Vaporetto to San Polo hotel

What hotel? San Polo is on the opposite side of the Grand Canal. The No 1 boat makes stops on that side of the canal. The No 2 only stops at the San Toma stop on that side of the canal, but that might be the one you want. The No 2 is like an express that skips stops. The Vaporetto stops are right outside the front steps of the station.
It might even be a short walk from the station depending on the location. There is a bridge over the canal by the station but it a lot of steps if you have heavy luggage.

It is Ca'Bonvicino. They noted to get off at the S Stae vaporetto stop.

Yes, San Stae is on the No 1 line, 3rd stop. About 300 yd walk (5 min).

So we walk over the bridge and catch the #1 vaporetto on the opposite side of the train station, right?

When you come out of the train station, the boat stops are just before you. You need to take the No. 1 to Lido and not Piazzale Roma. The boat stop dock would be to your right facing the water. You will need to buy your tickets or travel pass from the ticket kiosk before you board. You do not cross any bridges to catch the boat. Good luck.

Unlike bus stops, the vaporetto stops have boats that pull up going in either direction. There aren't any "lanes" on the Grand Canal - it's sort of a free-for-all. So a #1 boat could pull up at the vaporetto stop and be going either to the left or the right. You'll do yourself a big favor if you become familiar with the basic layout of Venice, esp. related to where your hotel is. That would let you know that from the front of the train station, you want a #1 boat going to your left. The #1 boat is the "local" in that it stops at almost every vaporetto stop along the GC. It hops back and forth from side to side, pulling up to the various stops. I'm pretty sure it's the one that Rick uses for his self-guided Grand Canal tour. Unfortunately, it can be VERY crowded, making it hard to see the sites he describes. Also, as a matter of etiquette, don't hover near the exits on the boat unless your stop is coming up. It just makes it more difficult for those who will be getting off and on. If the boat is crowded, they will also tell you to remove your backpack so you're not banging into people unknowingly. If you buy a vaporetto pass (worth it if you'll be riding the vaporetto two or more times a day), you have to validate it every time you get on board or risk a fine. You just put it against the touchpad that you'll find on the vaporetto landing, right by the "onramp." You can buy the vaporetto passes at either the airport (shorter lines) or in front of the train station (longer lines).

So, you don't get on one side to go one way, and one side to go the other. Just watch the direction of the boats and head the direction you know you should be going, right ?

At the train station, there are separate docks for each direction. They should be clearly marked and there are English speaking attendants to get you pointed in the right direction. Or you can always ask "Per San Marco?" that's the direction you want. Check the Venice transport website with detailed vaporetto map at http://www.actv.it/en/movinginvenice/waterbusservicestimetable

Sam is right on with his clarification. The train station stops are an exception to the general rule that a boat could be coming from either direction. Take a minute to study the vaporetto map to figure out which direction you want to go in. The stops are displayed on a sign laying them out in order on a straight line. It will make sense when you get there. And presumably you have the Rick Steves book for either Italy or Venice, so that will be helpful as well.

Thanks for all of the help! And, yes, I have old and new versions of the Venice guidebook. We were able to walk to our hotel in the Cannaregio area from the train station last trip, so this time we are on the opposite side !

Go to bing.com and click on their map feature. It has excellent aerial views and birds eye views of the entire city. You can get a great close up of the train station area and the area where you will get off the vap.TC