Buona Notte!
Accommodation
Locanda Conterie : Before we went to Venice, we never realised it was made up of 118 islands split by lagoons. We had always assumed it was one big place. As a result, Wendy ended up booking the hotel on the island of Murano rather than Venice itself. (oops) Wendy chose this hotel mainly based on the price. As it is based in Murano, it is much cheaper than the more centralised ones. Nevertheless, it was a nice enough hotel. It is five minutes walk to the nearest water bus stop.
The room itself is quite small (perfect size for me) but has your basics of a double bed, wardrobe, tv and even a minibar. The minibar prices were cheap and costs the same as buying them from a shop so Mike took advantage of this on a regular basis. (alky) The bathroom was rather compact and the shower was pretty difficult to use if you are over 5’10. Luckily, we are all shorties in this group! The actual shower wasn’t very good, not powerful and went from boiling to freezing with no in between.
The hotel layout is a bit random and is spread over 3 floors but over many directions. The corridors and staircases are pretty small too, so if you do stay here, only bring a small case or a backpack.
Our stay there was fine, but probably wouldn’t go back due to the shower.
Hotel Antico Panada: Our last night in Venice (after Rome) we stayed in a more central hotel which is situated a few minutes walk away from St Marco’s Square. When we checked in, we were given a free upgrade (woohoo) to a suite. HOWEVER, this upgrade was not in the same building nor was it next door, but in fact a few minutes walk away. As we were getting led by the porter to our room, Mike and Wendy looked a little concerned. (hope you have all seen the film Hostel!) The suite was fine once we got there. It would have been nicer to stay in the hotel itself as it was a bit quiet where we were.
The hotel is decorated in traditional Venetian style, which means there’s A LOT of gold everywhere. It’s an old hotel which clearly has a lot of history, but if modern living is more your style then this will seem a bit drabby.