Be careful about facilities

I reserved a room with facilities but when I got the hotel in Venice I found a room without en suite facilities. There was a private bathroom in the corridor.

Venice Complete !!!

This was a lovely venetian hotel with basic clean spacious accommodation, great location close to the hotel, the Rialto Bridge and St Marks square - The room we had had a view of the canal and boats passed regularly, bells chimed and the wonderful hustle bustle of venice was made complete by this lovely hotel - we loved it and will be returning.

Just one tip take back packs as you are in and out of boats; and walking over steps/bridges - it's easy to find but quite difficult if you take cumbersome luggage. Some of the restaurants on the canal are pricey for wine, but there is a lovely atmosphere with Gondolas passing by - some of the back street restaurants are good value for money.

Perfect Spot From Which to Explore Venice

Our family of three (including one toddler) stayed at Al Vagon in early May 2004. It was one of the least expensive places we found and it was definitely a good value. We had a superior double room with a bathroom and balcony (rm #2, I think) that was perfect for us. The balcony overlooked a side canal which entertained our 2 year old for hours with boat traffic! With the windows open, it was noisy, but Italy is noisy and energetic - we loved it! With the windows closed, the sound was cut almost to nothing, a fact we also appreciated. We ate at the hotel restaurant twice for dinner (with a 12% discount as hotel guests) and had lovely meals overlooking the canal. The staff was friendly and even allowed us to take dessert and drinks to our room when our son needed to sleep, but we wanted to continue indulging in tiramisu... Overall- good location, excellent value, most recommended for travelers on budgets who are over the hostel scene.

Loved the al vagon hotel

Stayed in Al Vagon last summer for 3 nights and i really enjoyed it!!Great location by the canal, and although our room didnt have view over the canal ...Overall the room was decorated in a venetian way, the bathroom was very clean and it was very quiet. would love to stay there again!!

We loved Al Vagon

The hotel was great. Comfortable, clean, warm and cozy. It was low season so the rate was ok. We spent a beatiful time and remember Venezia with love.

Great location

This is a well situated hotel that is very easy to find. My fiancee and I stayed at the Al Vagon Dec. 27-Dec. 31, 2003. We arrived in Venice at 10 pm but using the hotel's directions (found on their website) we had no problem finding the hotel. All staff we spoke to (morning and evening) spoke English.

We had a room that faced the canal and as a previous poster wrote, the sound of boats can be heard even with your windows closed. But that is the CHARM of Venice!!! That's why we wanted the canal view in the first place. You can also hear the bell tower chime starting around 8 am.

This is no reason not to stay at the Al Vagon. This is what makes the hotel so nice. Actually, the INSIDE of the hotel seemed very soundproof. Unlike most hotels, I could not hear room to room noise or the people above my room. You can look out your window (canal view) and see people crossing the bridge. It was very nice.

As far as the room goes, it was the largest room I've had in Europe (been to London and Paris). It had a desk, chair, armoire, and two doubles pushed together to make a king size bed. The room is very basic and has no tv or included breakfast. The bathroom was hilarious because they had enough room to put a bidet, toilet, and large sink but the shower was just a shower head coming out of the wall! There was no curtain or tub or stall for the shower. I was a bit disappointed but my fiancee's good attitude about how "cool" this shower was changed my attitude. Besides, we had the cleanest toilet in Europe because it got washed twice everyday when we took a shower!!

For the cost, this hotel is a great value. You are able to walk to the Rialto, St. Mark's, Ca d'Oro, etc. very easily. We asked for a discount for paying cash and even though it was a holiday period they still gave us one-5% rather than the usual 10%.

PS-if you don't like the occassional boat or chiming bells-bring earplugs.

Well located but not particularly comfortable

We stayed there recently. The hotel is located on a canal in a lively area near the Rialto.

However I don't think we slept much the entire time we stayed there.

The double bed was simply appalling. The mattress had seen better days and should have been replaced. Unfortunately my husband was scratched with a protruding bed spring the first night. When we complained the hotel simply turned the mattress. We had to open the window due to the high level of heating but were constantly disturbed by the extremely noisy boat traffic on the canal - it was impossible to sleep. We left there exhausted! The next time I go to Venice I will be more interested in such things as sound proofing.

The Al Vagon Was A Treasure

Our family of four adults and two children arrived in Venice a day in advance of our reservations with the Al Vagon Hotel and the proprietor kindly found us other accommodations for that night, with our moving to the Al Vagon for our planned three-night stay the next day. The Al Vagon is tucked away nicely, only one short flight of steps to the rooms and with a wonderful view of a side canal that was busy with activity. This is just exactly what we had wanted when we made our reservations with this hotel. Their lovely restaurant is directly underneath the Hotel and we experienced one of our most memorable meals there one evening. I would not hesitate to recommend the Al Vagon to anyone visiting Venice. We threw open our windows and leaned out to view the noisy activity of the canal and to hear sounds from the restaurant in the early evening hours. The rooms were spacious and well-decorated, another surprise, as well as being immaculate. Should we return to Venice tomorrow, we would head straight to the Al Vagon!

We had a lovely stay with this Hotel.

Good Hotel, Good Location

Nice hotel especially the "superior rooms" in a modernized building.

Price negotiable if you pay cash. For Venice reasonably priced (100 euros per night with cash payment in September) and a good location.

Their restaraunt, on a canal, was very good and they gave us a discount (10 or 15% I don't remember) because we were guests. We weren't aware of the disccount until we received the bill. We would gladly return there.

What a gem.

Cost was the main consideration here. Us Europeans aren't as bothered in luxury, I don't think as our American counterparts so it's all relative but his hotel, although tucked away and hard to find was such a good deal. Right now a double roomstarts from 85 euros. We had a room with a stunning view for that price, complete with bathroom. What more did we need? If cost is your priority then you couldn't do better than this family run, comfortable and clean hotel. I'd be back there in an instance if I could.