Best Western Cavalletto E Doge Orseolo, Venice

After much searching around for a reasonably priced hotel in Venice, we stumbled upon this one, advertised as a 4-star hotel in a deal that was less than the price of most of the three star hotels.

Arriving in venice via a train from Rome, there was a half hour waterbus journey down the Grand Canal (which afforded for some spectacualr views and is the perfect way for first time visitors to experience the magic of this whimsical city) ...
...Navigating in Venice does prove a little tricky at first even with a map, due to the very small and very many streets, but the Caveletto could not have a better location. It is quite literally a stone's throw from St. Mark's Square (the centre of all things Venetian) and it is a very hard to miss.

The hotel itself looks just as though it is from a painting and every time that you walk back to it, there is certainly a feeling that you ... more

After much searching around for a reasonably priced hotel in Venice, we stumbled upon this one, advertised as a 4-star hotel in a deal that was less than the price of most of the three star hotels.

Arriving in venice via a train from Rome, there was a half hour waterbus journey down the Grand Canal (which afforded for some spectacualr views and is the perfect way for first time visitors to experience the magic of this whimsical city) until we reached the stop for St. Mark's Square. Navigating in Venice does prove a little tricky at first even with a map, due to the very small and very many streets, but the Caveletto could not have a better location. It is quite literally a stone's throw from St. Mark's Square (the centre of all things Venetian) and it is a very hard to miss.

The hotel itself looks just as though it is from a painting and every time that you walk back to it, there is certainly a feeling that you are getting the most from your experience of Venice. My girlfriend once came to venice when she was a child and had seen this goregoeus orange hotel overlooking a canal with Gondolas outside and said at the time that she wanted to stay in it one day. We managed to book that very same hotel quite by accident, and without realising until we actually arrived!

The service in the hotel is of a good standard. I have on occasion had better service at some 3-star hotels, but also had far worse service and the staff were all friendly and polite and generally willing to help with anything that you might need during your stay, and they were very happy for example to keep our suitacases safe for several hours after we had checked out. Quite uniquely for this hotel, due to there being a gondola stand on the canal outside it, the hotel staff can arrange for a gondola to pick you up from a little balcony which comes out of the hotel lobby and onto the canal, and this is quite an experience!!

The room we stayed it was fairly small (though it has all the necessary ammenities such as power shower, safe depsot box, spacious wardrobe) and looked out at a brick wall perhaps a metre away from the window. Such is the problem with many hotels in the very narrow streets of venice, however, and if you pay for a canal-side room at the Cavaletto, then the view is stunning, you can watch people wandering into St. Mark's Square and gondola's leaving all day long.

We never ate dinner in the hotel itself, but the breakfasts were excellent with a vast array of breads, meats, cheeses, cereals, fruits, yoghurts, jams and honey, and tea, coffee, hot chocolate, juice etc all included within the price.

Overall this is a fantastic hotel situated in an ideal location and with good friendly service, and well worth a visit! 

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