We stayed here last year as part of a large family trip and loved it. The staff was very welcoming and friendly and not upset by the fact that they had to speak to us in English. The rooms were clean and very well-equipped. The lobby and overall hotel decor was amazing. Even the room key was neat - heavy and ornate (unfortunately we couldn't keep it as a souvenier).

We had a corner room overlooking the adjacent canal and small plaza and the view was great. At night, we even got serenaded to sleep by the smooth sounds of a musician playing his cello in the plaza. We'd definitely recommend this hotel to anyone traveling to Venice.

The Violino d'Oro is an excellent location! Steps from San Marco yet none of the heavy tourist traffic nor noise. Probably most important was the ease of getting there with luggage. Very close to the San Marco vaporetto stop with only one smallish bridge to lug your stuff over. A bonus was the elevator. While the room was very spacious (triple with plenty of room for our 18-year old daughter, myself and husband), the shower is small. Despite this my husband (6'5 and about 235 lbs) managed just fine. Breakfast was quite good. The beds were wonderful! Although a little worn in spots, it was exceptionally clean and neat and the value was unbeatable! Venice is an expensive city (we spent an average of 160 euros/night for dinner--typically only 2 courses and wine) so we felt we got a terrific value for stay at Violino d'Oro. We bought the Venicecard which was handy for getting to Venice from the airport (by bus) and then to the hotel but found that after boarding the vaparetto from the bus station, we were never asked to show proof of purchase so you could probably easily get away with buying a one-way ticket on the vaparetto. One the other hand, the Venicecard allowed us to skip long lines to buy tickets to Doge Palace, etc. as well as freely travel back and forth from island to island. Beware, however, the vaparetto can be VERY crowded with lots of pushing. My purse (thank God without our passports in it!) was stolen on our ride in the vaparetto to the train station to leave Venice. It was a large bag and I had it looped over my luggage handle along with several other bags. I still can't figure out how or when it was stolen during that relatively short boat ride. . . My advice would be to never have it off your person and have at least one hand holding it tight.

It's impossible to write about the Hotel Violino d'Oro without raving about its superb location. It's located on a small canal that serves as a major gondola parking area, and you can request a room that directly overlooks the canal. We had great fun in our room each morning watching the gondoliers prepare their boats for the day as well as gazing out on all the other boat traffic that keeps the city running. The hotel is also just a couple of easy to navigate (and less likely to flood) blocks from the San Marco vaparetto stop on the Grand Canal, which greatly simplifies the journey to the hotel when you're toting suitcases as well as sightseeing throughout your stay. Our room was clean and comfortable, the staff were consistently pleasant, and breakfast offered a variety of options (although the tables were squeezed in a little tightly). Given the location, the hotel seemed like a bargain.

We stayed at the Violino d'Oro for three nights in late September with two other couples. We chose the hotel based on the other reviews on Trip Advisor, and we were not disappointed. The location is fantastic -- a short stroll to Piazza San Marco. We were in a corner room with large windows overlooking the small square in front and the canal on the side. Although others have commented negatively on noise from the gondoliers down below, we did not find it to be a problem and we enjoyed looking down on all of the activity. The room and its bathroom were relatively spacious and well-appointed (the bathroom was equipped for handicapped use). The front desk staff were helpful, and gave us several excellent restaurant recommendations. The breakfast was ample and served in a comfortable room on the ground floor. This was a good location to use as a base for visiting the sites and restaurants of Venice.