Im lucky to have been to venice a few times and my second stay was in the torre d' orlogio which is a very posh hotel! The room was fantastic, huge and beautifully furnished. Again location is excellent literally round the back of san marco square.Im sure its a five star hotel thinking back as it was a couple of years ago i stayed there.....everything you would expect from a five star and the price will reflect that i remeber it was very expensive!! Much better value was the san marco palace even closer to san marks square if you can believe it you litterally walk out of the hotel and your there. That was an important consideration as on my last trip i took my mother who was worried about the amount of walking she would have to do so a central location was important and after all the research i did this was the most reasonably priced hotel at the nearest to san marco and proved great value for money. Not as swish and contempory as the first hotel but still nice rooms furnished well with great breakfasts. i also found it strange to have a kitchette but no pots or pans?? Some venice tips.... yes we did a gondala in the afternoon that time 80 euros but do ask first. We paid 100 the first time we went but that was at night. To the left of the basillica is a small concert hall you will see flyers everywhere for vivaldis four seasons which is lovely but even better was the second evening of songs from different operas which was absolutley magical and one of the highlights. Make sure you go to the top of the campinile the veiws are spectacular. I'd also reccomend going to burrano rather than murano all you will see on murano is the same glass wear your sick of looking at in venice by day four!! whereas burrano is so pretty as everyhouse is painted a different colour well worth a day trip There are some great resturants up by the opera house behind san marco expesive but beautiful food however If you go down the side of the clock tower and take the first right you should emmidiatley come to an italian resturant that does the best spagetti and meat balls in the whole of venice. And if your feeling extravagant order a glass of champange or two at the bar inside florians and drink it there while your served with canopies and that will be cheaper than ordering tea or coffee and sitting outside!! enjoy venice

Had a three stay @ the San Marco Suite located behind San Marco Square-- The suite consisted of Master bedroom, Living-dinning room-kitchenete and second bedroom- mini balcony @ Master bedroom- bathroom - with antique decorations all very well kept and clean- rooms have side-canal view- The only problem we encoutered was a bellman-concierge who is very rude and has no social skills- he tossed the room key onto my hand and walked away upon our arrival -Did not even gave us direction to get to our Suite- If you don't mind this type of incident the hotel is centrally located near best attractions in Venice-

The hotel is down the alley in between the famous side by side cafes on San Marco Square- an unbelieveable location at haf the price of the deluxe hotels nearby. Yes, the staff seemed rude- until you listened closely & realized they were not Italian, they were Croation & didn't speak very good Italian and only some English. The genteman & lady at the front desk were polished, with lots of smiles and bows. We did opt for the "free" Murano glass factory tour, although it was guided, he did not get too pushy to buy. I agree the "continetal breakfast" consisited of pastries and such that you would find at a gas station in the USA, but with so many cafes nearby spend the extra 5 bucks and sit at a cafe and enjoy what Venice is known for. our room was comfortable & clean- we were lucky enough to have a veranda that was a great spot for a night cap & a cigar. One more note about the hotels location- I have started running recently and went for an early- 6AM- run one week day morning. It was arguably one of the best memories I have of all the trips I've taken to Italy- the delivery men and I had the city to ourselves, it was almost sureal- there weren't even any pigeons in the Piazza!! All in all I would stay here again- for the price you can't beat the location- and its a 5 minute walk from the Vaporetto (public water taxi) station