Budget Venice with Style
Mentioning the words budget and Venice in the same sentence will normally get you the stare reserved for those who sit in the backs of buses and argue with imaginary antagonists. But you don’t have to drain your child’s college fund to enjoy a few days in Venice without bunking with an Eastern European soccer team.
The secret to budget travel is knowing when and where to cut costs and when and where to splurge. Budget accommodations in Venice are available. And no matter what guidebooks tell you, they’re all about the same within the various price ranges. Location is important and that should be the driving force in any decision. Do you want to stay next to St. Mark’s or near the train station? A quiet residential area a long walk from the action or perhaps on Murano or out at the Lido?
There are often more visitors than rooms in this tourist attraction of a city. I talked to several people in the business: bartender, doorman, desk clerk, and manager. They all agree that the season is virtually year-round now. There is a two-week window of opportunity abandoned by most tourists. I’m not telling anyone when that is so that I can have some relative peace and quiet on my next visit. This is the one place in the world where a reservation is helpful. I never make reservations ahead of arrival. I like to stay flexible. In late October, I had to make four calls before I found a hotel with an empty room. We stayed next to St. Mark’s and then across the Grand Canal in the somewhat quieter Dorsoduro section of the city.
Our first stop was the famous, romantic hotel Metropole which is down the Grand Canal just a couple of hundred feet from St. Mark’s Square. It is here that Vivaldi taught music and wrote The Four Seasons.
The Metropole has a well-stocked bar, hair dryer, thick, heavy towels, and a safe in the room. In short, everything you’d expect to find in a first class hotel but can’t be assured of in most hotels in Venice. The level of cleanliness was poor even for Venice’s dubious standards. Worn and stained carpets throughout the building in both the private and public rooms matched the crumbling 15th Century facade. I think Vivaldi was playing piano here when the last coat of paint was applied. The wallpaper was smudge, marked, slashed, and dented. Two insects had been splattered into the wallpaper to become a permanent part of the design.
A can of insect spray was in the bathroom. Perhaps necessary and welcomed at times; still, seeing a can of insecticide in a hotel room gives a person an uncomfortable feeling-especially just after paying $300 for the 8 by 10 foot cubicle.
There was no shower, just a hose, which would be fine if there were a pole to hook it to. Instead you had to run it over your body, put it down and lather up while drenching the walls and floor in a fountain spray, then pick it up and rinse. There was a cord in the top with instructions that said to pull in case of emergency-like needing someone to hold the hose over your head while you shampooed.
There’s no ice bucket. You get the ice in small plastic cups. Inconvenient. I couldn’t find any stationary. I called for some and the desk hung up on me. The towels were decently large and thick. And the air-conditioning worked, which was nice on the 80-degree day I was there. Beds were too small and soft. A larger bed wouldn’t have fit, though. Don’t stay here. Drop in and have a drink in the nice, cozy, upscale Zodiac Bar. But stay somewhere else and save your money for trinkets and fine Venetian food.
Speaking of food, the buffet breakfast at the Metropole has a staggering assortment of fresh fruit and vegetables to go alone with the usual suspects of cereal, yogurt, cheeses, and meats. I did stuff down an obscene amount of fresh ricotta cheese and deliciously warm sweet rolls.
Mr. Beggiato, the owner and operator of the Metropole, displays his vast collection of silver, corkscrews, and mother of pearl cardholders throughout the lobby. Boots are available for the high water. They are kept in the lobby next to the hotel’s very own boat landing for gondolas and water taxis.
The front rooms of the hotel do have nice views of the island of San Giorgio across the Grand Canal. Unfortunately, you have to look over tugs. St. Mark’s is a mere 3-minute walk from the front door. The main restaurant for the hotel, the Quattro Stagioni, is the room in which Antonio Vivaldi composed and taught music. The hotel contains 64 rooms that range in price from about $200 to $400 depending on size and location in the hotel. Don’t stay here. Drop in and have a drink in the nice, cozy, upscale Zodiac Bar. But stay somewhere else and save your money for trinkets and fine Italian food.
After a couple of days living in the center of tour group activity, we moved to the residential Dorsoduro area. You can find many small hotels and pensiones tucked away in this neighborhood of hardware stores, small bookshops, groceries, and trattorias. My favorites are Pensione Accademia, Montin, and Seguso.
Pensione Accademia, a 17th century villa with its own gardens, is near the Grand Canal, the Accademia art gallery, Peggy Guggenheim Museum, and a water bus stop. It offers its guests an ideal holiday location in a quiet setting with excellent service, the result of a long hotel tradition. The rooms differ in size but are generally larger than you will find in most hotels in Venice. Pensione Accademia, once known as Villa Maravege, was the Russian consulate until World War II. Katherine Hepburn stayed here while filming Summertime in the ’50s. I’ve stayed here four times and have never been disappointed.
The owners of the Pensione also own the Hotel Do Pozzi and the Ala near St. Mark’s Square. So if there’s no room at the Accademia, see if they can book you at one of their other properties. They also own Da Raffaele restaurant between St. Mark’s and the Accademia. It is a restaurant I’ve eaten at on every trip to Venice and recommend completely. The restaurant has tables outside next to a canal and attracts tourists but it is not a tourist trap. It is a popular spot with Venetians, too.
Montin has just a few rooms, so book early. Its restaurant has a large outdoor garden setting that is certainly worth a snapshot. This restaurant has been in the same family for a few generations and has maintained a loyal international clientele. Some people have told me that the quality of the cooking varies but others return year after year with only praise. Many local business people are regulars. You can actually listen to business being conducted over lunch in several different languages. It may be tough to find, but don’t miss the chance to eat here. And I’ll give you one last tip: ask for room 11. The front rooms have two windows that open for a view of the small, quiet canal. The room is huge, spotless, and the bathroom even has a heated towel rack. The beds were ideal. Just outside the room is a meeting area with tables and chairs. A double room here will cost you about $55! This is the best deal in Venice-a clean, well-lighted place with unmatched food just a few steps downstairs.
Back at the Accademia, the many British tourists were having afternoon tea in the garden. It inspired me to sit among them and have a gin and tonic, with Schweppes Indian Tonic Water. My mind drifted in the timeless atmosphere of living history and dreamily expected a British officer to approach, “Regiment awaiting orders, sir,” I imagined him saying.
Probably not. I always hated uniforms. Perhaps a character from a Graham Greene novel would more fit my attitude and delusions. Yes, I could see myself as an aging spy on his last dirty assignment staying in the aging pensione surrounded by aging, dirty water carrying garbage out to sea. Wait a minute, Harry Lime. Snap out of it. Get your American Express card and change your shirt. It’s time for dinner at the Cipriani. Ahh, reality should be made of sterner stuff.
A double room with a bath at Accademia will run $100 to $175. A room without a bath is $75 to $90.
Metropole Hotel Pensione Accademia Montin
Pierluigi Beggiato 30123 Venice Fondamenta do Borgo
30122 Venice Dorsoduro, 1058 Dorsoduro, 1147
Riva Schiavoni, 4149 Phone: 011-41-5210188 Phone: 011-41-5227151
Phone: 011-41-5205044
