Questions about Hotel Saturnia in Venice

I just looked at the hotel, too, as I was curious. It looks very nice, and is in a good location for getting to a number of places on foot without a long walk. However, one thing popped out at me: It's hard to tell from their map where the closest canal is, as there are some shadings that represent water but I'm not sure. You might want to prepare yourself to find out just where you would be dropped. If the water taxi can't get you right to the hotel, you might want to find out just how far you would have to walk to get there, and if there are any stepped bridges to navigate. I have heard that you can sometimes arrange for a porter to help you get your luggage to the hotel in this case. The Saturnia may know and be able to arrange to have one meet you where the water taxi drops you off.

I understand what you mean and see the same thing when I look at the hotel on Google Maps! My contact at the hotel said that they have a "private water entrance on the back of the Hotel", however, and I have seen a picture (can't remember where now - wish I'd saved it!) of the back of the hotel RIGHT at the edge of a canal with steps - some submerged in water at the time the picture was taken (tides, I imagine). Here's another picture I just found online taken from inside the hotel looking out:

I might look into venicelink - thanks! Sounds like the walk at the airport to the dock will be just fine. I'm not worried about my Dad - just always thinking about my Mom who had a kidney transplant last December and tires easily. They have roller suitcases and it doesn't sound like they'll have any troubles.

If your Mom will allow it, you could request wheelchair assistance for her at the airports. Sometimes there are long walks to the gate or from the gate to passport control, etc., and the chair can be a big help to conserve her energy. However, I know that it can be hard for some people to accept being wheeled around.

unless you really want a water taxi experience it would be a very expensive way to get to that hotel

 

the express bus costs about 7 euros each and lands you in the middle of P Roma-the hotel is only a couple hundred yards from there over 1 small bridge

Thanks - you have been most helpful! My original plan is the way to go.:)

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All good tips, thanks everyone! The more I read, the more I learn :)

 

Would the water taxi work for Best Western Olimpia ? I was going to use the express bus to Piazzale Roma, then walk the rest of the way. Thoughts?

The ATVO airport express bus is so easy and convenient. It leaves every 40 minutes and takes 20 minutes, 7E. It's like a greyhound bus with a luggage hold beneath. Just be sure to get on the Piazzale Roma bus, not the Mestre bus !

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice_airport_buses_atvo.htm

The bus will drop you at P Roma. It's about a 2 block walk to the Olimpia. The Arlecchino Hotel is next door. This map will show you how simple it is:

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/directions/best-western-olimpia.htm

Veniceforvisitors is a great resource:

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/vi-index.htm

I understand what you mean and see the same thing when I look at the hotel on Google Maps! My contact at the hotel said that they have a "private water entrance on the back of the Hotel", however, and I have seen a picture (can't remember where now - wish I'd saved it!) of the back of the hotel RIGHT at the edge of a canal with steps - some submerged in water at the time the picture was taken (tides, I imagine). Here's another picture I just found online taken from inside the hotel looking out:

 

This is a shot of the hotel's water entrance from the canal. Courtesy Venice Connected's virtual tour of the canals. (google earth street view does the same but it's not working at the moment)

Here are a few suggestions for those who are looking for transportation. When you arrive at Marco Polo airport there is a transportation kiosk at terminal. You can book water taxi with cash or credit card. I will be doing this in May. I have done this in the past. You can also book thrush website;. There are several web links; however I believe the easiest is to just wait until you arrive. Cost should run 100E. I am at the Hilton Stucky which is located on its own island. I contacted hotel and they told me water Taxi from hotel to port is 90E. For those going to P Roma. Land taxi or bus. The bus station is at airport and so are the taxis. Land taxi will take you to best western Olympia hotel. From this hotel u can take land taxi to port or take people mover the walkway. You can actually walk to the port, but just hop in taxi. Hope this helps.

Mom, Out of curiosity, I looked at venicelink a bit more, as I had only looked at it briefly once before. Keep in mind that the website says the following:

Limitations: is NOT possible to reach more destinations at once, only one place for all the passengers. Our water taxi service doesn't reach directly the private pier of these Hotels in Venice (5 minutes walk from the stop): Duodo, Splendid, Cavalletto, Saturnia, Bonvecchiati, Bonvecchiati Palace, Corte Grimani. The only stop available for Lido island is Santa Maria Elisabetta. We don't reach any private pier for hotels located on Lido island.

I'm guessing that if your mom can handle walking to the water taxi she can then handle another 5 minutes (if it's really that - might be a little more with luggage!) to the hotel. It sounds like perhaps the hotel only allows certain water taxis to use their dock, which might explain why they quoted you a higher price than venicelink. In any case, I thought I'd point it out to you.

The site also states that for the water taxis you take from the airport, there is some kind of additional "pack" that includes a meet and greet in the airport, assistance to the water taxi dock, etc.

Yes, Earl, I hate it that I cannot simply go on Google Earth as I do for other big cities and get a street view of an address or landmark. Hardly anything seems to show up on Google Earth or Google Street Views. Also, Venice websites seem to change or make info not available at the drop of a hat! Oh well, I am at least learning a lot from the Cruise Critic forums, plus veniceforvisitors plus tomsportguides plus other sites!

Here are a few suggestions for those who are looking for transportation. When you arrive at Marco Polo airport there is a transportation kiosk at terminal. You can book water taxi with cash or credit card. I will be doing this in May. I have done this in the past. You can also book thrush website;. There are several web links; however I believe the easiest is to just wait until you arrive. Cost should run 100E. I am at the Hilton Stucky which is located on its own island. I contacted hotel and they told me water Taxi from hotel to port is 90E. For those going to P Roma. Land taxi or bus. The bus station is at airport and so are the taxis. Land taxi will take you to best western Olympia hotel. From this hotel u can take land taxi to port or take people mover the walkway. You can actually walk to the port, but just hop in taxi. Hope this helps.

Just so you know, the Hilton is the last stop before the cruise port on the aliLaguna blue line. It is less than €15 per person and it's one stop away so that may make more sense for you than taking water taxi. However we did take the water taxi from the airport to the Hilton to begin with. Also since we

were not there on a cruise, we had to take Alilaguna back to the airport and it was the first stop on the way back which meant we made about 10 or 12 stops in between. It was still a nice way to say goodbye to Venice

My 2 cents. We stayed at the Hotel Saturnia years ago and it was very nice. It's an old palace. It was fairly close to San Marco Square & its sites.

Mom, Out of curiosity, I looked at venicelink a bit more, as I had only looked at it briefly once before. Keep in mind that the website says the following:

 

Limitations: is NOT possible to reach more destinations at once, only one place for all the passengers. Our water taxi service doesn't reach directly the private pier of these Hotels in Venice (5 minutes walk from the stop): Duodo, Splendid, Cavalletto, Saturnia, Bonvecchiati, Bonvecchiati Palace, Corte Grimani. The only stop available for Lido island is Santa Maria Elisabetta. We don't reach any private pier for hotels located on Lido island.

 

I'm guessing that if your mom can handle walking to the water taxi she can then handle another 5 minutes (if it's really that - might be a little more with luggage!) to the hotel. It sounds like perhaps the hotel only allows certain water taxis to use their dock, which might explain why they quoted you a higher price than venicelink. In any case, I thought I'd point it out to you.

 

The site also states that for the water taxis you take from the airport, there is some kind of additional "pack" that includes a meet and greet in the airport, assistance to the water taxi dock, etc.

 

Yes, Earl, I hate it that I cannot simply go on Google Earth as I do for other big cities and get a street view of an address or landmark. Hardly anything seems to show up on Google Earth or Google Street Views. Also, Venice websites seem to change or make info not available at the drop of a hat! Oh well, I am at least learning a lot from the Cruise Critic forums, plus veniceforvisitors plus tomsportguides plus other sites!

Roothy123 and MOM I would go with the water taxi consortium http://www.motoscafivenezia.it/eng/biglietto_2.php?a_r=a

They claim they can reach the Saturnia's dock unless the tide is unfavourable. In any case it wouldn't be more than 5 minutes. The price is 100 euros plus 10 euros for the 6th person and 5 euros per bag more than 5.

Mom, Out of curiosity, I looked at venicelink a bit more, as I had only looked at it briefly once before. Keep in mind that the website says the following:

 

Limitations: is NOT possible to reach more destinations at once, only one place for all the passengers. Our water taxi service doesn't reach directly the private pier of these Hotels in Venice (5 minutes walk from the stop): Duodo, Splendid, Cavalletto, Saturnia, Bonvecchiati, Bonvecchiati Palace, Corte Grimani. The only stop available for Lido island is Santa Maria Elisabetta. We don't reach any private pier for hotels located on Lido island.

 

I'm guessing that if your mom can handle walking to the water taxi she can then handle another 5 minutes (if it's really that - might be a little more with luggage!) to the hotel. It sounds like perhaps the hotel only allows certain water taxis to use their dock, which might explain why they quoted you a higher price than venicelink. In any case, I thought I'd point it out to you.

 

The site also states that for the water taxis you take from the airport, there is some kind of additional "pack" that includes a meet and greet in the airport, assistance to the water taxi dock, etc.

Yes! Thank you! I did see that our hotel is one that VeniceLink does not provide direct transportation to. We haven't yet decided if we are going to use them and just walk to our hotel or if we are going to book transfers through the hotel directly (but be delivered right to their door). I read somewhere that the canal behind the Saturnia is very small and that only some taxis can get back there so I assume this is why VeniceLink drops off elsewhere. I found another taxi company that will take us directly to the hotel - but at an extra cost.

Months ago, I read an article about the government trying to put a ban on passengers dragging rolling luggage in Venice. It said that the proposed legislation was going to heavily fine people who were caught doing it. I think it was going to be "legal" for locals to do it - just not visitors. Lots of new businesses for "we-can-pull-your-luggage-for-you" will be popping up if that passed/passes, I imagine! It was set to go into effect in May of this year. I'll have to look into that again as that would perhaps figure into our decision...

My 2 cents. We stayed at the Hotel Saturnia years ago and it was very nice. It's an old palace. It was fairly close to San Marco Square & its sites.

Thank you! We are really happy with our hotel choice and so looking forward to this trip!

Roothy123 and MOM I would go with the water taxi consortium http://www.motoscafivenezia.it/eng/biglietto_2.php?a_r=a

 

They claim they can reach the Saturnia's dock unless the tide is unfavourable. In any case it wouldn't be more than 5 minutes. The price is 100 euros plus 10 euros for the 6th person and 5 euros per bag more than 5.

I'll look into them as well. Thanks so much!

Yes, I read about Venice's attempt to levy fines against tourists with large pieces of luggage. However, after that, there was a post here on Cruise Critic that basically said that they were no longer planning to do that, or perhaps they had not explained who and what would be fined and the "law" was misinterpreted. In any case, I'm pretty sure there is now nothing planned - at least when it comes to individual tourists with rolling luggage.

At least there are a number of places in the city where tourists can leave luggage for a day or two or whatever. Depending upon where a person's hotel is, there could be stepped bridges to navigate if you come from Piazalle Roma or a vaporetto stop that make getting to a hotel difficult with cruise luggage. Of course, with a water taxi, or a hotel right near P. Roma or Alilaguna stop, there is no real need for that.

CathyCruises, did you stay at the Hilton Stucky? It was recommended to me by a good friend. She stayed there last year.

CathyCruises, did you stay at the Hilton Stucky? It was recommended to me by a good friend. She stayed there last year.

Yes, we did. I got an incredible rate on Hotwire, $135/night this last May, and since we are Hilton Gold got upgraded to a canal front room with executive floor privileges, breakfast, wine, etc. Best deal ever. The hotel is spectacular, being in a converted flour mill, and the rooms are lovely, with Murano glass chandeliers, top notch black marble bathrooms, lovely wood beams, etc. A Hilton like no other!

We used the free shuttle to San Zaccharia and San Marco, but we also bought a vaporetto pass for convenience. We loved staying on Guidecca and had some very nice meals there as well. Took a water taxi from the airport and then Alilaguna back to the airport.

While I generally never would stay at (nor recommend) a large American chain hotel in Europe, this was definitely the exception!!

Yes, we did. I got an incredible rate on Hotwire, $135/night this last May, and since we are Hilton Gold got upgraded to a canal front room with executive floor privileges, breakfast, wine, etc. Best deal ever. The hotel is spectacular, being in a converted flour mill, and the rooms are lovely, with Murano glass chandeliers, top notch black marble bathrooms, lovely wood beams, etc. A Hilton like no other!

 

We used the free shuttle to San Zaccharia and San Marco, but we also bought a vaporetto pass for convenience. We loved staying on Guidecca and had some very nice meals there as well. Took a water taxi from the airport and then Alilaguna back to the airport.

 

While I generally never would stay at (nor recommend) a large American chain hotel in Europe, this was definitely the exception!!

I am staying there with points prior to our cruise. I am a Diamond member with Hilton; so when i use points they usually take care of me and my wife; thanks for the info. Will look into taking vapperrto to the port. Will take water taxi to hotel since we will be flying all night we don't want to make three or four stops enroute to hotel.

I am staying there with points prior to our cruise. I am a Diamond member with Hilton; so when i use points they usually take care of me and my wife; thanks for the info. Will look into taking vapperrto to the port. Will take water taxi to hotel since we will be flying all night we don't want to make three or four stops enroute to hotel.

Don't take the vaporetto to the port, you won't get close enough. Take Alilaguna instead. It stops right at the hotel dock and goes straight to the port from there. The front desk can give you the timetable.

This thread has been so incredibly helpful. Thank you all so much! We have booked Hotel Saturnia for one night pre-cruise and (finally) secured our airfare... June can't get here fast enough!

Hotel Saturnia has a good location. Staff is pleasant. Breakfast is in the garden. It's clientele certainly is not limited to groups. They have a private pier/dock at the back door while will serve your water taxi and group well.