Venice's Hotel Cá Doge

We’ve been to Venice six times, and the perfect hotel if you’re arriving by car or departing on a cruise is Hotel Cá Doge (Piazzale Roma, Sest. Santa Croce 467/e, 30135 Venice, ITALY; phone +39 041 5286 975, fax 041 2410 865, www.cadoge.it).

Its location, Piazzale Roma, is where all vehicle traffic coming into Venice must stop. You can drive to the hotel’s front door, and the hotel is adjacent to all the parking ramps. You have the shortest-possible taxi ride to the cruise ship terminal, and you only have to walk 50 yards from the hotel to catch a taxi to the airport. Also, a walk of a very short block takes you to the Grand Canal, where all the vaporetti (water buses) have docks, for passage to San Marco or wherever.

The downside — if you want to be close to Piazza San Marco or have a romantic setting, this is not the place. It’s about the farthest point in the city from Piazza San Marco, which is what everyone would consider the “heart” of Venice. However, for those who enjoy walking, the distance to San Marco is very doable; additionally, one gets a look at some parts of Venice that short-term tourists probably never experience.

Depending on the season, Ca’ Doge’s four doubles cost €110-€220 ($170-$340) per night and the two Junior Suites, €140-€280 ($216-$432), with taxes and a good breakfast included. We stayed for two nights in mid-October ’07 and paid €200 ($308) per night for a Junior Suite, which was particularly spacious and nice. Parking cost €15 ($23) per night but was free for a stay of three days or more.

Despite the hotel’s being adjacent to the taxi and bus terminals, its soundproofing was excellent. The hotel staff was helpful and pleasant. Half a block away were newsstands with the latest papers.

For great convenience and real value for room size and quality, Ca’ Doge is hard to beat.

BILL BOHNHOFF

Santa Fe, NM