Great location as easy to get to with our luggage from the public water transport. Our room was fresh and clean and had a balcony into an internal courtyard. From the hotel foyer it was a bit of a maze to get to our room, my husband joked about using his GPS to get to the room. The breakfast room was very small with low ceilings and was like a claustrophobic sauna on the hot days we were there. The staff were friendly.

Booked the rooms through Traveleurope for 130 euros a night. Found the hotel no problem after arriving late at night. Check in was speedy and efficient and the room was just what I expected - slightly tired but clean and tidy. The hotel is in a superb location and St Marks square is a matter of seconds away. The hotels location might, however, be it's downfall! You are so close to the square that as the previous reviewer said you get woken up on the hour every hour by the Bells! We were absolutely shattered after our trip - partly due to all the walking but mostly due to not being able to get a good nights sleep. In short if you are a heavy sleeper you could not choose a better value for money hotel, however, if you aren't think twice about this one. It's a real shame because it's nothing that some decent double glazing couldn't rectify.

I stayed at the Antico Panada for 3 nights from 3/12-3/15/08. while it close to St. Mark's, it is also very close enough to hear the bells toll each hour on the hour. They were loud enough to wake you up, if you weren't sound asleep and prevent you from falling asleep too. We were given a room on the 5th floor of an adjoining hotel undergoing renovation that the Panada connected to. The room was an attic room with eaves that sloped with beams directly above the twin connecting beds. My roomate (5'8" ) hit her head several times on those beams. Alex, the desk clerk told us that it was one of the best rooms that they had available. The only positive was the bathroom, because it had a jacuzzi built into the tub. The room was very stuffy and even in March ( 50-60 degrees outside) we had to open the windows because of the heat. I would not have liked to stay in the summer when it's much warmer. I think the heat from the roof disapated into the room. Finding our room took 2 elevators and a maze of corridors and steps. In fact the 1st time that we tried to get back to the lobby, we were totally lost and almost gave up until we found the bellman who didn't speak English. He had to call the front desk and hand me his cell phone, so that I could ask them how to get to the lobby. We weren't the only ones wandering the halls looking for a way out. We ran into a few other guests with the same problem. It took us 2 days to finally be able to find our way to our room without taking a wrong turn. If there was a fire, we probably wouldn't have been able to get out except for the window in our bathroom that lead directly onto a tiled roof. This hotel is definitely not handicapped accesible. The 2 elevators that we had to use are very tiny (3 people max limit) and doubt that you could fit a wheelchair in either one. While the breakfast was standard European fare with lunchmeat, cereal, yougurt and toast, the coffee and tea were excellent. The service was also quick. The hotel is close to a restaurant that preys on tourists with their price fix menu called Da Celio. The hotel recommended us to Da Celio, They serve the worst & most expensive food in Venice. It's right around the corner from the hotel and they keep the cards of the restaurant on the front desk. Avoid this one! I would not stay at the Panada again and could not really recommend it to fellow travelers.

If I didn't know better, I'd say I stayed at a different Antico Panada from previous reviewers, since the room at the hotel I stayed at was quite run-down: numerous wallpaper holes; stained walls and floor; masking tape from painting around the door; etc. The staff appeared to have long ago tired of offering hospitality to guests but, fortunately, were also too tired to be rude. There simply is no reason to stay at the Panada. There is no need to be a 45-second walk from Piazza San Marco. The hotel is in the tourist ghetto and 25 feet from McDonald's. Venice has so many charming places to stay. This just wasn't nice enough.