My traveling companion and I require separate sleeping accommodations and that can be costly in an expensive city like Venice, unless you are fortunate enough to discover Residence Corte Grimani. Although classified as a hotel, the former palazzo is all apartments, of varying sizes. The front desk is staffed 24/7 and is very helpful with restaurant recommendations. We chose one of the largest on the fifth floor, which had an enormous king-sized master bedroom, a spacious living room/dining area with a comfortable pullout queen couch, a small corner kitchen and two separate, good sized modern bathrooms with high-end amenities. The free Wi-Fi worked just fine, providing you understand that Italian connection isn’t rapid fire like in the US. The windows overlook a small canal and it is enchanting to watch and listen to the gondoliers gliding past. If it’s all about “location, location”, ideal is the only appropriate adjective – a three minute walk to St. Mark’s Square and the Grand Canal; five minutes to the Rialto Bridge. Imagine all this for $400/night; divided by two in our case…that’s significantly less than the better hotels…without the space or location! The hotel has small common rooms on the ground floor and some vending machines, but does not have a bar or restaurant – certainly not a hardship in a city teeming with both. We created our own cocktail hour, sitting by the canal steps with wine, and thoroughly enjoying the action on the water. Countless people took our photos from the gondolas, which was amusing, because we wondered if they thought us locals. My email communication with Donatella prior to booking was seamless; she responded quickly and graciously, even when I had to shorten the stay because of my error. I knew she was a consummate hotelier who understands hospitality and she demonstrated that repeatedly throughout our four day stay. Our sole regret was leaving. Meanwhile, my traveling companion is returning to Venice in a year and is booking with Residence Corte Grimani.

Very friendly stuff made us feel like home. We were there with my husband for our anniversary and we have found champaigne cookies and a very nice note in our room. Great location close to everywhere and the hotel is very clean...

We were pleasantly surprised with this find! The Tripadvisor award and reviews are true--
- It is just a 2 minute walk to San Marco; 5 minute walk to Rialto.
- It is not a room it is a ginormous apartment!! We were so happy when the door opened and we found a living room with sofa bed, kitchen, dining table, coat room, bath, large bedroom.
- It has a microwave so we were able to save one dinner by buying some local stuff from the grocery.
- Ms. Donatella and her staff are very nice. They will help you find your way around Venice and give helpful tips too (ex. where to eat). Plus, we left the hotel 3am and they properly endorsed our check out and waited for us.
- There's no breakfast but they have a nice Illy machine in the lobby and the coffee is really good.
Note - I only put a very good in sleep quality coz the TV is in the living room, I'm not used to not having a TV in the bedroom :D

So there, once you stay in Corte Grimani, you won't think of staying in any other hotel the next time you visit Venice.

We were a large group of friends meeting up in Venice from the US, the UK, and from a cruise, we rented 3 apartments, each laid out different, comfortable, and centrally located, 5 minute walk from San Marco's, but just far enough off a main pedestrian area to be quiet at night. It was definitely more fun having apartments since we were a larger group and per person it was actually less expensive than staying in a hotel. This would be a good set up for a family, a group of friends, or even a business traveler.