Continental Hotel

“ was a lovely clean hotel with friendly staff close to some shops and restaurants that are open a little later than elsewhere. it is close to the station and the water buses so you can get to anywhere you like (including st marks square) quite easily if walking isnt your thing (its a very pretty but quite long walk to the square but you do see more of venice that way). best thing was having breakfast outside on the porch every morning, right on the grand canal watching the world go by with a delicious italian coffee in hand - amazing!

“ We stayed in the Hotel Continental for two single nights, on pre-cruise on 26th August and one night post cruise on 3rd September.

The first stay the hotel reception were not particularly friendly, and dont really make much effort to understand English (but guess really, it should be us making the effort with Italian, but hey !!). The room for the first night was on first floor and was lovely. We were surprised to have two windows overlooking the Grand Canal which was great. The room was very "Italian" its decor and furniture and was enjoyable.

the breakfast was not brilliant but the setting was, with a terrace right on the canal. We didnt manage to get a seat out there on our first stay, but we did on our second and it was just lovely.

The second stay we found a much more pleasant reception staff with a lady being very helpful when we arrived at around 10 a.m from the ship all hot and bothered (travel from ship to hotel is NOT easy in Venice without spending a fortune). We did not expect to be able to check in our room until around noon but she was very helpful and said she would give us a room that was ready for occupation. However, this could have turned out to be a bad thing as the second room (for which we paid a lot more, due to the Venice Film Festival being on), was not a patch on the first one, but it was still OK and we still had a view of the Grand Canal.

Overall, EVERYTHING in Venice costs about twice what it is truly worth, this hotel included, but I would stay again (now we;ve sussed out all the transport arrangements) and would recommend it to others.

“ Top Tip: Sus out just how you are going to travel around. there are transport tickets which can be good value if you use them properly and can be very expensive if you dont.

Also, watch out for the mosquitos, they;re a nuisance. Also, watch out for the sharks, they're everywhere - and I dont mean in the Grand Canal :-)

Remeber,. NOTHING is cheap or even reasonable but you are paying for the experience as well as the goods.

One more thing, remember that with Travel Republic you pay for the hotel up front whereas with other internet travel companies you just make the reservation and dont pay until you check out !!

“ hotel lokked nice on arrival.checkin was easy.
room was not at all like any pictures on there site,it was dark,dank and dingy.
horrible room in fact,didd ask to change but they were fully booked.
the bar was not a bar at all,it was a table with bottles on in the resturant,we waited over half an hour one evening and still got no service.
breakfast hot buffet was the best thing about the hotel.

“ The hotel was easy to find, about 15 mins walk from the bus station, with only one bridge to cross over the Grand Canal . The staff in the hotel were helpful and polite and carried the bags upstairs.

The room was spacious but without a view so a bit dark. The shower was not anchored securely so the only way seemed to be to actually hold it while showering. For the price we were paying we felt this should have been sorted out.

We loved sitting out on the terrace watching the water traffic during breakfast but the meal itself was of a very poor standard. This did not encourage us to eat in during our visit.

We liked the area, which was cheaper and more down to earth than around San Marco and the Rialto. We could use the Water Bus to get around or walk as distances are not great. The latter part of September was a great time with sunny bright weather but none of the oppresive humidity of July/August.

We had a great time and generally felt relaxed in the hotel, which was essentially homely.

“ Top Tip: We booked a taxi transfer to the hotel from the airport which didn't turn up for an hour. This was not necessary as the coach service was very efficient and a fraction of the cost.