I have stayed at this hotel twice now & would return again. The location is good being close to St Marks and the rooms were very comfortable.
Its all about expectation & I think for the price this hotel is fantastic.
Venice is one of the most amazing cities in the world where you should spend time exploring not sitting in your hotel room.
I agree that the stairs can be tiring but its good to work off the pasta.
First impressions are deceiving and once you go beyond this you will find a hidden gem in a wonderful city.

We stayed at this hotel for 2 nights and were more than happy with it. It was in a fabulous location, the staff were friendly but not overbearing, the rooms were updated, clean and comfortable, and the breakfast was good (breakfast is rarely great in Europe). For a young couple such as us the stairs did not pose as a problem. It was good to work off all of the food we ate! The map provided on the hotel's website gave accurate directions to find the hotel. I would recommend this hotel to anyone going to Venice who does not have mobility problems. We would stay there again.

Staying there for just 1 night with my wife and friends I really do not understand the repeated complaint about the absence of a lift in a 4-storey 16th century building !!!
The entrance is rather dark indeed, but this is part of tne Venetian mystery.- and history. Apparently, people do not notice the sculpted floor and the stone well in the corner. The other inhabitant of the building is a ... notary public. Speaking of unsecure environment...
The hotel itself is decorated with all the refinement you should expect in Venice, including fabric on the walls (try to pay this at home !), antique furniture and a "forcola" from a gondola.
The rooms - some with separated but private bathroom, other with shared but immaculate bathroom - are surprinsingly big for Venice, clean and, again, tastefully decorated.
The delightful breakfast is served under a beamed roof or on the charming terrace with view on St.Marco's clocktower and the labyrinth of roofs.
The whole place also was surprinsigly quiet.
Of course, if one dislikes the sound of huge clocks, historical buildings with some disadvantages, Venetian hospitality and also learning some words of a foreign language to understand each other, there are international and unpersonal hotels in Venice, too !

Eric, Brussels, Belgium

We stayed at a double room on 4th floor. Just know that it is a steep and narrow climb to the rooms. The check-in counter is on 3rd floor (there is no lift). On 4th floor, there are 3 rooms that share 2 baths -- one with a tiny shower; one with a tub w/no shower curtain. Nowhere in the hotel's ad did it say there were shared bathrooms. There were six of us (in 3 rooms) who had to share the two bathrooms -- very inconvenient.
There is a short hallway leading to our rooms from the breakfast room. The hallway is tiled and bare so the closing and locking of the bathroom doors echo very loudly anytime someone goes in or out. During the night, one of the staff member kept going in and out of the hallway slamming the closet doors right next to our rooms. Apparently these are supply cabinets.
On the first night, there was a lady sleeping on the sofa next to the hallway door. She had the television on with the volume up full blast after midnight. One of our neighbors stormed into the room and turned the television off, but when he returned to his room, someone had immediately turned it back on. It was said that the lady was the front desk's girlfriend.
There is a terrible problem here with mosquitoes in the rooms and bathrooms. House-keeping keeps the screenless windows open all day so large mosquitoes are flying around constantly. I had 12 bites in the two nights we spent there, all on my neck and face, which swelled with fiery itchiness for a week.
Lastly, we had two friends who arrived a day later than we did. They were given a room clear across town. It was a good 5-10 minute brisk walk -- try doing that after toting your luggage up three flights of steep stairs to check-in, then finding out your room is elsewhere. They had to walk over the next morning for breakfast.
On the good side, the hotel is clean with a good breakfast. I would not stay here again because of the bathroom situation and the mosquitoes.