Hotel Helvetia

Good value for the price

We liked the Hotel because it is slightly off the beaton track being on The Lido, but within a few minutes walk of the vaporetto stop making it very convenient. Getting to all of Venice and the airport was easy and we had the added convenience of a beach,internet cafe and good restaurants close by. Mostly occupied by Europeans and the service was very good. The front desk staff were extreemely helpful, all spoke English, and made all the necessary calls in Italian for us to book the special trips that we wanted to try. The rooms were clean, basic and quiet for the most part. For the last three nights I moved to a larger room to accommodate family joining me, and then we were right over the hotel entrance right on the street. This was more noisy, but not intolerable. The only two drawbacks were that we had to go outside of the hotel to use an international calling card to call home, but the public phone is just across the street from the hotel and very safe even at night, and the breakfast was a little monotonous after the nine days I was there. You can pay a little extra and they will give you the excellent coffee that is usual in Italy rather than the instant variety that comes with the free breakfast. This was my sixth visit to Venice, and based on previous experiences I thought that this was a good place to stay, no frills, but good value.

Nice accommodations, great location, poor food service

The hotel on Lido was in an extremely convenient location with nearby coffee shops, restaurants, and grocery stores. The front desk staff were very polite and helpful. The room was very clean and comfortable. The cleaning staff was very friendly and helpful though they did wake us up early with loud talking out in the hallways. The only downside was the breakfast. The coffee was terrible, the pastries plain and tasteless and the wait staff arrogant. We stayed 3 nights and the first morning at breakfast, the head waiter distributed yogurt to every table but ours. We thought perhaps it was just an oversight. The second morning, we went down the street for breakfast as we wanted decent coffee. The 3rd morning we had breakfast at the hotal again, as we were leaving early. Once again, the head waiter distributed yogurt to every table but ours, meaning it was not a coincidence any longer. Rather than complain, we just go up and left our table, checked out of the hotel, got coffee down the street and bought some food and cheese to eat on the train. I recommend everything about this hotel except the food service.

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

I highly recommend staying on Lido instead of Venice, as it was less crowded, a beautiful and quiet location, and much more relaxed. It also had plenty of nice restaurants, bars, etc. Take a bike ride around the island, it is lovely. Try the Jeroboam Bar, very friendly staff, for happy hour.