Venice hotel near St. Lucia train station

Colleen: Venice is so small, you don't have to stay near the train station to get to and from easily. Is there a reason you want to be near the station? Honestly, you can walk between the station and Piazza San Marco in 30 minutes (although it's harder with luggage). The vaporettos (water busses) make life easy, too. I'd suggest you expand your search and look at other neighborhoods too. Are you set on a hotel or would you stay in a B&B? By 2-star I suspect you are trying to set a price and quality balance. "Low" is very relative. What are you willing to pay? BTW, be sure to buy a vaporetto pass from Hello Venezia (Google it). One trip will cost 6.50 euros, but a pass is a tremendous discount with hop-on-hop-off privileges for the duration. If you buy a pass before you travel, you will save even more online. Laurel

Hi Laurel, thanks for your reply.
Venice does not look so small to me, and a 30 minute walk would be a drag. I will be coming off a long train ride, so once I get to Venice I don't think I'm going to want to try to figure out which vaporette to take to my hotel and where to get off, as I am completely unfamiliar with the city. That's why I want a place near the train station. I think I would prefer a hotel and I'd like to keep it under $120 per night. Looking at Hotel Stella Alpina, maybe? However, I will consider alternatives if they are easy. But I have so often gotten advice from people that something is easy that I didn't find easy at all. But I do like small historic hotels run by nice people, and if I want to go out in the evening, maybe another location where the walking is safe would be better.

Colleen, if you absolutely have to stay near the station, I'd recommend the family-run Hotel Santa Lucia, about a five-minute walk away. It's good value, clean, and well-run. The area around the station isn't as nice as other parts of the city though. If the Santa Lucia is full, try the Hotel Florida which is just a street away from the station, a friend of mine stayed there and was quite happy with it. Check the Tripadvisor reviews.

Colleen,
We stayed at a hotel around the corner from the train station, two minutes away. It is Hotel Abbazia and is an old monastery/abbey, complete with magnificent church bells that ring at 7AM every morning. It is a glorious alarm clock. The rooms were spacious and everyone at the front desk spoke English and were very friendly. Be aware that if you fly out of Venice, you have to walk past the train station to the bus station and catch a taxi. IMO, this walk was way too far, especially when dragging luggage. The front desk at Hotel Abbazia kindly arranged a porter to come get our luggage and take us to the bus station. They in turn loaded our luggage into a mini shuttle and took us to the airport. It was the best money we spent. Millefiori is everywhere. Have fun! We could have spent more time in Venice than the two nights we were there.

I would second (and often have) the Hotel Santa Lucia. It's within your price range and near the train station, but in a narrow quiet street. It's a one-star, though, and many rooms share a bathroom on the hall. But the rooms are spacious and clean. It has been recommended in the New York Times.

Awesome, thanks everyone for your replies.