Our humble lodging in Venice ... which obviously wasn't this one!

It is really magical to wander purposeless, to get lost in Venice when the night arrives and the crowds leave. But we all need a place to stay at the end of the day and ours was Ca' San Rocco. I posted this in TridAdviser a few hours ago.

"A good result after a long search ..." (Jan 3, 2007)

Did you think Venice was a 'last year destination'? Well, think again. Venice was fully booked over New Year ... which means there are still sufficient number of people still attracted to this 'old jewel'.

And an 'old jewel' it trully is. The lack of cars (great!), the old beautiful palaces holding to each other as if scared of the water in the ubiquitous canals, the pebbled streets ... a perfect background for a period-movie. And at the same time, its uniqueness (although many Dutch cities may claim a similar honour) ... all this makes of Venice a real 'old jewel' in the 21st century.

Hundreds, if not thousands of books have been written about Venice. Many of them detailed city-guides with long (very long) lists of recommendations ... but this makes it the most difficult to find a nice place to stay. I have to say that Ca' San Rocco was a lucky find in the ocean of information out there.

• Well located -> Ideally close to Piazzale Roma, at easy walking distance to all sights, and sufficiently far from the crowded and overly touristic San Marco.


• Good-standard facilities -> Since the hotel is considered a B&B, it is not star-rated. But the rooms are large and clean and the bathroom is spacious, new and very clean (although we didn't have a bathtub in the room, only a shower).


• Personalised service -> Only 6 rooms! Which means big enough so it feels a proffessionally-run hotel, but sufficiently small for the staff to know who you are. We even got a small gift the day we were leaving!


• Good, simple breakfast -> Nothing too complicated but tasty.

In a city of contrasts and surprises, Ca' San Rocco was a pleasant surprise, and a great choice. And while the hotel was not the cheapest we looked at, we thought it was good value for money (specially considering how conveniently located it is in an over-crowded and overpriced Venice!)