Venice Accommodations - Having Trouble

When are you planning to stay in Venice? If your travel dates are soon, a year from now, or during a holiday or major event; these can all greatly affect your search for a room. Share your travel dates and we may be more likely to help.

Yes, thank you. I did mean to include the dates.

October 21-27, 2015

You might want to try cross pollinate, a rental agency.
Or a wonderful b&b near Rialto Bridge, but not that close to be noisy. Rialto 1052 b&b is a place we have stayed. I know they have a ground floor apartment. It is very near the San Silvestto vap stop. A very short walk. We love it there. Damiano is the owner and he is a sweetheart.
Let us know how you make out. I know your mom will love Venice.
Also, I think if you go on the Venice Tourist Board site, it may show routes that are handicapped friendly and not that many bridges. But don't think you can avoid the bridges. Good luck.

Use booking.com. It is very busy in Venice that week, especially Thursday and Friday. You may have to make some compromises regarding location or price.

Venice is all about stairs, they are everywhere and on every way possible. Just so you know.

Have you tried Flipkey or VRBO?

If simple accommodations are OK, I suggest you look at convents as a way of getting an elevator. The ones I've stayed at have had elevators, and many are in very central locations and are historically interesting buildings.

Many convents in Venice take in students during the school year. Consequently, the website monasterystays.com might be the easiest way to find convent lodgings. They will know what's available and what amenities exist in a specific place. They will also take care of providing you with English-language material about your stay.

A few caveats to carefully consider – little or no English will be spoken, the rooms and breakfast will be very, very, very simple, you won't find formal tourist services, and you are unlikely to find TV, radio, or phones in the rooms. There also will be a curfew, usually some time between 10 and midnight, although I would guess that would not be a concern for your mother. A single room is probably around €60-70.

I can't think of a city that has more stairs than Venice. Every few "blocks" you will need to climb up a small bridge and back down a bridge. Are there other options for cities nearby that you could consider for lodging that would not stress your mother's health, such as Verona, and just go to Venice for a day trip boat ride and stop at San Marco?

What a brilliant forum, and a fantastic group of people.

Thank you, everyone for your replies!

I'm taking my mother on a cruise that finishes in Venice - she has dreamt of seeing the Mediterranean. Because I'm on a budget, we are flying on points and can not fly out of Venice until Oct 27. I thought a few extra days in Venice might be nice for her, I didnt realize the challenges it would present. So we are in Venice...somewhere in Venice until the 27th. I dont think another city is an option, at least not at this point.

Thank you.
Greg

Greg,

I travel with my mother, who is in her late 80's & understand the challenges you're faced with. We visited northern Italy last October & chose to stay in Padua which is an easy
26 minute train ride from Venice. In Venice we enjoyed cruising the Grand Canal, a few of the highlights & also enjoyed a delicious picnic in Giudecca.

I'd suggest you buy the vaporetto pass for however many days you will be in Venice & that way you can ride the vaporetto to your hearts content & avoid all those stairs!

Here is the website for the vaporetto passes: http://www.actv.it/en/movinginvenice/prices
Enjoy your trip!

Priscilla has an excellent idea. Normally we all say "Stay in Venice!" But under the circumstances....Here is a hotel, within your budget, on Lido, across the street from the Santa Maria Elizabetta vaporetto dock. It has an elevator. It is the Hotel Panorama. You can tour to your hearts content using the vaporetti, the docks are floating pontoons connected to terra firma with a ramp so it is just a short walk up or down the ramp depending on the tide. Most are flat, single level boats, maybe a step to board given where the vaportto is riding in the water (how many people are on board). They run all night, so you can really paint the town.
http://www.booking.com/hotel/it/panorama-lido-venezia.en-us.html?aid=376370;label=booking-name-Y1Pc_OVe5aL9kiKP88ZwPgS27228713674%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1%3Ap2802%2C000%3Aac%3Aap1t1%3Aneg%3Afi%3Atiaud-146342137270%3Akwd-334108349%3Alp9019416%3Ali%3Adec%3Adm;sid=83d5fec0cd46755f318468651e96d359;dcid=4;no_rooms=1;req_adults=2;req_children=0&;checkin=2015-10-21;checkout=2015-10-27;atlas_src=hp_iw_title#HotelFacilities

If you have an early flight on the 27th, you might want to move to a hotel near the airport the night before. I've stayed at the Hotel Venice Resort and they have shuttle van service to the airport

FYI, the following convent is directly across Grand Canal from San Marco. At end of Dosodoro, a few hundred yards from Salute vaporetto stop, one small bridge w about 5 steps up/down.
http://www.monasterystays.com/?a=destination&b=Italy/Veneto/Venice//VEV116

When I stayed there, no sister spoke English, but there were students who did and helped in an emergency. There is an elevator. And I seem to recall areas to walk nearby without bridges. San Marco is the next stop. Check Google for neighborhood. I don't think the all-night vaporetto stop anywhere nearby, so the would be an issue is you have a really early flight.

It's really late to be looking for next month, but you can see if Campiello Zen B&B has the ONE room they have on the GROUND floor open. You can find them on TripAdvisor or just google for their website. What a great trip for you both - I sure hope you find something.

I'll just second Priscilla's idea of Padua (Padova in Italian). It's not only flat, but it's very nice and has some major sights of its own (the Scrovegni Chapel is breathtaking). Furthermore, it's far less touristed than Venice, so you get some breathing room. And finally, there's a bus from Padova right to Venice airport, so it's logistically easy too.

In 2009, I stayed at the Hotel Belludi 37, which has an elevator and was quite nice, but not too expensive: http://www.belludi37.it/en/hotel/

Yes, Venice is a great place. But between the constant stairs on the bridges, the difficulty of finding a suitable hotel room on short notice, and your budget, you may do better to stay elsewhere this time.

If you stay right on the Grand Canal and use vaporettos for your trips up and down the GC...and don't venture too far down the side alleys you should be able to avoid stairs.

Greg, take a look at Hotel Al Ponte Mocenigo. Lovely small hotel, lovely people running it. I've stayed there twice, most recently in August of this year. It is just about 100 FLAT feet from the San Stae vaporetto stop, and they have several rooms on the ground (FLAT!) floor. A lovely breakfast is also served on the ground floor. There are several lovely cafes within a couple of blocks FLAT walk up the street from the hotel, also. Very reasonably priced (my single was about $100 USD) for that fabulous location. Their English is quite good; if you email them at [email protected], they'll likely get right back to you with what might be available. Good luck, and wishing you and your mother a magnificent holiday, together!

In the same situation, my family booked a ground floor room at Hotel Casa Rezzonico, but it's both small and popular, so it may be one that you found to be sold out. Remember the European distinction between ground floor and 1st floor (up).

Here's a map of "accessible Venice" showing all the parts of Venice that can be accessed without going up and down stairs:
http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/EN/IDPagina/1318

Michael, thank you for posting the accessible map. I've saved it just in case friends or family someone need it at some time in the future.

...and that's why I check the RS Travel Forum daily, for great tidbits of info! Thanks!

Thank You Everyone. Your replies have been extremely helpful.

Laura, at your suggestion I contacted Casa Rezzonico.

Their reply is below. It sounds reasonable. My only concern is being right on the ground floor for flooding and security. Do you have any further thoughts on the hotel, the location, the room, etc.

Is anyone else familiar with this hotel as well?

TKS a lot for your email,
from 21 to 26 October 2015 (5 nights) we can have one triple room (double bed + single bed) on ground floor with private bathroom and two small windows (one just for more light and one with view on the street and S. Barnaba canal) at Special price of 135€ Cash per night per room (for the first 3 nights for single use) and for the remain two night at 190€ Cash per night per room, buffet breakfast included.
Please email us back if you want to reserve, writing your credit card details (name, numbers, expire date) to guarantee the reservation.