Carlton on the Grand Canal

"good location nice end good rooms"

"This hotel had the biggest room during our stay in Italy. The hotel does have its problems though. When the bellman delivered our luggage instead of putting it in the room, he left it in the hallway. All the other hotels were we stayed the luggage was waiting for us when we entered the room. The mattress was kind of odd. The side I slept on was slanted so I felt like I was about to roll off. My daughter woke up at 2 am to what sounded like somebody trying to get into our room. That didn’t make for a pleasant nights sleep for her. For some reason this place likes to keep their windows in the room and hallway open. As a result, the rooms have mosquitoes. So we woke up with mosquito bites. We both had 4 or more bites. I had 3 of them on my face. This led to interesting breakfast discussions, where a lot of people were talking about how many bites they woke up with. Breakfast was OK but check your drinking glass. I was about to drink my juice when I saw lipstick marks on the edge of my glass. I went back to get another one, and found two more dirty glasses. Yuk! Once again, breakfast was lukewarm and they didn’t have a lot to offer. The breakfast area was very small and crowded with two tour groups occupying the room. Also, the tables weren’t being cleaned quickly enough to accommodate all the people that wanted to be seated. They do their room keys like back in the 50s. Every time you leave the hotel, you’re required to hand in your key and pick it up when you return. Unfortunately, when there are a lot of tour groups in the hotel, the lines are long and there was only one person working the desk. We waited 13 minutes just to turn in our key so we could leave in the morning. However, the hotel is in a good location. If you’re coming in by train the station is on the other side of the canal along with the water taxis. You can rent gondolas right in front of the hotel and it’s about a 28 minute walk from Saint Marks Square."

"The ONLY reason I’m giving this hotel 2 stars instead of 1 is the location. It’s directly across from the Venice train station, so after dragging luggage through Venice, being able to walk over the bridge and arrive within minutes was extremely convenient. They also offered luggage storage and the WiFi worked fine. That said, this hotel was incredibly disappointing for the price — we paid about $855 for 2 nights and it absolutely did not reflect that value. The AC barely worked. We arrived in the evening and immediately noticed the room felt warm. We closed the shutters and adjusted the controls, hoping it would cool down while we were out the next day. We left early the next morning and didn’t return until around 8:30 PM after walking all day through Venice. The room was STILL hot and uncomfortable. When we mentioned it to the front desk, there wasn’t even an apology — we were simply asked if we had reported it earlier. At that point we were exhausted, showered, and checking out the next morning anyway. The room itself feels less “classic Venetian charm” and more old, worn out, and overdue for renovation. The furniture was unstable and dated — the side tables literally rocked when touched, the desk and chair looked heavily worn, and the mini fridge didn’t even keep drinks cold. Water was condensing inside and puddling in the fridge. The bed was extremely hard and uncomfortable. The bathroom was tiny and poorly designed. You can’t use the sink or mirror unless the door is shut, which makes the space feel even more cramped. There was also little to no ventilation and a noticeable moldy smell. We thought it was weird that we have to turn in our room key every time we leave the hotel and retrieve it when returning (standing in line on each time). Why dont they have a copy? Super inconvenient. Overall, this hotel survives on location alone. If you’re paying budget prices, maybe it’s acceptable. But for what we paid, this stay was a huge disappointment."