really nice canal front hotel wanted in venice near st marks

When are you going and what is your budget?

Though I have only walked by it, my first thought was that the Danieli would tick all those boxes. No clue if it's in your price range, though.

That's not a problem. 2000 EUR will get you a nice room at the Gritti Palace.

Seriously though, just use google maps, identify hotels you are interested in, then call them direct. Do you want a canal view? You'll pay up for that. It is impossible to give a recommendation if the hotels are booked, or those prime rooms are unavailable.

One hotel that has been recommended on the Forum is Locanda Orseolo. I believe it has direct water access. About 1 min. from Piazza San Marco. Great reviews.

As jlshandler wrote, Locanda Orseolo has been recommended on the forum and was the place we chose for our trip in October. It's a B&B so about 12 rooms and service and location were great for us. You mention direct water access - not sure if you mean the Grand Canal or any canal. They are near St. Mark's (on Orseolo Canal), but not the Grand. You can take a vaporetto and need to walk through St. Mark's and an alley to get to them - not too bad but in crowds can take a little longer. Or since they are directly on a canal, you can take a private water taxi to/from their door (actually a window now as they had to raise the floors as the water has risen). Around $140 Euros.

thanks to all...
our budget is tops 325 usd per night...going monday 9 april...we have small overnite bag each and one senior has some walking difficulty ...thats why we are looking at not too much walking from grand canal...i will take advice and google hotels exact location...then contact directly...