Mr and Mrs Diz go to Venice

Old Jan 4th, 2006, 05:10 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 258
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Mr and Mrs Diz go to Venice

Mrs Diz01 and I were in Venice for 4 days over New Year. Had a wonderful time.

Hotel - Locanda Orseolo - we picked this based on recommendations off this board and the very high ratings off Tripadvisor. We were not disappointed. The quality and friendliness off the service is superb. They greet you by name all the time even, spookily, on arrival. As someone who can't remember names for longer than 5 seconds this was very impressive. They sorted out all our restaurant bookings before we arrived showing great patience over multiple emails.

Breakfast was very good for Italy. Buffet plus eggs any style or crepes. Coffee, lattes or capuccinos all avaliable. All done with great care and professionalism.

Our room was well fitted out. Good quality fittings in the bathroom, loads of hot water. The whole hotel was immaculately clean.

There is an entrance to the hotel direct from the canal. Unfortunately we were unable to use it either leaving (tide too high for water taxi) or arriving (suspicious about claims of tide too low). However the water taxi driver (pilot?) gave easy directions to follow from the drop off by the Rialto bridge. NB only ever take light bags or bags with wheels to Venice! Spotting the entrance to the hotel needs attention but we printed the pictures and directions off their website which worked fine.

The Locanda is 3 minutes walk from Piazza San Marco; 7-8 minutes from the Rialto. So it is ideally located.

All the staff speak perfect English.

Nothing is perfect in life. We had a canal facing room which was great. The downside is that for people who like a window open at night, there is noise from the canal from around 6.00am in the morning.

I can't imagine wanting to stay anywhere else in Venice and that is good enough for me.

More to follow.
Diz01 is offline  
Old Jan 4th, 2006, 07:19 AM
  #2  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 258
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Restaurants - as I said before these were all arranged for us by the Locanda a month or so before we arrived. We ate at the following:

Vini di Gigio - lovely local atmosphere. Excellent seafood. I had scallops followed by clams with pasta. Attentive service.
Acqua Pazza - great food (oven baked sea bass with saffron potatoes) but disappointing atmosphere. We were stuck on a table by the door which was chilly on a very cold night. It was very clear that there was a differential treatment between the locals and the visitors which we found objectionable. Eg we were not offered all the desserts which were avalaible and the service was overly brusque. Rude waiter tried to pretend we were speaking Spanish to him. A disappointment.
Fiaschetteria Toscana - a 10 course blow out for New Years Eve. Fantastic. Timed to perfection to end with a glass of champagne at midnight. Excellent cooking but too many courses to remember them all!
Antico Dolo - atmospheric small restaurant. Friendly staff. Excellent prawn and rocket salad followed by more clams and pasta.

Favourite cafe was Caffe Doge - good for reviving chocolate cake and cappuccino!

More to follow on highlights of the trip.
Diz01 is offline  
Old Jan 4th, 2006, 07:40 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 4,296
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Excellent Mr. Diz, thanks.

~What were your temps like?
Tiff is offline  
Old Jan 4th, 2006, 07:51 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 4,296
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
p.s. Also, do you have addresses or a general location for Antico Dolo, Vini di Gigio and Cafe Doge?

I was sorry to read of your disappointing experience at Acqua Pazza.

Tiff is offline  
Old Jan 4th, 2006, 12:32 PM
  #5  
 
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 1,165
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Diz--your trip sounds wonderful. What are the rates at Locanda Orseolo and what was your room like? Nice bathroom? we are looking for accommodations in Venice in late May.
nini is offline  
Old Jan 4th, 2006, 01:04 PM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,009
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Glad you enjoyed Orseolo - we have stayed there 2 wks total on 2 trips and can't imagine staying anywhere else. So sorry about Acqua Pazza, though - one of my favorites.

We also had a canal room (Pulcinella) and didn't discover until one of the last nights that the shutters really helped block early a.m. noise.

Nini -- Rooms at Orseolo are fantastic. There are some pics on their website, but even more pics on VeniceBy.com:

http://www.veniceby.com/orseolo/pages/gallery.htm

Rooms and bathrooms are both large and clean. Rooms are being renovated in mask-theme...but non-renovated rooms are every bit as large and clean. The difference between renovated and non-renovated is color scheme, paint, and linens.

Definitely contact Orseolo, though I am afraid they may already be booked for May dates...they are now enjoying 100% capacity even in low season!!!

Sorry to butt in...hard for me to refrain when it's a chance to rave about Orseolo.
beanweb24 is offline  
Old Jan 5th, 2006, 05:30 AM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 7,130
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks for the report, Diz! I, too, am curious as to what the weather was like that time of year.
Statia is offline  
Old Jan 5th, 2006, 05:40 AM
  #8  
ira
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 74,699
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks for sharing, D.

Looking forward to more.

>Fiaschetteria Toscana - a 10 course blow out for New Years Eve. Fantastic. ... Excellent cooking but too many courses to remember them all!<

That is why you are supposed to take notes.


ira is offline  
Old Jan 6th, 2006, 06:48 AM
  #9  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 258
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks for the kind comments and questions.

The weather. After we got back we spoke to someone else who was in Tuscany over New Year. They said the Italian weathermen were almost hysterical about the weather in the Veneto on how cold it was. We didn't have our thermometers with us but are told that with windchill it was -20 Centigrade. I can believe that. Our first day was heartbreakingly beautiful. Very cold but crystal clear and sunny all day. Next day was if anything colder but grey. New Years day was a little warmer but rained all day. Last day was showers and drizzle. Fortunately we had taken cold weather clothing and needed it all.

More on restaurants. I'm afraid I don't have any street names so I can't be very helpful. Antico Dolo is on the right bank very near Rialto bridge(about 150m away) - it is over the bridge, turn left (South) at first major street and about 100m along. Vini de Gigio is anout 15 mins walk North from the Locanda on a side street off the main street next to a canal. Caffe Doge is 5 mins from the Locanda on the main street north. If I can track down street names I will repost.

Rates at the Locanda are c Euro250 per night including breakfast. There are also pictures from someone on Tripadvisor. We had a larger room in the un-upgraded style. A bit bland on the decoration compared to the newer ones by the sounds of things but still very nice. Hard flooring with a rug. Good size. Bathroom had separate bath and shower, loo, bidet, hairdrier. Lots of hanging and storage space in the room. Large comfortable bed.

New Years Eve dinner. OK. Let's see what I can recall. Coated tuna nibbles, crayfish (I think) salad, venison and endive soup, the thinnest of pasta (tagletinni?) with scallops, seafood risotto, clams with salmon (I think) and langoustine, palette cleanser of cardomon and citrus fruits in a sweetened juice, rack of lamb with mash, pistachio gelato with rich dark chocolate sauce and pannetone to accompany the champagne. Phew.

More to come on Venice highlights.
Diz01 is offline  
Old Jan 6th, 2006, 08:56 PM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 578
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
ttt
cobbie is offline  
Old Jan 10th, 2006, 06:45 AM
  #11  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 258
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
As this was a first trip to Venice a lot of what we did was fairly predictable. Anyway, this is waht we enjoyed:

Vaperetto down the Grand Canal from San Marco to Rialto on our beautiful sunny day. Totally mesmerising. We did this trip several times including at twilight and each time saw something new. We speculated on how many empty properties there are in Venice. We bought the 72 hour pass from the kiosk at the San Marco stop. Well worth doing if only so you can jump the ticket queues on subsequent trips and rides the buses without watching the cost.

The Rialto fish market. Utterly compelling. Wonderful variety of fresh fish on offer. Made us wish we had a kitchen!

Peggy Guggenheim museum. Neither of us are wild about old religious themed art but this sort of collection floats our boat. Hilarious bronze statue in the garden and nice cafe.

Walking the streets and getting lost.

A trip out to the Lido. A feel of a seaside resort in winter. Cafes 2/3 the price of Venice.

Doges Palace. We did the Secret Itinaries tour first which was booked by the Locanda and then toured the main rooms. Comical and very Italian bureaucratic approach to ticket collection and payment - you cannot short circuit the system. Very fierce guide but good English. Was it worth it? I'm not wholly convinced. It was interesting to see other parts of the palace but the highlights really are the main room which were fascinating but you need a guide book to get the most from a tour. NB no heating so dress warm in Winter!

And last but by no means least the Basicala San Marco. Now we aren't greatly into churches but this was astonishing and like nothing else I've ever seen. We went 3 times in all. Being only 5 minutes away in our hotel we could look in easily when the queues were short. And I think you need several viewings to really appreciate it.

Our best look around the church was on New Years day. It had been a quiet day as mst places were shut. We went in around 3.30pm and immediately turned right to go up the museum with original horses. We admired the golden mosaics but the basilica is generally kept quite dark with just a few lights so they are hard to see but being up on the balcony you are up close and can see the detail on those nearby. Then the bells in the Campanile started ringed so we went outside onto the roof and admired the sound and sights. But on coming inside - wow - the lights had been turned on fully. The interior just shimmered with a liquid gold. It was astonishing. we only had around 15 minutes of this but felt incredibly humbled.

There are 3 museums in the basilica which you have to pay for this being one of them. The other that we were interested in is the Pala d'oro or golden alter screen. We could see the queues to it from the balcony (it is located behind the alter) and given the length of it were disinclined to join it. We descended the steps and went inside the basilica admisring the mosaics and by the time we got to the Pala d'oro entrance there were only a few people in the queue so we decided to join and were we glad we did. The Pala d'oro is about 2 metres wide by a metre high (ish)and is exceptionally detailed work of art using gold and and enamelling techniques and is encrusted with precious and semi-precious stones. You need more knowledge of iconography than I possess to understand it but we could certainly appreciate the wonderful workmanship (some of which I gather dates back to the 10th century). But the best bit of all was that we were the last people let in so we had about 25 minutes to ourselves with this magnificent work of art.

You might have worked out that we were impressed with the basilica. Yes it is busy and most people seem to troop round in about 10 minutes. what we learned is to time your visits (we were lucky really) and not try to take it all in in one go.

Overall then a wonderful trip to Venice. I cannot imagine how busy it must get in summer but winter has a lot to offer. A great hotel and some great food. It isn't cheap but then neither is any big city.

I hope these ramblings are useful.
Diz01 is offline  
Old Jan 10th, 2006, 07:22 AM
  #12  
 
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 1,165
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Diz--Thank you for the excellent information. I made notes on the restaurants and highlights. We will be in Venice in early April and Locanda O would not be an option on such short notice. We got the very last room at LaCalcina. Hope we can find those restaurants. Will a map of Venice help? A silly question but I remember searching all over in tiny Assisi for places with map in hand.
nini is offline  
Old Jan 10th, 2006, 07:25 AM
  #13  
 
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 4,296
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Hi Mr Diz ~ As you put it, your 'ramblings' (ha) were very useful indeed. We leave two weeks from tomorrow. Thank you so much for a great trip report, Tiff
Tiff is offline  
Old Jan 10th, 2006, 08:12 AM
  #14  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 258
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Not sure what happened there. I thought I had posted a version with corrected typos but obviously not!

Nini - Enjoy your trip. We took one of those plastic fold open maps but didn't find it that useful. There are so many small streets that I think the map makers struggle. Oddly we found most useful the one that the hotel gave us that I assume are issued by the tourist office. Now this is about 2 metres square as it covers the entire island but we tore ours up and it was the best we had for finding places.

Mrs Diz01 tells me Caffe Doge is on the street that goes north from the Peoples Theatre (?) not the Fenice. It may be called Calle Nueve - or I may have imagined that and mixed up my Spanish with Italian!

Tiff - 2 weeks to go.I am envious. Take your coat, scarf, hat and gloves! Hope you have a great time.
Diz01 is offline  
Old Jan 10th, 2006, 09:46 AM
  #15  
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,034
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks so much Diz!

We are staying at Locanda Orseolo in June (hope all the rooms are renovated by then, but I guess it doesn't matter).

I really appreciate all the dining info as well as general recommendations.

Glad you had a great time!

fun4all4 is offline  
Old Jan 10th, 2006, 09:57 AM
  #16  
Ere
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
nini:
You probably know that LaCalcina was the hotel that the great 19th century writer and critic John Ruskin called home in Venice while writing 'The Stones of Venice.' If you don't know of it and, assuming you enjoy history and architecture, get 'Ruskin's Venice: The Stones Revisited' by photographer Sarah Quill, which extracts Ruskin's commentary on all the great buildings and palazzos, selections from his drawings, and breathtaking photos of the buildings now. I picked this book up AFTER spending a week there last month and wished I'd had it before.

A good map is a must; I found the Streetwise Venice map (color laminated plastic fold-type) to be the most accurate of the three I took along. It color contrasts the rio versus the calle which is helpful and includes highlighted recommended walks.

FYI, there is a great exhibit of turn-of-the-century panoramic photography of Venice at the Fortuny Museum in San Marco.
Ere is offline  
Old Jan 10th, 2006, 10:32 AM
  #17  
 
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 1,165
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks ERE for the book recommendation. I learned of John Ruskin when I searched the website of this hotel. Tiff--I hope you report back and share details from your trip to Venice.I can hardly wait until we are there in April!
nini is offline  
Old Jan 10th, 2006, 10:35 AM
  #18  
SRS
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 679
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Great report! We love Locanda Orseolo too - stayed there twice and both times were great. Sorry about Acqua Pazza. It's one of our favorites!

Sally
SRS is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
otisabi74
Europe
10
Nov 16th, 2010 12:00 PM
ms_lb
Europe
4
Aug 22nd, 2006 08:04 AM
devanson
Europe
5
Jul 14th, 2005 05:55 AM
Debra
Europe
6
Aug 20th, 2002 03:01 AM
Debbie
Europe
7
Jul 26th, 2002 11:55 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -