Boscolo Bellini Venezia: A Review

For our first night in Venice, we booked one night at the Boscolo Bellini Hotel. I love the location of this hotel. It is both walking distance from the Santa Lucia Station and the Piazalle Roma. There are also several vaporetto stops in close proximity to the hotel, so it's a great place if you like to stay close to all different types of transportation. Mind you but I still prefer to walk and get lost on the streets of Venice. Also, close to the hotel are a number of shops, cafe bars, restaurants and including a Farmacia right in front of the hotel.

For a hotel that claims to be a 4 star, I found our room to be good and adequate but not great. I did love the antique look and the beautifully painted ceiling, and the receptionist was helpful and polite. The bathroom was small and the shower area cramp that the water was splashing everywhere when I took a shower. In my travels within Italy though, I think bathrooms are a lot smaller compared to ones in American hotels. Still, our room provided what we needed - a clean bed and a place to shower. Since we were staying for one night, this room was manageable for us.

For this hotel, I have two main complaints: (1) Our room's heater was broken and kept the room so hot all night long. We had to sleep with the windows open, but I happen to observed that even the flooring was heated. We even turned off the heater, but it seems the heater has a mind of its own. Even the maintenance guy didn't know how to fix it and just left without resolving the problem or offering a solution to our heater concerns. Since we were staying for one night, we decided to keep the room and sleep with the windows open which did the trick. (2) The hotel's wireless Internet didn't work. When I asked the receptionist about the connection, she claims that their Internet doesn't work with American computers. Go figure! I think that's an easy reason for them to avoid dealing with the Internet problem.

This is actually two twin beds put together to make it look like a king.

I love this deco piece.

The is the ceiling and it's very relaxing to look at it before you sleep.

Shampoo and simple essentials.

Our room had the Venetian look and feel.

This hotel is good for a one night stay, and it provided what we needed for the time being. I'm really hoping they'd get that room's heater fixed soon and that Internet problem resolved. But then again, finding the best hotel that suits your needs is all in the matter of the consumer. I would recommend this hotel for a quick stay and that the location is GREAT, but if you were to stay for a longer period of time, maybe it's best to look and compare other hotels in the area. As for me, I still prefer a hotel that would go above and beyond to meet their customers' needs especially that we paid $125 for one night at this hotel.

Boscolo Bellini

Lista di Spagna, 116/A
30121 Venice, Italy
041 524 2488

Venice, The Second Time

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAMA!

I love you and I can't wait to see you soon.

Love,

Kayni

***********

It was my second visit to Venice, and boy, I was so thrilled to see the "City of Canals" again. We boarded the ATVO bus (make sure you board the Venice Piazzale Roma: Express Service) from the Marco Polo Airport, which only cost 3 Euros per person. This is a cheaper alternative to taking water or land taxis from the airport. And since we were taking a cruise ship the next day, we decided to stay at a hotel near Piazzale Roma, which is the main hub for all types of buses and is walking distance to the Venice Santa Lucia Train Station and the Stazione Marittima (Main Terminal). Also, cruise operators offer a free shuttle pick up from Piazalle Roma to the cruise ship.

Venice felt chilly in autumn, but it's the welcoming kind. As I dragged my noisy (thumping through the cobbler stones) wheeled luggage from Piazzale Roma to our hotel, I heard the familiar hum of the vaporetto (water taxis) making its way through the Grand Canal, a shop keeper shouting in Italian on the background (sounds more like singing actually), an elderly woman walking a poodle with a coat, a colorful fruit stand with chestnuts roasting on the side, and the churning of the canals' currents and tides as the water taxis buzzed their way to the next stop. Everything felt familiar yet also new. Seeing Venice again is like seeing an old friend because it was the city that I fell-in-love with during one of my trips to escape the noise and hustle of Rome.

Here are my first few shots of Venice on our first day.

Shops and shops

A man and his dog making their way through the canal

A mask shop

Blue moons

Sweets

Quiet

I took this photo from a mask shop display, but photos weren't allowed inside the store

A parked gondola

Waiting

Attraversiamo (borrowed from Eat, Pray, Love) or let's cross over

No traffic

Red boat

Travel: Venice

For me, Venice is my favorite place in Italy. While Rome sizzles like a barbecue grill during the summer, Venice's water canals and highways keep the city cool throughout summer. Dining al fresco is perfect in this city. Whether you'll be content with a pizza or just plain bread dipped in olive oil, you can't avoid being amazed and entertained how a city can be utilizing canals instead of streets.

Riding a taxi boat as we sailed underneath this bridge to another.

Just another street canal...

We stayed at a camping site and slept in one of those cute cabins.

St. Mark's Square

I love how houses have flowers hanging from their balconies.

Taxi? Anyone?

Let's go for a gondola ride.

St. Mark's Basilica

Part of St. Mark's Basilica

This photo reminds me of the movie "Italian Job."