Venice Airport Hotels
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ABOVE: An Alilaguna airport boat approaches the
floating pier at San Marco Giardinetti.
Hotels near San Marco
San Marco is the most popular tourist area of Venice, and it's
also a convenient place to arrive or depart via the
Alilaguna airport boats, since Alilaguna's
Blue and Orange lines stop at the San Marco Giardinetti vaporetto station.
The best-known hotels in this area are among Venice's
most expensive hostelries:
 Luna
Baglioni (5 stars) is Venice's oldest hotel; an inn has stood on its plot of
ground since the 12th Century. Every room is different, and all are supremely
comfortable.
(See our illustrated hotel review.) Don't let the 5-star
rating intimidate you: There's nothing snooty or stuffy about the Luna, where an intimate
atmosphere and friendly service attract a loyal European and American clientele.
Europa &
Regina (5 stars), a member of the Westin group, has a prime location
along the Grand Canal.
 Bauer
Il Palazzo (5 stars) is a boutique hotel in an historic palazzo on the Grand Canal. Just behind is
a slightly less expensive sister property, the
Hotel Bauer
(also 5 stars), which has a stark modern façade but a
sumptuous interior.
 Gritti Palace
(5 stars) has been a luxury hotel since the end of the 19th Century, but it
dates back to 1526, when it was built as the residence of a Doge. It caters to
visiting heads of state, movie stars, trust-fund babies, and members of the
expense-account aristocracy.
 Monaco
&
Grand Canal (4 stars) is just a short walk from the Alilaguna airport boat's
pier. The hotel, which was renovated in 2005, occupies a magnificent site where
the Grand Canal feeds into St. Mark's Basin. (Note: The location on the linked
page's map is incorrect; the hotel is on the waterfront west of the former Royal
Gardens.)
Looking
for something cheaper? The
Anastasia (3 stars) has single and double rooms at rates that are
surprisingly reasonable for this area of San Marco. The
Casanova,
the
Torino, and
the
Firenze
(all 3-star hotels) are also convenient to the Alilaguna boat pier. The very
reasonably priced
Mercurio
(2 stars) is just west of the Piazza San Marco.
Two personal favorites are slightly
inland and within easy walking distance of the San Marco Giardinetti boat stop:
 The
San
Moisé (3 stars, photo at right) is about five minutes from the boat platform, on a quiet
street near the
Hotel Kette
(4 stars). We've stayed in both hotels and can happily recommend either one, although the
San Moisé might be a better choice during the warm months because it has a
courtyard with tables for guests. (See our Hotel San Moisé
review.)
 Other three-star hotels close by include the
Violino d'Oro, the
Lisbona,
the
Bel Sito &
Berlino, the
Flora, and--especially
if you're a visiting opera singer--La Fenice et de
Artistes. The
Saturnia
& International (4 stars, photo at left), the very popular
Ala
(3 stars) on the delightful Campo de Santa Maria del Giglio, and the
Locanda
Fiorita (1 star) are also reasonably convenient.
If
you're willing to roll your bags a longer distance, you might consider staying
just north of the Piazza San Marco
(see listings).
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Durant
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