Hotel Colombina - Venice, Italy 

We loved Venice and our stay at the Hotel Columbina. We stayed in Room 401--on the rooftop. We had our own private balcony surrounded with flowers. We could sit and look out over the rooftops of Venice--truly amazing. We could also look down on the canal and were never short of gondilers singing as they went past the hotel. The service was excellent. We received great recommendations for lunch and dinner. The front desk arranged for a tour of Murano and also for our gondola ride. Everyone was very pleasant and most helpful with directions. The location of the Columbina was perfect...only minutes walk to St. Mark's Square and many, many shops! If you take a water taxi from the airport, make sure they drop you at the steps of the hotel. If you are not familiar with Venice, it could be quite a challenge to find the hotel.

Superb hotel. We stayed for three nights on honeymoon in a deluxe room facing the canal. In brief, staff were both polite and friendly, making us feel at home without any stuffiness. The entire hotel is clean and well ordered, decorated in a subdued but typical Venetian style (a mix of roccocco and modern which works!). The room was fairly spaciously and excellently decorated. Breakfast was good, location superb... nothing negative to say at all. Thank you all at Colombina! If (when!) we return to Venice this is the only place we'd stay after this positive experience!