Castello Hotel

I felt compelled to write a review as there has been such a mix of reviews for this Hotel so I will share our experience. We stayed at the Hotel Castello earlier this month for 3 nights for our wedding anniversary and were not disappointed. The room had no view as we looked at a roof of the opposite building but why would you let that bother your stay. The room was comfortable and very very clean which is far more important than a view and whether there is a little bit of old water damage! The breakfast was continental with fresh croissants and rolls and the coffee good, it set you up for the day exploring. The staff were not over friendly but were efficient and polite. As for the location it was fantastic with a 3 minute walk to the Bridge of Sighs and St Marks Square with restaurants and shops. I would recommend following the directions on the Hotels website when arriving and take the San Zaccharia stop and it is very straightforward and not more than a 5 minute walk from the waterfront. The Hotel Castello may not be the most luxurious hotel we have stayed in but it was clean and comfortable and you are in Venice why spend the time in the room!

My Girlfriend and I stayed at Hotel Castello in Venice, Itay for three nights. I booked and payed for a room about a month ahead of time. When we reached the hotel we were told that our room's AC and water were not working properly. They immediately transfered us to a hotel near by which was called HOTEL LUX for one night and to come back the next day when our room would be serviceable. When we were told our room was ready the next day we transfered back to hotel Castello and was then given our room. My girlfriend and I were not impressed at all. The room had a moldy smell to it, our bed 2 small beds pushed together. My girlfriend kept finding herself sleeping on an uncofrotable crack in the middle. As for me I kept wakeing up in the morning with a back ache. Furthermore, I DO NOT RECOMMEND HOTEL CASTELLO. Problems that this hotel had was a moldy smell in our room, uncomfortable bed. I RECOMMEND STAYIN IN HOTEL LUX.

We booked this hotel for our 20th wedding anniversary through BA Holidays. The price was good and as we had previously used a 3* Hotel in Rome, booked the same way, we were optimistic. That hotel had turned out to be a gem. The Hotel Castello is initially quite hard to find, and the tiny alley you approach it along does not instill confidence. The reception area is quite smart, and the decor is very traditional old Venetian lots of Murano chandaliers and light fittings. But, the hotel is very shabby and tired. The stair carpets are all worn and the hallways tatty, with plaster missing off the walls in places. We had asked for a quiet room, and maybe that was a mistake. We were allocated room 152 on the 2nd floor. It has three windows, two of which look onto the wall of the neighbouring building 2 feet away. The third was heavily barred with a decorative grill and you could see a few feet of sky if you craned your neck upwards. The hotel was full, so a different room was not an option. There were small holes in the floor that had been covered in carpet but you still stumbled over. The room was always dark, even mid afternoon.. There were bedside wall lights that flickered on and off, and the main cieling light seemed to have a 40 watt bulb. To be fair the room was shabby but it was as clean as it could have been under the circumstances. The beds were made up with a plain cotton coverlet and a sheet, not the ornate brocade coverlets you see in the pictures, but they were clean. More than could be said for the 2 disreputable blankets folded into the bottom of the wardrobe, which thankfully were not needed. The bathroom was clean. The water pressure good and the hot water plentiful. Unfortunately there was nowhere to fix the shower head to the wall so it had to be held, and the water did tend to flood the bathroom floor. Evidence of it leaking out onto the bedroom floor in the past was clear to see in the watermark on the carpet. The towels were however, clean and fresh every day. And to be fair, the room was very quiet and not a mozzie to be seen. The air conditioning also works well, and is controlled by remote so you can adjust the temperature etc. The walls are however paper thin and every word can be heard from the other rooms, and if like us you have elephants in the room above you know all about it. The mini bar is in fact a decrepit fridge with half a dozen cans of soft drink in it. We put a bottle of water in it overnight and it was just about tepid in the morning. There are no tea of coffee making facilities in the room or safes. There is satellite TV in the rooms, about 6 channels but none of them in English. This was odd as the larger part of the guests seemed to be English. All of the reception staff spoke English apart from the guy who covered the late evenings. Most were helpful apart from one who was preoccupied with the internet, but all were polite. We didn't ask help booking anything so cannot comment on that. Breakfast was adequate. There is a basket of croissant and rolls on each table. At the breakfast buffet, two types of cereal are available, yoghurts, french toast, a variety of jams and honey and different flavour tea bags. The coffee I am told was superb. You are brought a jug of hot coffee and another of hot frothy milk, my husband is a big latte fan and declared it exceptional. The ladies serving breakfast are also very sweet and helpful. Basically, the Hotel Castello is adequate. I am sure there are better rooms than room 152 but we didn't personally experience them. It is clean and the beds comfortable. But you do not go to to Venice to sit in your room. We were out straight after breakfast and back in late, so it provided the sleeping facilities required. If you want luxury, go somewhere else, but The Castello suffices as a place to lay your weary head. As far as location goes it cannot be beaten though. It will take you less than 5 minutes to walk to St Marks, and that's if you dawdle. I don't think we would use it again.

I have to admit, when we first chose this hotel it was based on the cheapest price for the closest location to San Marco square. We weren't expecting any frills, just simple accomodation. What we got was a pleasant surprise! Location - The hotel is located literally a 3-4 minute walk from San Marco square, which was a perfect place to be. It was a 2 minute walk from the water bus stops and the Grand Canal. This made it easy to do different things every day. It is situated in a teeny tiny little street which gave it a humble feel, and was close to an internet cafe, several cafe's and bars and a great place to buy some wine. Service and Ameneties - The staff were ultra-friendly and multi-lingual (I heard one of them speak English and French). Because it's a small hotel, they quickly remembered our faces and room number. The room was clean and looked after, although the decor was a little dated. Having said that, we found it gave the whole experience a 'quaint' feel. Who wants a vast clinical looking room in such a rustic beautiful city? It all added to the charm. The bed was SO comfortable, but the bath was very small; designed to be sat in, and not possible to lay down. Continental breakfast was included and everything was fresh. Note - There isn't a lift, so if you have problems walking, request a low floor. We're fit, but even we were exhausted by the time we reached the top floor (typical!) Overall - Highly recommended. It's clean, comfy and to be honest, all you need if like us, you spent all day exploring the city. 8/10

Just returned from Venice and the Hotel Castello, what a disappointment with the hotel. The hotel was very poor, definately not a 3* more like a 1*. It looked fine on the web sight, very plush and charming, but it was very different in reality. The rooms were very small and very grubby looking. The silk fabric on the walls (which must have been lovely in it's day) were in need of a good clean, they were so dusty. Infact everything was in need of a good clean and updating. The only good thing about the room was that the bedding was spotless and so were the towels and the bathroom was not too bad, even though very small. Our friends room was so small and dirty and the walls were stained, they asked for a room change, which didn't go down too well. The carpets in the corridors, stairs and our rooms were thread bare and grubby. The breakfast was very poor with no choice and very little of it, only 1 type of cereal, yogurt and bread. The reception area and the first floor corridors were the only decent well kept part of the hotel as far as we could see. The staff were not very sociable at all, everything seemed to be too much trouble. Never again. Venice on the other hand was fantastic.

I booked this hotel from the Hotel's website. After checking in and getting to the room, I was very unhappy. The room's floor was dirty, there was a potent mold and dust smell. The bed was uncomfortable and the sheets had cigerette burns. The view was of a brick wall after you forced the metal shudders open. The room was dimmly lit with a few dead bulbs. The bathroom was strange and dirty. I did not want even walk around the room without shoes on. After all this, I changed hotels without even staying a night. However they would not let me get out of paying for the two night I was suppose to stay there. The gentleman behind the counter was not very considerate about this. I had been all through Europe and this was my final destination. I had been staying in 3-4 star hotels all along the way and this by far was NOT a 3 star hotel. I would go for a rating of 1-2 star.

We only stayed in this hotel for one night, so maybe we didnt stay long enough to encounter any problems but i thought our stay was fine? i chose this hotel for the location as we wasnt here very long and i wasn't disappointed. Very close to St Marks square. the hotel does seem like its down a 'back alley' but then most of venice is a back alley? lol thats what its like. i loved it. we was told not to get a water taxi as they were very expensive, we got the water buses, which were easy enough to use. i do agree that the food in venice is not too great, in comparison to other italian cities. the restaurant we chose (very sorry cannot remeber name) was disappointed with. Would love to go back to Venice for longer, maybe would try another hotel just for somewhere different but had no problems with this one

Have just returned from a stay of four days in venice at the Hotel Castello. Took the Ryanair flight from Stansted to Treviso. Treviso airport at the moment is not much more than a shed. They have nearly finshed a new terminal and that will improve the travel experience no end. Took the 9 euro return bus to Pi. Roma, nice new coach with air con. Well worth the money. Took about one hour to get to Venice. ( For info its bus stop D2 at the terminal in Pi Roma for the return to Treviso). Now arrived in Venice we purchased the 25 Euro, 72 hour waterbus(vaporetto) pass and took the No 1 service down the Grand Canal to San Zaccaria close to the hotel. WHAT a fabulous scene going along the canal, its almost indescribable. Make sure you take it all in. We used the waterbus pass a lot. Its well worth it Arrived at hotel castello after a few minutes walk from the waterbus stop(make sure you take wheeled cases!!.) I had already spoken with the staff at the hotel before leaving home . I found them to be helpful and knowledgable throughout our stay. The Hotel owner was also more than willing to help with information and advice. Always ask about good restaurants. Venice suffers from a lot of mediocre food at high prices but Fabio at the Hotel reccommended two super family run establishments with super food and not rip off prices. The hotel room was very clean and decorated in venetian style. We had a television which had Italian.French & German channels but nothing in English! We can reccomend the Hotel. Enjoy your stay.

We stayed in Venice for 2nights 3 days just before the Valentines Day mad rush. We chose the Castello as the location seemed ideal and the hotel pictures made it look very authentic and traditional. However our trip ended up costing us a small fortune. We had to get from the airport in a small transfer speed boat which was 90 euros each way. Then from there the driver drops you at the nearest landing platform to your hotel. At that point you are pointed in the general direction with no map or help lugging suitcases (make sure you have one with wheels so you can drag it around). It was pot luck we stumbled accross our little hotel which was down a 'back alley' type place. The alley was next to a fruit and veg seller who leaves garbage and boxes stood up where you have to walk. Not a nice smell! Then when you approach the main door there is grafitti in big blue letters opposite the entrance. The hotel inside was very authentic and typical italian, with local glass made chandeliers. The staff all spoke english and were very helpful. Our bedroom was quite large, though the shower room was very small. The door touched the sink when you walked in. The furniture was fine and there was a fridge. Although no kettle to make yourself a cuppa. The room was lovely and warm in the evenings, a good job really because you dont get a duvet only blankets. On our first night we were looking forward to catching up on abit of sleep as we had done alot of travelling that day. We strolled out into the town for something to eat. We were accosted by almost every resteranteur trying to get us to stop and eat there. The thing was almost every restaurant sold the same foods! and offered us the same tourist 15 euro menus. We however we were hoping to find a quiet little place by the canal and grab an authentic carbonara. No chance im afraid not unless the both of you are wanting to eat it! Apparently they dont make it for 1 person????? We were suprised, surely italy is famous for pasta dishes?? Overall not that impressed with the variety of food in venice. Pizzas were quite good, there is a lovely bar just next to the hotel which has cool leather bean bags out side for you to chill out on. Service was great there and a young friendly team. When we ventured back to the room at maybe 10pm we settled in and fell asleep nicely. To our suprise at midnight and at 7am the church bells were rung in the town. The hotel is very close and they are so loud it disturbs you. This happens daily. I guess it may help if the hotel actually had glass/double glazed windows, but they only have plastic perspex ones. I thought hotels came with glass windows as a standard? Not here.... You do also have a tiny balcony not that you can use it as its about a foot wide, perfect for the pigeons to rest and sleep and --- on. Which they did. Also each morning around 6-7am the locals would start their daily routines which means they use big wooden carts to transport produce and supplies around on. These contraptions are quite heavy and when they are hurled accross the cobbles they make a loud banging and bumping noise. Our window overlooked the main alley where they all connect to the st marks square, so at times its gets very busy and noisy. No canal views. This hotel was more like a B & B the standards are no where near what you would get in the UK. We experienced a traditional gondola ride which we were also hounded into doing by the gondaliers, they seem to be stood on every corner trying to haggle with you to take a tour. Ours was about 80 euros which lasted 25 minutes. It was lovely to see the town from a different perspective but too expensive to do again. The gondaliers got on our nerves towards the end as they pester you all the time. St Marks square was nice and the palace is amazing. Alot of scaffolding up at the moment and lots of construction happening though. Pigeons everywhere which you can feed for 1 euro and get --- on millions of times. Only 1 place to sit and have a coffee in which was not that good. Another bad point and my last comment was the guys stood in the town at night trying to sell you cheap rubbish copies of louis vuitton, gucci and chanel etc handbags. Very poor quality. The police do look out for them and try keep them from pestering the tourists. If you need any more info just email me.

Really loved the location - not far from St Marks Square, and the Bridge of Sighs. The room was large but decorated in a very old fashioned style, bathroom small - shower only. We did not have a view, and I doubt there is a view to be had in this hotel, as you reach it through a back alley - which was a bit smelly. But the room had air conditioning so all was forgiven. A great hotel if you don't intend to spend much time in it (as you are in Venice why would you?)