Casa Santa Maria Formosa - Venice 45.43749, 12.3402

Casa Santa Maria Formosa was the worst hotel we stayed in during a 12 day trip to Rome, Florence, and Venice earlier this month. But it wasn't a bad experience. The entire room space of the hotel has been recently remodeled with items of horrible quality. Everything has a plastic Ikea look and feel, killing any "city charm", although many people used to new, cheaper hotels in the US will feel right at home. They shuffled us and several other couples between different rooms every night because there was "maintenance" to be done. But don't worry! They said the new room was an upgrade (which it wasn't). The bed was the least comfortable bed I've slept on in quite a while. I like hard beds in general, but these beds have a very hard outer surface, and then a spring layer beneath poor padding where you can feel the precise pivot points as your body presses down to the next layer. Garbage. And I'm skinny. Also, the breakfast was HORRIBLE. Just terrible, terribly quality. Quite simply the worst breakfast I've had in years. On the other hand, the room was quiet, warm, and there was enough room. So the stay was pleasant enough, but absolutely nothing worth recommending, and some worth avoiding (bed and breakfast). Ugh. People who recommend this place have low expectations, and I'm easy to please.

Nice hotel with attractive rooms - good size bathrooms. There seemed to be four employees - three of which were wonderful, one was a little cranky and he manned the desk most often. Besides him being a little off-putting, this place was a good value - nice canal views.

Lovely hotel which is very central. Tip: make sure you download the directions to the hotel from the hotel site as venice is a maze of streets and bridges and it would be difficult to find without them. The hotel is split into two and we stayed in the newer part. In this part there are two flights of stairs which you have to carry your bags up so not for the unfit or those with really heavy bags like me!! The room was lovely, really well decorated, clean and comfortable. In fact it looked exactly like the photos. The breakfast was nice and the coffee amazing. The hotel is also really close to everywhere you would want to go, so great location. Would stay there again but as venice has so many bridges to climb, next time I'll bring a lighter bag!!

We were very happy with the Casa Santa Maria Formosa, tucked away in a nice, quiet area in Venice while still being close to the major sites. The man who greeted us at the desk was extremely friendly and helpful, and made us feel right at home. His english was perfect. The room itself was nicely appointed with recent updates, although it took three flights of stairs to reach it. The stairs were steep and narrow and would prove difficult to anyone with large or heavy luggage. The breakfast was good, with standard continental offerings. Wireless internet was available for 3 Euros per night. Overall, a good value for the money considering the high costs in Venice.

Staying at the Casa Santa Maria Formosa was a lovely experience. After deliberately getting lost from Rialto bridge we wandered around the narrow but vibrant Venetian streets for a while before heading towards the hotel. Literally a few minutes from one of the main shopping streets the hotel is set on the corner of a picturesque square (Campo Santa Maria Formosa) and just by the junction of two pretty bridges. Dan was at the desk to greet us and there was a cold bottle of wine and some flowers waiting in the room for my partner's birthday. Over the weekend, Dan's knowledge of the area became apparent when he arranged the most wonderful restaurant (Ristorante Al Giardino), he also knew the history of the local churches and academies and suggested a few lovely locations just off the beaten track. I can't praise the hotel, staff or location enough. When you go to venice, stay here! Magical!