Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal, Venice

...the Internet, I found the Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal.

**LOCATION**

The location of the hotel can't be beaten. It is just under 2 minutes walk from the Piazza San Marco (St. Marks Square), and it overlooks the Grand Canal. The restaurant, which I will talk about in more detail later, has seats right on the waterfront. If you know Venice, and know of Harry's bar, the hotel is right next to it. If you don't know Venice, ...
...THERE**
Access to the hotel is very easy. Of course, you can just walk in from the street. It is very close to the San Marco water bus stop too, which is extremely convenient. From the airport however, you can spend up to 2 hours waiting for, and catching the bus. These can be very crowded from the airport too, and certainly isn't a comfortable ride. Of course, arriving in style is essential at a hotel like this, and so a private water taxi ... more

In 2005, I was lucky enough to be able to travel to one of my favourite places, Venice. Previously when I have visited, I have stayed on Venice Lido, but this time I wanted to go for something a little more central. After a little searching on the Internet, I found the Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal.

**LOCATION**

The location of the hotel can't be beaten. It is just under 2 minutes walk from the Piazza San Marco (St. Marks Square), and it overlooks the Grand Canal. The restaurant, which I will talk about in more detail later, has seats right on the waterfront. If you know Venice, and know of Harry's bar, the hotel is right next to it. If you don't know Venice, Harry's bar is one of the most overpriced bars you will ever find, established by an American, but well worth a visit while you are there.

**GETTING THERE**
Access to the hotel is very easy. Of course, you can just walk in from the street. It is very close to the San Marco water bus stop too, which is extremely convenient. From the airport however, you can spend up to 2 hours waiting for, and catching the bus. These can be very crowded from the airport too, and certainly isn't a comfortable ride. Of course, arriving in style is essential at a hotel like this, and so a private water taxi works extremely well. I picked one up from Marco Polo airport, and it cost me the equivalent of £65 one way. This will take about 30 minutes. However, they take you right up to the door of the hotel, which is on the Grand Canal, where your bags are taken from you. it is easy, quick, and in my opinion worth the extra money.

**AMBIENCE**

Arriving in style by private water taxi was, I thought, the most extravagant thing I would do on this trip. However, as soon as I set foot in the hotel, I was amazed at how elegant it was. The hotel is a part of the Summit group of hotels, which are known for their elegance. In my opinion, this hotel is straight out of the top drawer. It is spacious, airy, and clean. There are statues and works of fine art dotted around. Even though I am sure some of the items are quite cheap, nothing here looks cheap.

The staff add to the ambience too. They are very smartly dressed, and polite. They hold themselves in a professional manner. They speak all major languages, and if they don't speak your language, somebody appears very swiftly who does speak your language. They were extremely helpful with anything I wanted during my stay.

**CHECKING IN**

The check-in is very quick and easy. You are asked for your personal details, and need to leave your passport at reception for a short while, with which they carry out their necessary security checks. This process takes a maximum of five minutes. Your bags are then taken to your room for you, and you are personally shown to your room.

**THE ROOMS**

The room I had was just a normal room, but as I walked in, it looked more like a suite. The bathroom was simply massive, with complimentary shampoos, conditioners, and soaps. The bedroom area had a king-size bed, which was decorated in a very elegant style which could have been from the 1700s.

There is a telephone, hair dryer, satellite television, and all the other usual things you would expect from a hotel. Some of the rooms have a view over the Grand Canal, although you will pay more for these. My room looked over the street, and my first concern was that it would be noisy. However, I was not disturbed by any noice at any time of the day or night. The windows are well designed to keep noise out.

**SERVICES**

The hotel has a concierge desk, and the staff here are very helpful. They provide maps for Venice, will call water taxis for you, arrange tours around the city, and offer personal advice on the best restaurants and sights in the area. It is an unbiased view, such that when I asked which was the best restaurant I could go to, they were happy to recommend restaurants other than their own.

Room service is excellent. There is a large menu to choose from and it is available 24 horus a day. Admittedly, it can be a bit pricey, but if you are living a life of luxury, who cares?!

There is a free water taxi from the hotel to the island of Murano, famous for its glassware. This is a great added extra which is well worth taking. It needs booking about a day in advance because of its popularity.

There is a very small, but very nice jewellery shop inside the lobby of the hotel. I didn't personally buy anything from there, but the word on the street is that it is a well respected shop, but then again, you would expect nothing less!

**FOOD**

For a hotel of style, you would expect a restaurant of style, and that is exactly what you get. The tables are situated outside, right on the banks of the Grand Canal, but underneath a canopy. This keeps the worst of the wind and rain from you if you are unlucky with the weather. The standard of the food matches the environment. The presentation matches the top restaurants in the world, and the quality and amount is the same too.

If you choose to get your food delivered to your room, it is prepared in exactly the same way, and you will have no complaints at all. Well, almost no complaints. You will notice that everything I have said so far has been positive. There is one negative side to this hotel, and that is the.....

**PRICE**

Hotels in Venice are known for being a bit pricey. The closer to the heart of the city, the more expensive the hotel. Therefore, for a location and a standard such as this, you are going to pay for it. Depending on where you book, you can be looking at a price of up to EUR560 per night! Now, I managed to pay a bit less than this. The hotel quite often issues special offers to companies such as lastminute.com, or expedia. It is worth looking here for good rates. My booking was make with expedia, and included all flights. The transfers were an option, but were actually slightly cheaper to buy locally. Remember this when booking!

The food prices match that of the hotel. I only ate in the hotel restaurant once. There were 2 starters, 2 main courses, 2 deserts, and 1 bottle of wine. The total converted to just over £200. - Obviously other hotels in Venice, although expensive, are not quite like this, but then again, they are nowhere near the standard of this one.

**OVERALL**

Overall, this hotel is excellent. Everything is as you would expect a top rated hotel to be. The only drawback is the price, but as in the rest of life you pay for what you get. I have no hesitation in recommending this hotel to you.

Thanks for reading my review.

D 

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