Staying in Venice

CaRiccio on Cross Polinate...about 108 euro-a great deal for Venice
-6 minutes walk to Rialto and 14 minutes to St Mark's Square...nice room
and great breakfast...returning there for 2nd stay this May...Mike

The historical center of Venice is not large and everything is within easy reach wherever you stay. The Giudecca is a bit more inconvenient. The Sestiere of San Marco is generally more expensive. The Easternmost part of the sestiere of Castello is less touristy (more locals live there) but a farther walk from the sites. Dorsoduro, Cannaregio and Santa Croce are all good. The farther you stay from the Grand Canal the less touristy and quieter it gets.
Mestre and Lido are not separate cities, but rather districts within the city limits of the City of Venice. However they are the more modern parts (Mestre is on the mainland). They tend to be cheaper, but you aren't in the historical center close to the sights.
Unless you have hostel type accommodations, nearly all hotels will have private rooms and private bathrooms.

On our RS Best of Italy tour, we stayed at the Hotel Mercurio. I thought the location was excellent. It was a short walk to St. Marks Square. If you look at a map of Venice, it is located a few yards away from La Fenice Theater. If I were to visit Venice again, I wouldn't hesitate to stay there.

If you are willing to pay the price, I would suggest trying to stay near the center of Venice.

The last time we were there, we stayed at an Accor brand hotel in Mestre and drove to a parking garage across from the train station. While the hotel was nice, I think it would have been better to actually pay the price and stay in Venice. The time it took to travel on the causeway, park and then take canal transportation was longer than we had planned.

On the other hand, since we had a car, we did need a place to park and staying at a hotel actually within the city would not have allowed for that.

While I don't know your travel interests, we visited the Jewish ghetto area. We took a short walking tour with guides from one of the museums. We aren't Jewish but I enjoyed seeing the old synagogues.

Have fun!

Pensione Guerrato and Casa Rezzonico are both great. In San Polo and Dorsoduro n'hoods, respectively. (Most places in Italy have private baths these days.)

Hotel Serenissima proved to be a comfortable and convenient home base during our stay in Venice, ideally located right in-between San Marco and the Rialto Bridge (about a 7-min walk to either). To be clear, there are no sweeping vistas nor four-star restaurants on premise; but we did find it a reasonably priced, clean, quiet inn, run by friendly staff who were always there to help with reservations, directions and the like. Wherever you decide to stay, would highly recommend staying in Venice, proper. The city's charms are best enjoyed in the early-morning hours and again later in the day, after the massive crowds head back to their cruise ships and chain hotels.

such a beautiful city. No cars, no bicycles, no skateboards, just folks walking around the maze of streets. Absolutely love Venice. Go and have fun!

I would second the suggestion of Pensione Guerrato. Perfect location. Great hosts!

We have stayed twice at Pensione Guerrato and also highly recommend.

I've stayed at Pensione Guerrato several times and had mixed experiences. My last two times in Venice I stayed at Hotel Al Ponte Mocenigo and tend to like it better: Beautiful, classic and clean rooms; lovely bathrooms; just steps off the San Stae vaporetto stop on the Grand Canal, and only 3 vaporetto stops from the train station, so: very easy access and no bridge to cross from the vaporetto stop . Lovely breakfast served in dining area (in good weather in the gorgeous private garden). And just about the same price at Pensione Guerrato - maybe a few euros cheaper. The guys at the desk speak great English and helped me immensely with advice and travel support. (I've experienced the Guerrato folks as a bit distanced and bothered, in my last two stays there.)

We stayed in Canarreggio, a residential area, at B&B Le Mansarde. Great location, close to everything.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187870-d584011-Reviews-Le_Mansarde-Venice_Veneto.html

Lovely room with kitchen and bath (all private) and breakfast each am. Owner was great and gave us lots of helpful hints. Don't remember the price, but knowing me, it was not too expensive.