Rosa Salva Hotel (Formerly Hotel Astoria) Near St. Mark’s in Venice

If all you’ve got is a short time to visit Venice, you probably want your hotel to be as close to the main sights as possible. The problem with that idea is that in Venice that often means paying through the nose for a hotel room. The hotel at Calle Fiubera 951 is only a minute’s walk from St. Mark’s Square (provided the crowds don’t keep you standing still). When I stayed there it was the Hotel Astoria, a budget hotel so reasonably priced I wondered what the catch was. It has since been renovated and renamed the Rosa Salva Hotel (the same Rosa Salva name you’ll see on some of Venice’s best-known pastry shops), and it now offers economy, comfort and superior rooms, suites with views and a few apartments. Rates swing a lot with the season here, as they do everywhere near St. Mark’s, so check the low-season prices if your dates are flexible.

The Hotel Astoria I stayed in wasn’t fancy - there wasn’t an elevator, for instance, and the breakfast (which was included) was pretty minimal (cereal, juice, brewed coffee, some yogurt and pre-packaged croissants) - but budget travelers don’t expect fancy anyway. What I found was a clean and safe place to stay just a few minutes from the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark’s Square. The building itself has character, and the staff was helpful - they all spoke at least a little English.

The Hotel Astoria was my home during that trip to Venice, and I had a cozy room on the top floor of the secondary wing of the hotel (the main staircase leads up from reception, the stairwell to my room was on the other side of the adjacent breakfast room), which turned out to be the fifth floor. It was a cozy single room with an en suite bathroom, TV and telephone, and because it was on the top floor and the only room up there, it was incredibly quiet. For a hotel that’s so close to some of the main tourist thoroughfares, that’s saying something. And I mentioned that the hotel has character - the ceiling in my room even had exposed beams, which always makes a space feel homey to me, so I was happy.

L-R: My single room, my en suite bathroom

Back then the front door got locked at 01:00 every night, but there was a doorbell if you happened to get back later than that. Of course, because Venice is a city without a nightlife to speak of, you may not have any trouble getting back before the door gets locked! With only a couple dozen rooms, the hotel booked up quickly, and a small hotel this close to St. Mark’s still does, so if this is the place you want to stay, reserve a room early.

L-R: Hotel Astoria’s front door, breakfast room

Address: Calle Fiubera 951, San Marco
Website: rosasalvahotel.it
Location:

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