Elite Hotel, Mestre

Advantages: Well-maintained, cheaper than central Venice, goos bus links, comfortable, spacious
Disadvantages: Variable service, not a very picturesque location

...I've just come back from a three night stay in this hotel, which is situatued in Mestre - a sort of suburb near Venice. Having never been to Venice, I really wanted to visit, but travelling with four meant hotel rooms are not cheap and hotel rooms in Venice are especially not cheap. So this hotel provided an excellent solution - a few kilometres outside Venice itself makes all the difference to affordability, and clearly Mestre is working on this principle as there are a lot of hotels there. ROOM This one, the Ambasciatori, is four star, and we stayed in what they call a suite. First point - it's not! It is a nice large executive double with a queen sized bed and a walk in wardrobe but it does not have a separate sitting room, so in my book it is not a suite. It has a sitting area in the room separated from the bed by a lattice screen... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap and cheerful
Disadvantages: A short bus ride from Venice proper

...We booked a trip to Venice on a whim and a bit of a last minute whim at that. There were three of us travelling which is not necessarily the best number for accommodation, we were on a budget, and we were going in July, peak tourist season. In other words, we had to take what we could get. Venice has a huge number of accommodations but they do get booked up quickly and those that are left, one supposes, must either be hideously expensive or have something wrong with them. For this reason, we ended up at the Delfino which looked like a very reasonably 3* place that didn’t cost the earth. The hotel is in Mestre which is a suburb just across the water from Venice, and as such is served by taxis and buses as well as a train station (there are no cars or other road-requiring vehicles on the main island because there are no roads). The bus... Read review

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Advantages: Frequent Flyer Bonus Miles
Disadvantages: Changes to the Elite Rules Next Year...

...I started flying with Continental only last year, and on my first trip to the States I met a lady who is now my fiancee, so I have been travelling across the Atlantic quite a bit! I don't know why I joined this scheme, but I am glad I did! I am amazed at how quickly the miles build up thanks to their very generous Elite scheme - after just 5 Transatlantic flights (that is flights, not round trips!) you will reach Silver Elite status, giving a 50% milage bonus, so a typical round trip to New York earns 10,000 miles (or 11,000 if you book online). Another 5 Transatlantic legs sees Gold Elite status and 100% bonus miles, then Platinim Elite and 125% bonus... Also with Elite status comes the end of queues at airports - check in at the first class desk and go straight onto the aircraft when they open first class. The Elite... Read review

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