I chose Hotel Al Piave because of the excellent location and the overall phenomenal reviews. It seems like the overwhelming majority of patrons have had an excellent experience here. However, I have to share my encounter with what will now be referred to as THE ROOM.
When I arrived at Al Piave, I was immediately told "You are aware that THE ROOM is non-refundable, yes?" Ominous.... Yes, I was aware; that was made clear when I booked it through Hotels.com. I was taken to THE ROOM via a tiny elevator that required the passenger to hold the button for the entire duration of the trip. As we rode, the concierge assured me that THE ROOM has a private bathroom. Very ominous.... What was made clear shortly after disembarking the elevator was that THE ROOM indeed had a private bathroom, however it was across the hall. THE ROOM itself consisted of a bed, a desk, a very small wardrobe, a very very small dresser and a night table with a lamp sans lampshade. All this was within a space approximately 6' by 7'. Conspicuously absent from THE ROOM was a mini-bar. This is not usually a problem, but in a city like venice where your options for purchasing beverages outside a bar or restaurant after a certain hour become extremely limited, it makes everything a little bit more difficult.
Now it's important to understand why THE ROOM was so frustrating and earned a 2/5 star rating for Al Piave. First and foremost, I was not aware that I would be staying in THE ROOM. I was given the impression that all the rooms in Al Piave have their own bathroom AND mini bar. Which is apparently true, except for THE ROOM. I paid 92 EU a night for THE ROOM. Obviously, Venice is an expensive city but I was more than willing to pay for excellent accommodations. If I wanted to stay in hostel-like conditions, I would have and would have certainly paid significantly less than 92 EU a night. I know, I looked.
Some other points worth mentioning; it was unseasonable warm during my stay in March and I generally prefer to be cool than warm. That was not an option in THE ROOM. I was not provided a controller for the air conditioner nor a means to turn down the radiator, which seemed determined to broil me in the night. My only recourse was to open the windows, And, unseasonably warm weather plus unavoidably being immediately adjacent to multiple bodies of water at all time equals MOSQUITOS. A significant part of my blood volume is now sustaining the young insect population of Venice
So, staying at the Al Piave may be an excellent experience for you, as it has for many other reviewers. However, be warned; you may inadvertantly be booked into THE ROOM.
As a postscript, it was not I who dubbed THE ROOM THE ROOM. On my last night at Al Piave, I had been walking for hours and it was after 11:00PM. I had learned early in my trip that finding a beverage outside of a bar or restaurant after sun down was virtually impossible, and the majority of bars are closed at 11:00PM anyway. I asked the concierge if it was possible to have a bottle of water before I went to bed. The concierge addressed me as if I had recently suffered a head injury: "You have water. It is in your mini bar." I told him that I do not have a mini bar. Again, as one would engage the recently concussed, he insisted "The water is in the mini bar, the mini bar is in your room" Finally I broke the news to him; "I'm in the room with the indoor outhouse." Realization came across his face; "Ohh, you are in THE ROOM."
He then grudgingly provided me a bottle of warm water. read more