Great Location, But Nowhere Near a Three Star Property

I stayed at La Locandiera in March 2005 for 5 days, and probably had their biggest ground floor 2 room suite. The room fronted the small canal in the back, however, it was decorated in a very basic fashion (light fixtures a la Home Depot, cheap furniture and orange bedspread-rather off-putting for such an excellent room location). The door was a very cheap and thin wooden door where you could hear every single person talking as they came in the front door, or anything said at the front desk. The room did have a large brand-new bathroom, however there was no holder for the shower spray, and no shower curtain or door, so the spray did get all over the floor. The towels were not changed every day-I had to go and ask for fresh towels.

As far as location, as mentioned in the other reviews, it is VERY close to San Marco, not more than a lovely 5 min. walk off the Calle de la Rasse (an ancient and oh so interesting street off the Riva degli Schiavone-easy to find and wonderful to explore). La Locandiera is also right around the corner from an excellent bacaro (da Achuigheta) with wines and "cicheti" (Venetian bar food-mostly fish, but small pizzas, sardines in saor-excellent!), and a number of gelato shops. It is but a two minute walk to Campo Santa Maria Formosa, with its famed church, Querini Stampalia (ancient Venetian house turned art gallery and art showings/cafe in bottom-NOT to be missed!), and maybe a 10 min. walk to Rialto Bridge.

There is no reception area to speak of, the breakfast room is tiny, and you can hear everyone crunching their breakfast food right next to you. The staff are very friendly and helpful-I did like them a lot. However, this is by no means anywhere close to a three star establishment, I would give it one and a half stars at best.

Convenient location, large rooms

La Locandiera was a great fit for our needs. It was in a quiet square, away from the tourist crowds, yet still only a short walk to St. Mark's Square and the San Zaccharia vaporetto stop (where the waterbus to the airport also departs). It had a small elevator, very handy for moving our luggage up and downstairs. We were upgraded to a triple room, which was very large by European standards. We had one very minor communication problem on which couldn't bridge the language gap. But overall the staff was very helpful. I would gladly return on my next trip!

A Little Gem

My wife and I stayed at La Locanderia for 5 nights in early April, 2005. We are accomplished Venice visitors having been there maybe 10 times in the last 15 years. This little hotel is freshly restored, immaculately maintained and the room we occupied (facing the small campo San Giovanni) was large (est. 18' x 20' and well furnished for the nightly cost. Bathroom has modern uptodate plumbing...great shower! The owner/manager, Elizabetta, is a jewel and The Innkeeper of the hotel's title. She is pure Venetian Italian, has some English, and has international personality. Her clerks speak excellent English and all three are knowledgeable and eagerly helpful. This is, however, a small hotel in that it may have only about 10 rooms, has a small desk and breakfast room area, but is magnificiently located only about two blocks from San Marco, Riva degli Schiavoni and the San Zaccharia vaporetto stop. It is only a few steps from the Campo Santa Margarita. Great location and out of the mob scenes at Rialto and San Marco, but near the action without the penalties. It is extremely quiet, difficult to achieve in similar locations. We have no hesitance in recommending this jewel to anyone interested in staying in a small 3-star or less hotel. It's a little hard to find initially but only a few feet--perhaps 100--off well traveled tourists' street, but one gets the quiet in exchange. Suggest get email directions from hotel before leaving home; probably you will arrive at San Zaccharia vaporetto/ferry stop either from airport or train station.

Good location, helpful staff

Very helpful staff, they came to meet us at Rialto as we had got lost finding them (not unusal in Venice). The location is very close to St Mark's Sq, Rialto etc. Rooms were larger then we thought they would be and compared well to other places we stayed on our trip. Recommended.

Highly recommended- charming and pristine

I would advise anyone traveling to venice to stay at this hotel. it is a small-ish quaint spot that just opened so the amenities are all new and clean. the rooms are beautiful and adequately spacious, mine had a door right onto the canal instead of a window. what made it the best was the excellent service. i was traveling with a group of 7 american students and the staff, especially Ivan, was so great to us. completely gracious and sweet, really interested in helping us enjoy venice. we even got a picture with him when we left! the best part though was the price, very good, we paid about 120 euros for a quad, so we each only had to pay 30. it was perfect all around. we literally had a 5 min walk to st marks square and the water bus stop as well. must consider this one.

Great new hotel La Locandiera

NEW small, charming hotel in Castello within 5 minutes of St. Mark's square. and 1-2 minutes to restaurants and shopping. Staffed 24 hours/day. Exquisitely kempt. Some rooms overlook small side canal. Breakfast included. We spent three nights from December 31, 2004 through January 3, 2005. Staff friendlyand helpful with restaurant recommendations, arranging concert tickets, etc. EXCELLENT value for the money. Definitely would stay here again. Vaporetto stop San Zacaria