Boscolo Bellini, Venice

This is the second time we have stayed here. The first was 2 years ago and we were so pleased that we decided to return this past July. We had 2 rooms and both were wonderful. The staff went out of their way to accomodate our needs. Our breakfast was quite satisfying. The location was perfect. From the hotel, you can walk the whole city in 1.5 hours. The location for the water buses and taxis is wonderful and if you are arriving by train, the hotel is less than 50 yards around the corner. I would to stay there again without hesitation.

Directly accross from the grand canal. A short walk to the vaporeto and water taxi stops. The room was small but pleasant. Our travelling companions had a very small room. There is a terrace on the 5th floor that was great in the evening or early morning. Everyone on the tour reported that the air conditioning did not work but in May it was not too hot. The breakfast was fair.

Location,Location !!! Our room had a bathtub and shower with lot's of space.The food was excellent.

Our stay at the Bellini was fantastic! Much to my surprise, I became engaged while in Venice, and the staff at the Bellini was in on it! They went out of their way to make this a memorable experience...and to keep it a surprise! They helped arrange a romantic gondolla ride complete with champagne, and they were so happy for us. Thank you, everyone. Can't wait to go back!

The Hotel was centrally located and beautifully decorated. On our first night stay we experienced some inconviniences. Our room had absolutely no water pressure so we couldn't bathe. Thank goodness my mother was staying in another room, which we used for bathing. Second, the air conditioner was not working either. We complained to the front desk, but another room was not available. On our second day stay, we finally moved to another room. This room was on the main floor and to get to it you walked in some lovely outside areas. This was a large and comfortable room.

The staff here are so helpful and friendly - they gave us lots of advice, maps, and made reservations for us. The hoptel itself is beautiful, you really feel like you have gone back to the renaissance period! And the location is ideal, right on the canal with the waterbus outside.

The Hotel Bellini doesn't look like much on the outside, but is nicely decorated within. It is in a good location near the train station. The rooms are typically small. Beware getting off a bus with luggage, as a man grabbed my girlfriend's oversized, wheeled suitcase and lugged it over the three bridges it takes to walk to the Bellini. Then he demanded 20 euros. (We settled for 10.) We had booked the Bellini's "Getaway Package" and were extremely disappointed. The "free" boat ride to tour the Murano glass factories was a complete tourist trap, where high-pressure salesman tried to sell us their standard glass pieces marked up about five times from their U.S. retail prices. The Bellini's package deal also included a gondola ride, which we reserved for our last day. There is a gondola dock right near the hotel, but we were told to go all the way back to the Rialto Bridge and meet a gondolier near the Disney Store. The water taxi ride cost 10 euros and then in 45 minutes we spoke to five gondoliers and none of them knew what we were talking about. So we returned in time to catch our train, but not before chewing out the Bellini's concierge. I am still awaiting a partial refund of about $100 for the gondola ride.

The simple charm of this hotel was amazing. My room was on the main floor and to get to it you walked in some lovely outside areas that you could set and enjoy drinks and the privacy of the hotel but felt like you were outside. The place was picture perfect at every turn as you walked around. Venice is a dream place to visit. The hotel is perfect for starting to explore this city of charm and romance.

We had been traveling for three weeks. The anticipated highlight of our trip was to end our vacation with a stay at a first class hotel in Venice - so we booked a room at the Bellini. What a disappointment. The Bellini was the most expensive hotel on our itinerary (averaging 210 euros a night plus tax) and provided the worst value for the price charged. We booked our reservation (and had a confirmation) in August 2005 for a May 2006 trip. When we arrived we found the hotel was completely full and that they couldn't find our reservation - even with the confirmation number. Eventually they located a room for us but in our opinion it wasn't as advertised. We had booked a "classic room, king bed, 20 square meters, period furnished - marble or tile bath". They ended up putting us in a room in which the bathroom had a linoleum floor with numerous cigarette burns. And, that was only the beginning. When we checked in we had overheard a guest who was checking out complain about the lack of water pressure and that they wanted a free breakfast or at least something as compensation. We ignored their comment thinking it was an isolated incident or just a complainer looking to get something for nothing. We were wrong. Our room had absolutely no water pressure either - so we couldn't bathe. Literally we would open the faucets all the way and could barely get a trickle of water out. When we did finally get some water out of the faucet or shower it was scalding hot and there was no way to dilute it since no cold water would come out of the spigot. Finally the air conditioner was extremely noisy and very weak - not cooling efficiently. The only redeeming factor was the quality & friendliness of the front desk staff that was sympathetic and helpful in all other respects. Quite frankly had it not been for the front desk clerk we would have checked out immediately and found somewhere else to stay. They promote the hotel as the "Bellini, a Boscolo first class hotel" - in our opinion it was anything but.