Which Hilton in Venice

Molino is nice. Mestre is further out - they will be different prices/point values. check out the reviews and see the map area on the hilton website, which should help to guide your decision. Good luck.

The Molino Stuckey is in actual Venice, western end of Giudecca. You can get to Burano from there by vaporetto. T’other Hilton is not in Venice at all. Mestre is not Venice.

I realize the difference in pricing but am mostly asking about the convenience of getting from the train station, getting around ion the area during our stay, and getting to the airport—in terms of both cost and travel time.

Mestre is nearer to the airport, but it isn’t Venice, it’s 5 miles away from the action on the mainland, so you would have the hassle and expense of travelling into Venice each day. Personally, when I went to Venice, I wanted to stay in Venice, not a soulless tower block on a busy road (Mestre Hilton) that could be anywhere in the world.

The Molino is close to a vaporetto stop, but as it’s over on Giudecca, you will need to take a vaporetto to get to most of the places that you are likely to want to see, as there isn’t a foot bridge, so walking wouldn’t be an option.

I don’t know how sensitive to noise you are, but I would opt for a quieter location that had better pedestrian access and save the Hilton points for another location. I stayed in Cannaregio area, which was relatively easy from the airport and was straightforward to reach Murano and Burano. I also visited Torcello, which was less manic and a nice vaporetto ride out. I was last there in January and Burano was unpleasantly overrun with fellow tourists. It must be hideous in peak season.

I stayed at Mestre and it was one train away to Venice. I found it very convenient. The train runs every 15 minutes and it cost 1.50E and it last 5 minutes... We went back and forth from Mestre to Venice and didn't found to be inconvenient at all.
Now once you are in Venice, you have to walk from the train station to the St.Mark's square, which can be a hike.. But there are water taxis right at the station if you choose to take that route.

If the Hiltons are not conveniently located for the things you want to see, I agree with Jennifer about saving your points for another destination. My husband is adamant about using Hilton points, but I refused to back down on my non-Hilton choice in Vienna last year and soon after we got there my husband agreed that it was a much more convenient choice than either of the two Hiltons. I don't think anything beats a hotel location close to what you want to see, except in London where it's the distance to the metro stop that matters.

I would not stay at either of them as they are not IN Venice. The one in Mestre should not not be considered at all. As stated in the above post, save your points for a better use. You mention “convenience factor” and neither offers this at all. The vaporettos to Burano and Murano go from Venice’s north side which from these Hiltons is even less convenient. Add the small historic island of Torcello, very near Burano and is the historic heart of Venice. Small and special.

Based on all of your helpful input, it seems obvious that we need to look at other options. Please share what specific areas to search for that will be convenient for the criteria I originally shared. Thank you for all of your helpful advice. This is such a great community resource for information!

Apologies for adding to the non-Hilton options, but we stayed at the AC Hotel Venezia (Marriott) for one night. We completed a RS Eastern Europe tour at Lake Bled and took an early morning shuttle to Venice. The hotel is next to bus drop off area and a quick walk to multiple vaporetto stops. We used points for the stay as we only needed a place to throw our bags, and sleep for one night after a long day of sightseeing. We flew out midday the next morning. The airport express bus ride to Marco Polo was about 20 min. Met our requirements and was convenient for our itinerary. Hotel was nice and quiet despite all the noise outside. Just my two cents.

In keeping with your original cosiderations, stay on the main island of Venice for the convenience of moving between train station, hotel, airport, and Burano / Murano.

We have stayed at Pensione Guerrato near the Rialto Bridge several times and really like it. The location is very close to a vaporetto stop, but far enough away from the Rialto Bridge itself to not be in the mob scene. If you book there let us know and we can give you directions that will eliminate a lot of walking with the luggage.

It sounds like you may already have your flights purchased. Otherwise flying open jaw into Venice and out of Milan and reversing the order of your trip going to Venice first and Bellagio after that would avoid the morning flight out of Venice. It takes time to get from Venice to the airport - either the Alilaguna 1 hour boat ride to the airport, or a vaporetto boat ride of up to 40 minutes from your hotel to Piazzale Roma area and then an ATVO land bus ride for 25 minutes to the airport. Hotels to check out that would be good possibilities would be Hotel Ala at 2494 Campo Santa Maria del Giglio. It is near the Giglio vaporetto and an easy walk to St. Mark's Square with the San Marco Vallaresso and San Marco Giardinetti vaporettos. Another hotel to check out is Hotel Concordia which is in a great location near St. Mark's Square and the Cathedral and an easy walk to the San Zaccaria Vaporetto from which the ferry to Burano leaves. It is definitely worth it to stay in Venice itself to enjoy it in early morning and evening when it is so quiet and beautiful. If you get up early on your day of departure and have researched in advance which way you wish to get to the airport it is all doable.

Re:Marriott properties. We have points available that work for either the AC mentioned or the JW Marriott. Pros & cons?

Re: reconfiguring the trip is not an option as this is the final destination on a 5+ week trip. Open jaw pretty much set to fly into Rome and out of Venice we intentionally booked a late AM flight hoping that this would make our travel to airport doable.

My first trip to Venice 29 years ago included staying in Mestre. Every trip since then, and there have been a few, I have stayed in Venice itself. There is something special about Venice in the evening when all the day trippers and cruise passengers go back to their accomodations. The real Venetians come out.

And you don't have to walk from the train station to St. Marks Square. The Vaporetto will take you there and it is a beautiful ride. Don't miss it. (You can take your bags on the boat.)

There are also plenty of water taxis that can do the ride but they will be very expensive.

I also like using points but in Venice I prefer a good location and save my points for elsewhere.

Thoughts on this property and location?

Apostoli Palace
Calle Del Padiglione, Venice VE 30131

Located in Cannaregio, this inn is within a 5-minute walk of Grand Canal and Ca' d'Oro Giorgio Franchetti Gallery. Rialto Bridge and St. Mark's Square are also within 15 minutes. Venice Santa Lucia Station is 21 minutes by foot.

https://www.apostolipalace.com

I don't know it but looking at the Location page of the hotel's website (most Venice hotels have a Location page) it doesn't look convenient to either F Nove for the vaporetto to the islands or to Ca'd'Oro for the Grand Canal. Plenty of bridges and calles to go anywhere.

First of all, we rarely stay in five star hotels, because we spend little time in our hotels. Why spend triple the price for lodging? You are using points, so==

OK, now to answer your question.

We have stated in Mestre as well as Venice. I strongly advise staying in Venice itself, not Mestre. Enjoying Venice the city with its special atmosphere is worth the extra cost.

We took a tour of Murano, Burano and another island. One island was the original island were Venice was founded.

I don't know the hotel but location seems good enough, much more convenient than either of the Hiltons you were considering. There are many hotel choices in Venice, you don't need to overthink it. I'd opt for a location like this, away from the most touristed areas but still within a reasonable walk to them. But Nigel knows much more about Venice than I ever will.

Lots of helpful information! Thank you so much!

After reading the valuable info, I am now trying to book with Ultimate Reward points which opens up a lot more options for smaller properties in more locations.

Mixed feedback for location of Apostoli Palace @ Calie Del Padglione so wondering about this option:

http://la-finestra-sulle-beccarie.hotels-in-venice.net/en/

Property address:
Calle Del Capeler, 1585, Venice, Italy

Attractions
San Polo 350 m Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca\' d\'Oro 150 m Artigianato d\'Arte di Vianello Mauro 150 m Monument to Bartolomeo Colleoni 700 m Chiesa di San Giacomo di Rialto 200 m The Maskmakers Shop 250 m Monumento a Daniele Manin 750 m palais des doges 750 m Rialto Bridge 550 m Gioielleria Eredi Jovon 350 m

I don't know it but it is close to two of my fav Cicchetti places, do Spade and do Mori. Reasonably close to, and flat to, vaporetto Rialto Mercato (only served by the number 1). It is across the Rialto bridge from the route to S Marco. It is across the Rialto bridge from the direct route to the station. It is on the correct side of the Grand Canal for my fav bakery near S Pantelon. It is very near the morning fish and veg market (hence the vaporetto stop name). It is very near the Pension Guerrato mentioned above.

The alleys and calles in that area are more narrow than some parts and a bit of a rabbits warren. I've been going to that area for years and still wind up coming out slightly differently than where I expect to. That's either good or bad depending on your point of view. For me it is usually in a good way. in a short time I always know where I am.

There is a slightly convoluted but pleasant walk to P Roma (and hence across the new bridge to the station).

One more thing - I notice that they say how close they are to Ca'd'Oro. Remember that it is across the Grand Canal from your apartment. They say how far as a crow flies, You need to either get over the very crowded Rialto bridge then make your way inland through the cruise ship crowds all in a parade between the Strada Nova, Rialto, S Marco, or catch a vaporetto at Rialto Mercato one stop to Ca'd'Oro. I don't think that the Traghetto is still running there (I might be wrong).

Property address:
Calle Del Capeler, 1585, Venice, Italy

Oh- and one more. Sorry.

In Venice the number refers to the Sestier (one of the 6 sections of the city or a district), not a street number. The numbers are nearly unique within a Sestier but are used again in surrounding ones. Numbers are not necessarily (or even often) sequential, but similar numbers are often near each other, regardless of calle or campo, within a sestier - but no guarantee at all.

The correct form address is usually calle, Sestiere, number. I haven't checked but it is likely that the apartment Sestier is S Polo.

Knowing the Sestier, and preferably the nearest large campo or nearest large church, will allow you to imagine where a place is without a map or the number.

EDIT: I had a look and it is San Polo, but very close to Santa Croce.

Quite honestly, I don't know enough to even know what we want to be close to! I am guessing (very much so!) that being convenient to the train station, airport transportation, plus city sights and transportation to Burano is asking a lot and probably not feasible. If that is correct, then I think our priorities are the train station and airport transportation because we would have our luggage (always carry on only but still...). Of those two, getting to the airport may be #1 because due to timing. As I previously mentioned, we are currently booked on a noon flight but with all the travel uncertainties, the airline could easily change that between now and the end of May. Regardless of what time our flight leaves, we will definitely need to be at the airport on time whereas coming by train, we have more flexibility with the timing of getting from the train station to our hotel. Does that make sense and if so, does that impact recommendations (especially about the possibility of staying at either La Finestra sulle Beccarie or Apostoli Palace. If all things were equal, my preference would probably be for La Finestra sulle Beccarie b/c we can book a room with a small canal view room and there is a roof top lounge area.

First, let me sympathize with you regarding wanting to use your points. We have a timeshare that we could stay in just outside of Paris BUT its outside of Paris. We visit Paris often and for protracted periods of time and always feel sorry that we instead spend thousands of euros for a small apartment when we could be using timeshare weeks at a lovely place BUT it's not in the right place to truly have a Parisian experience. When we walk out our door we want to be there---sights, sounds, people, bistros, restaurants, bars. smells, noise, etc. Life is short and we're more than ecer reminded of that during this pandemic.

We've stayed at Hotel Ala (mentioned above) and loved it---very convenient as its only 50 yards from a vaporetto stop, reasonable, air conditioned, good buffet breakfast and lovely front desk staff who offer much guidance. From that stop we easily went to Burano and Murano, and easy trip from and to the train station.

Don't let one early morning travel to the airport dictate where you stay. Be guided by which location will offer you a fun and convenient experience. You will love Venice. Each time we visit we realize we didn't have enough time and it calls us back!

mark_arleneleewong Your comments are so helpful. We do have access to timeshare properties but do not find them useful in Europe. Maybe some people make it work but in our experience, they are not located where we want to stay.

I realize that it seems like I am too focused on booking stays with points but it goes beyond just spending points instead of cash. Due to the pandemic and the travel uncertainty that is has created, I have experienced the ease of cancellation compared to the stress I have heard from so many others trying to cancel with hotels, AirBnb's, etc. We had planned to make this 5 week trip in 2020 but it was obviously not feasible. Our stays were booked with a combination of Marriott, Hilton, IHG, and independent properties booked with Chase Ultimate Rewards. Once the airline cancelled our flights, our airline points were quickly redeposited and there were no associated fees. I was able to quickly cancel all of our hotel stays and all of the points were immediately put back into our accounts. We were sad to cancel but there was no financial impact and no stress in contrast to people who have wasted time and struggled to get their money back, often unsuccessfully.

Having said all of that, based on your recommendation I looked at the Chase site and was able to book our stay @ Hotel Ala with points. I always opt for the refundable rate even though it requires more points. The free cancellation dates vary by a day or two but are always within a week of our check-in. Thank you for your insights.

Great choice! Wishing you a wonderful trip! We loved Venice!

I always opt for the refundable rate even though it requires more
points

Mary, based on the number of posts we've seen from disappointed travelers who haven't understood what "non-refundable" means, COVID or no COVID, that is such a wise decision! Good for you. Enjoy your time in Venice; fingers crossed that the trip is a go this spring!

Another shout out for Hotel Ala
The location can not be beat, the bkft is fantastic. We’ve enjoyed 2 stays there and feel no need to look elsewhere for our next visit.

We also had an 11 am departure and booked our water taxi for 7:15 pick up.
Steps to the dock and arrived at VCE with plenty of time

I've stayed at Hotel Ala. Both my wife and I loved it. The walk around the corner and through the campos to the theatre La Fenice is really nice and many tourists never see that part. Look out for the statue nearby.

Or go the other way to my fav bookshop just past S Moise, one of my fav churches.

So easy to use the vaporetto - maybe 50 yards of dead straight bridge free level path to the dock.

Great staff. Our last room there had a small window onto the side canal used by gondoliers and the sounds of the spashing water and happy folks was really nice. Not every room there has that.

There are a couple of sections to the hotel - old buildings joined - so get clear instructions where exactly your room is and the route to it. Once you've found it, it will be easy.

Fruit and mint flavoured water in the lobby. Yum.

My wife just chimed in, "tell them about that it is basically a dessert buffet at breakfast" - she means as well as all the other brekkie foods. Yum yum.

Thank you, Thank you to everyone who has been so helpful. I am so grateful for the encouragement of those with firsthand experience who have chimed in to boost my confidence in our current plan.

Although I doubt it really matters to any of you, I want to clarify my uncertainty about lodging in Venice since at some point I mentioned that we had this whole trip planned for 2020. Basically true, however based on on availability of business class award tickets, we were flying home from Frankfurt and spending a week in Switzerland. Venice was not part of our itinerary since we had been there before (even though only overnight on a cruise). As we began to piece together a trip for 2021, it just felt too complicated and we decided to limit the trip to Italy. Voila--we found return flight from Venice and are now thrilled to go back (hopefully!), primarily because of all the great advice you have so generously shared.

Best wishes to all of you who are probably as eager to travel again as we are!