The hotel was nice, and we were given a red elegant triple room. But when we got in, there was a used towel hanging on the bathroom door. I also didn't like the location. There was a vaporetto stop a few blocks away from the hotel, but if you are staying there for one or a couple of nights, its difficult to get there with your luggage. And its far from the tourist spots. On hindsight, i would have gotten other hotels with their own water taxi service or somewhere near San Marco. Although those hotels are more expensive, the prices are almost comparable. If you think about the fares that you will have to pay for a water taxi or vaporetto everytime you go around, it might turn out to be actually more expensive to stay at this hotel. What also turned me off is how they handled a problem that I encountered with a gondolier. This gondolier accidentally dropped my camera in the water and i lost my camera and all the pictures of my trip (this is subject of another write up). I know this is not in any way the fault of the hotel. In fact, the hotel referred us to one of their accredited gondola companies, but we were not able to go there and ended up taking another gondola service. But i was a really disappointed when i later asked for help from the hotel. Since I didnt get the name of the gondolier at first, they just told me that they cannot do anything about it. Sure they contacted their boss and he gave me advice over the phone to file a police report, but i really felt as if I was on my own. As a first timer in Venice, and coming from a friendly country, I was actually hoping to be taken care of by the hotel. I really hoped to get some extra effort from them to help me at that time or lets face it, just to make us feel better despite what happened. Well maybe thats asking for too much, but its just that I have stayed in hotels in Italy and other countries where i felt the warmth and hospitality of the hosts, and i couldn't help but compare.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
18 February 2012
Dear Client,
As we read the review you posted to Tripadvisor,
we were really surprised, really astonished !!
Every day we are trying to do our best for our Guests and even with you we think we did anything it was possible to do.
We do understand that you are upset about the accident you had, you have lost your camera with all your pictures
and we are really sorry about that but .... what can we do ????
Try to see the problem from our side!
What can you do if a Guest go out of the hotel
during the coldest winter of the last 30 years,
he takes a Gondola Ride near Rialto Bridge
and ask to a Gondolier to take a picture of him
but doing that the Gondolier loses the camera from his hands,
letting it falling into the water ... ,
is it our fault ???
If you consider that it was our fault,
we are ready to pay for it !!!
We think that it was an accident,
nobody wanted it to happen but it happened !!
We suggested you to go to the Police Station to report it and fill a
form in order to have a prove of it and be refunded by your insurance company.
This was the only thing to do !!!
Your review hurts us, it is something we do not deserve
and you know it!!
We gave you our best room available, we tried to suggest you the best places to visit
and the best things to do in Venice,
we even do not complaint when we discovered that your friens smoked in their room
knowing that our rooms are non smoking rooms.
(we had to live the room empty with open windows for 24 hours).
We honestly think that you were upset about the accident
but now, you had time to reflect, you had time to consider what happened
then we are sure you do recognize
that you made a mistake in accusing us !
We hope to have the pleasure to welcome you back in our hotel because we really
want you to have a nice souvenir of our wonderful city
and forget the accident you had during your first visit.
Our door is always open for you!
We wish you all the best,
regards,
Manager
Caterina
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC