Recommendations of hotels, etc. for Venice

When are you going? Your dates will have an impact on the pricing as it varies by season and for events. Check to see if there are any events going on for your dates. If hotels are out of your price range, apartments may be your best bet. You mention Airbnb but you might consider checking VRBO and/or Homeaway.com. Although it's not ideal, you could check hotels on the mainland.

You can use a website like booking.com or Venere.com or even Tripadvisor to filter results by price. You cannalso filter for apartments. There are less expensive places in Venice; you just have to search them out. Once found, you can go to their website and book direct.

I never suggest staying in Mestre (on the mainland) to save money. It is just not the same as staying IN Venice.

If you find a place on Air BnB that you like, post it and people here can comment. We like apartments for Venice ourselves; by self-catering (cooking our own meals) we save a lot over going out to restaurants---more than enough to make up for the expense of the lodging. And shopping for food makes for a fun experience.

If you are OK with very simple, try hotel Doni. I've stayed twice, paying for an ensuite room. They also have rooms with a shared bath, which are markedly cheaper, but the shared bathrooms are old and I think folks on the third floor need to come down to the second floor for a bathroom. The location is great, very near San Marco. The people are really nice, And the rooms are clean. And in the ensuite room that I had both times, the bathroom was very new.

Get the Rick Steves Venice book for tips on how to save money in Venice and, more importantly, how NOT to save money in Venice. Buying that book will be the best money you spend on your vacation. And all the info will be in one handy location.

Expense depends on time of year, but overall we do better with VRBO.com and apartments. Try Booking.com and the hotels in Rick Steves' book. Some of them give a better price than Booking.com if you have time to contact each individually.

I also find Venice to be more expensive than other locations in Italy. I agree with previous suggestions to have a look at the RS Italy guidebook as there are lots of hotels listed there in different price ranges.

As Sherry mentioned, Albergo Doni is certainly worth a look. It's an older property (located in an old palace or something like that) and indeed very close to Piazza San Marco in a quiet side street. I was by there in September and it appears to be under new ownership since I last stayed there, so can't comment on whether the experience there is the same as on my last visit.

One important tip to mention..... DON'T sit down in the outdoor patios of any of the restaurants with high brow bands playing around San Marco, or you'll really find out how expensive it is in Venice. Even at the venerable Caffè Florian, standing at the bar is the cheapest way to have a cup of coffee.

Try AirBnB, and look for areas not in the sesteire of San Marco. You should be able to find something for less than 100 euro a night. NI have hired a place just in front of the Frari for about 60 euro a night for next September.

Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, Cannaregio and San Polo will generally be cheaper, also less crowded, than San Marco.

What do you consider 'expensive'? To me, expensive is anything over about 90 euro a night...what is your budget? I have an airbnb apartment I stayed at and a regular B&B we've stayed at 3 times, but not sure if they would be too expensive or too budget for you...

Stephen: Our budget is no more than $160 US/night. I'd be interested in the name of the lodgings you refer to. Our dates are 5/4, 5/5 and 5/6.

Here is a list of small hotels/B and B's available on your dates for $160 a night or less:

http://www.booking.com/searchresults.en-gb.html?aid=356980;label=gog235jc-city_bab-XX-it-venice-nobrand-us_ks-tab-L%3Aen-V%3A0ahUKEwjipvfNt7vKAhUPz2MKHdXsCUEQFgg9MAI-O%3Aunk-B%3Aunk-N%3Ayes-S%3Abo-U%3Asalo;sid=664bf9e8d5ce500364e69859b9fe0417;dcid=4;checkin_monthday=4;checkin_year_month=2016-5;checkout_monthday=7;checkout_year_month=2016-5;city=-132007;class_interval=1;csflt=%7B%7D;dtdisc=0;group_adults=2;group_children=0;hlrd=0;hyb_red=0;inac=0;label_click=undef;nha_red=0;no_rooms=1;redirected_from_city=0;redirected_from_landmark=0;redirected_from_region=0;review_score_group=empty;room1=A%2CA;sb_price_type=total;score_min=0;src=city;ss_all=0;ssb=empty;sshis=0&;;nflt=pri%3D146%3B;filter_used=pri-146

Pick one and then book directly with the hotel.

We always stay in the Dosoduro area. Accommodations are much less expensive, the restaurants are much better and cheaper (just dont attempt to eat anywhere near the Piazza San Marco). The entire city is very walkable and nothing is very far away. Visit San Marco very early or very late and explore the rest of Venice the rest of the time. For an inexpensive and FUN alternative to a gondola ride, check out Row Venice. We did a "cichetti row" with them and had SUCH fun!

Not many people post about it and maybe don't know about it but for Europe hotels I find
Hotelscombined.com to be the very best
It is similar to kayak or trivago but only for hotels and shows many of the smaller hotel websites which sometimes are cheaper and has all of the main sites for European hotels like booking.com, venere.com, etc...
You book on the other sites like kayak
I have tried them all and find this the best
Admittedly I often find a hotel deal I like and then also go the hotel directly and sometimes book there instead
For venice I just booked a hotel from the hotels website cause they had a couple of special rooms they only book on their site and the cost was the same or less
I Booked
Palazzo Vitturi which I think would be within your budget or very close for a regular double room, take a look I thiught the hotel had much to offer for the price compared to other options

Jane, Dorsoduro is very nice but I don't think anywhere in Venice is significantly less expensive than anywhere else, unless it is the far reaches of Cannareggio or Castello. Prices are driven by views. canal side location, amenities, etc.. Restaurants may vary in price all over the map. Places with tables right on San Marco are of course the most expensive, but nobody would eat there. Places close to San Marco are notable for being touristy and may be either expensive or bad, but you only need to go a few steps off the tourist path to find something better.

Please look at Cross Pollinate website... we are staying at CaRiccio
(2nd time) 6 min from Rialto and 14 minutes to St Marks for 108 euro
in May...clean, bright, great breakfast, great price, nice bathroom-window
with a nice view but on 2nd floor - no elevator...Mike

You guys/gals are the greatest. Thanks for all your help!