ships passing by our window each morning.

Thank you all for your responses. We decided that Zurich is not going to work out for this trip. We will probably fly into Milan, rent a car and head to Lake Maggiore, Lake Como, and Lake Garda, each with a stay of two nights. We did some preliminary searching for availability for early September 2015 and were surprised and disappointed that both Hotel Castello in Lake Garda and Albergo Milano in Lake Como seem to be booked. We sent emails to each hotel to find out if that indeed is the case. Thank you for the recommendations in Venice. The reason we thought we might like to stay on the Grand Canal is that the hotel that we stayed at in 2009 for two nights was way off the beaten track and dingy. If we are going to return, we would prefer a hotel that is centrally located and well rated with nice amenities. After some discussion, we decided that it does not have to be on the Grand Canal but near the water transport, and in a vibrant area. We will check out the Dorsoduro area as well. Any other suggestions are welcome and much appreciated!!

I would contact Albergo Milano again & ask them what dates are available.( You still have plenty of time before your trip)

When I initially contacted them, I was told that all rooms were booked for the dates that I wanted, but then I changed my dates & there was availability.
We actually stayed at one of their apartments, "Casa Gialla", a comfortable, quiet 2 bedroom apartment with a living room & kitchenette. The price of the apartment includes their delicious breakfast at the hotel.

Remember that if you're planning on 2 nights stay, that only gives you 1.5 days to visit.
We stayed 3 nights & enjoyed taking the ferry to the midlake cities,
including Bellagio.
We also took a bus to Como & had the best pizza of our trip at "Locanda Barbarossa"

You may want to send Roberto a PM regarding accommodations at Lake Garda & Lake Maggiore.

I would be very surprised if Hotel Castello and Albergo Milano are already fully booked. More likely, they are not taking reservations for summer 2015 yet. I have found that to be the case with many smaller hotels in Italy, especially outside the cities.

In Venice! you could also look at Hotel American Dineson. It is also in Dorsoduro, on a side canal. We have walked by many times and it looks charming. Lots of light due to the openness of the canal in front.

A nice thing about Dorsoduro is that it is close to San Marco but out of the craziness. Also, it is an easy walk out to Punte del Dogana for amazing views across the Bacino to San Marco. One of our favorite places to go for an early evening walk.

Thank you for your replies. Looks like we may be back to the drawing board in Lake Garda since Castello requires a 5 night minimum stay and we can only stay two nights. Albergo Milano in Varenna looks promising. Any other suggestions for Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore? Macy2014 suggested that we private message Roberto, who is Roberto and how can we contact him? Thanks! Mike and Lisa

Here is Larry's response when I posted the same question; "Who is Roberto?"

"Roberto is one of our most well-informed, savvy, witty and helpful
participants, raised in Florence, now living in Northern California,
but traveling back to Italy regularly. He seems to have more detailed
information and guidance about most places in Italy than any guide
book."

Read the posts from today, specifically the one titled; Florence and Rome in November

& Roberto posted a reply there,
then click on his name & you can write a private message that way.

Roberto was very helpful when I was planning our trip last month & we did enjoy visiting Lake Garda very much.

I believe Roberto likes Limone on Lago di Garda, which is directly across the lake from Malcescine and will have great views. I defer To his judgment as we have only been there once. But if you will have a car, check out Villa Carmen where we stayed. Nice rooms with water views, and a pool on a terrace above. Not on the beach like Hotel Castello, but no 5- night minimum either. We spoke German with the family, not Italian. But it appears from Tripadvisor it mY be under new management since we were there. Gets very nice reviews.

Hotel in Venice:
We stayed in Hotel Flora (http://www.booking.com/hotel/it/flora-venezia.html?aid=386745) in August. The hotel has it's own garden open for breakfast in dry weather and the staff is very friendly and helpful.
It's close to San Marco and on the "high road" where all the day tourists walk by :-)

Hi, we absolutely loved our time in Stresa. We stayed at Hotel Boston (odd name) with a balcony room & view of Isola Bella & a side view of the beautiful Grand Des Iles Borromées. It's a cheaper smaller hotel a block off of the main road, so it's quieter at night. And honestly, we were hardly at the hotel since the town promenade is wonderful to stroll along with the cute restaurant/shopping streets. Also, we spent a full day at Isola Bella & Isola Pescatori.

Stresa is handy to arrive by train from Switzerland. We've been to each place you've listed and are always ready to return to Venice or Stresa.

We stayed at the Hotel Ancora in Verbania on Lago Maggiore a few years ago. The accomodations were fine, a couple of blocks from the lake, parking was provided, though in a garage a couple of blocks away. The boats that visit the Borromean islands, which are a must-see, stop at Verbania and the town has good restaurants.

One question, why so many lakes?

In Venice, Trattoria Altanella, on the Giudecca and down a quiet alley, is a fantastic, family run restaurant. The owner's nephew started working there the week we visited, making him the fourth generation. It's a small place and the local food and atmosphere are wonderful--be sure to make reservations. It's a great place to find when you are weary of the tourist crush of Venice.

We just returned from a stay at the Hotel Al Ponte Mocenigo in Venice which is just steps from the San Stae vaporetto stop on the Grand Canal (San Polo area), but set back on a quiet side canal. We loved being away from the craziness of the San Marco area (where we stayed last time), the hotel was charming, reasonably priced for Venice and with a good breakfast. With our vaporetto passes we just hopped off and on vaporettos to get where we wanted to go (before walking, wandering, and getting lost!). We would return in a heartbeat to this charming, small hotel.

As usual, thanks to everyone for all of their great posts!
Bill - to answer your question - We just came back from Tuscany and spent 7 days touring the area so we thought we would choose the lake area next year since we stayed a couple of nights in Varenna 5 years ago and really liked it. Why do you ask - do you think we will be seeing more of the same at each lake?

As for Venice, I highly suggest Locanda Orseolo. It's minutes from St. Mark's Square, on the Orseolo Canal which is obviously not the Grand Canal but the location can't be beat. It's behind St. Mark's Square (5 minutes to St. Mark's Square and maybe 10 minutes to the Rialto Bridge area. The rooms, staff and service are wonderful and we enjoyed being right on the canal and opening our windows in the morning and hearing life on the canal. It's a very popular hotel so you must book ahead and the hotel lives up to its reputation. I would definitely stay there again. Have a great trip.