Palace Bonvecchiati Hotel

We booked 4 nights B&B which cost €600.
A recent article in an Irish newspaper had confirmed what we had assumed from the online photographs and as we entered we were not disappointed with the decor, and the chic modern appearance of the hotel, especially when compared with its competitors, which we had passed on our way from the boat. There is an awful smell in reception which takes from the initial impression, but we were relieved that it didn’t travel as far as our 2nd floor room.
The room itself was tiny and oddly laid out, with a view of nothing special and a fantastically powerful shower which some Italian genius had designed to have no door. This meant that having a shower resulted in a mini Venice being created on the bathroom floor for the rest of the day. The room was cleaned (mopped out) daily, and the bed was turned down every night.
The hotel restaurant served breakfast from 7 till 10.30 (very sharp). Breakfast was only ok, not 4star. The usual fair for a continental breakfast no fry’s and loads of cold meat and yogurts...not together thankfully. Nothing seemed very fresh though and the selection of juices tasted like they were made up from cordials. Put off by this we decided against dinner in the hotel. (I was actually more put off by the €3 cover charge per person as well as a 12% service charge...)
This was a minor charge in comparison with the other hotel charges, which put bluntly, are unaffordable. To watch a movie costs €7. Room service costs €8....before you even eat anything. A cheese sandwich was €5. A pot of tea (or coffee) €7. It starts to read like one of those MasterCard ads. Unfortunately nothing in Venice was priceless...The best one was this. For me and my partner to use the jazucci for 30minutes costs €50....YEAH you read that right. AND to use the Sauna or steam room it’s the same. Because Venice is sinking, fat people are not tolerated and therefore the gym was free....
To sum up, It’s a well situated hotel, very modern, and most of the staff were friendly, especially Ugo at the reception and the cleaning staff. The food is ok, but it’s really the prices that leave a bad taste.