We are just back from a wonderful four nights in Venice, made especially enjoyable by staying at La Calcina. The location is stunning, overlooking the Guidecca Canal, and all the staff were friendly and unfailingly attentive.

The hotel’s very conscious of its history (see the excellent website) and the place has a lovely period feel in the furnishings and pictures on the wall. This is not to say it’s old fashioned, because the bathrooms and other facilities were right up to date and spotlessly clean. Although Tripadvisor refers to La Calcina as a 'B&B', there is a full restaurant service and they also do snacks all day. The restaurant is on a terrace over the canal and we had good meals. No house wines, but an extensive list of Italian regional wines that is worth exploring.

Who wants to stay adjacent to St Mark’s with its high prices, swarms of day-trippers and overwhelming pigeons? St Mark’s is only 10 minutes or so by vaporetto but La Calcina is in a Venetian community of its own. There’s less than five minutes walk to the Galleria dell’Accademia and it’s celebrated bridge, and a few minutes more to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. All around are little shops, squares and cafes. A few minutes along the Zattere is Nico’s Gelateria. Sit by the canal in the late afternoon sun and enjoy one of their superb icecreams, washed down with a Bellini. La Calcina faces south so no buildings overshadow the Zattere and terrace restaurant. There is therefore an uninterupted view of the sunsets over the wide canal.

There’s lots more of Venice we want to see, but La Calcina would be the place we would stay.

When we arrived at this hotel, we loved it. It was fabulous. It is located on the Grand Canal. The interior was beautifully decorated. We were greeted warmly. Registration was effortless. The room was lovely. It was a nice size room with a very comfortable bed. It had a/c and a fan. You decide which to use or just open a window. The TV channels are in Italian except for BNN, just in case you are a TV Guru. The room was cleaned everyday and left welcoming for our return. The front desk staff was extremely helpful with our questions. The restaurant staff was also accommodating. The food delicious. I especially loved their cappucinos. Breakfast was awesome. There was so much to choose from. The terrace cafe where we had our breakfast had a spectacular view. We even saw the huge ships (Carnival, Norweign and Royal Caribbean). We also had dinner and desserts there. They have a great E22 dinner deal. It includes three courses and wine. We found the bed and breakfast to be very reasonable. I booked my reservations straight through the hotel. They were quick to respond and advise me of their various rooms and rates. The email is [--]

The hotel is located a few steps from the Zattere vaporetto stop. (#1) (51)(61) and others. You can take the Alliguna vaporetto from the airport straight to Zattere for 12 euros. It will take about 45 minutes but, it gives you chance to see the other little islands in the canal. Do pack light. The vaporetto takes your bags but you have to carry them on and off. The airport vaporetto is about a 10 minute walk. Buy your tickets before you leave the airport. There is ATM machine there where you can get cash (euros).

Back at the hotel, we found that in the front of the vaporetto #51 or #61(Zattere stop), just a few buildings down from La Calcina, we could walk over to San Marco square in just 10 to 15 minutes, passing quaint cafes and small piazzas. Within minutes, you are at the Accademia Bridge, (famous wooden bridge, beautiful) which lead you to the museum of Art and then to San Marco square. Do walk away from street from the hustle of San Marco square for great shopping and Gellato. From the hotel you go many places. If you need to go to the pier, just take the #52 or there are others, just look at the vaporetto list of stops. Then get off at the Piazza Roma, there you can walk down the hill to the ships or take a cab (E15). We walked it (10 minutes). If you want to take the trains, take the #51 or #61 to the train station (20 minutes). The train station is right in front of you. Make sure when you buy your train ticket, you ask what the name of the train is. The trains are comfortable but the air condition is light. The bathrooms are on right of the last train track and it will cost you about E0.60.

We loved our experience in Venice. But, it was the Pensione La Calcina which made us feel at home during a very hectic time of sightseeing. We miss our walks by the canal, our wonderful breakfast on the terrace overlooking the canal, a comfortable bed and late in the evening, a cappucino with a pastry. Everytime we came and went, staff members greated us warmly. At the end of our five day stay, we took our ship which, passed the Pensione La Calcina and we grew homesick. We highly recommend this beautiful bed and breakfast to anyone venturing into the old world charm of Venice. Chao!

We celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary in Venice at Pensione La Calcina. Finding a good hotel at reasonable price in Venice isn't easy. But La Calcina was perfect for our anniversary. Beautiful setting. Friendly staff. Charming rooms and such a romantic terrace on the waterfront to have breakfast or dinner. If we ever get a chance to go back to Venice, we will definitely stay there again!

I spent 12 days in late July at La Calcina. La Calcina has several things going for it:

Location: away from the mobs of tourists in San Marco, but close enough to be very convenient. Having the vaporetto so close was wonderful. Nice, too, to have two grocery stores nearby (Billa, just down the Zattere and COOP, close to the Palanca vaporetta stop, just across the Giudecca canal)

The hotel restaurant is good and priced comparably to other nearby restaurants (except they don't offer a house wine, so drinking can be pricey)

Service: Staff in the hotel and restaurant were consistently charming and helpful. At checkout there was some confusion, which Debra cleared up graciously, in my favor. It is clear that she wants to maintain the reputation reflected in the comments on this site.

Value: The price was good and the value was increased by the terrific breakfast buffet, that included cereals, yogurt, ham and cheese, eggs, pastries, juices and fresh fruit. Gotta love a place that serves Nutella at breakfast! Free internet was also a plus.

The room (21) was larger than I expected for a European single. The air-conditioning in the room was a blessed relief from all the long walks in the heat of summer.

The bathroom was good sized (the pictures shown of room 31 are identical to room 21), and had plenty of really cold "cold" water, and lots of hot water. The bath towel was plush and huge.

I was in Venice to attend a renewal of wedding vows ceremony - the "bride and groom" and several other members of the party also stayed at the hotel and loved it. Two groups had the apartments which were spacious and charming (and very close to the hotel).

The next time I'm in Venice, I won't hesitate to book my stay at La Calcina.