Hotel Villa Pannonia, Venice, Italy - Explore & Book
"The Lido isn’t the first thing that springs to mind when you think of Venice. An adjacent island to the beautiful city, its wide, quiet streets and long sandy beach seem more reminiscent of mainland Italy, but when the tourist rush of summer begins and Venice’s narrow streets are clogged with people, you’ll be glad of some breathing space. Hotel Villa Pannonia is just off the main drag on the island, a poppy-red building with good rates, making it a fantastic place to stay if you’re on a budget but want to get the best out of Venice. With modern art exhibitions in the lounge, restaurant and bar area, and chic, monochrome rooms, it’s not a symphony of excess like many of the palazzos in the city centre. And it has good-sized bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as an excellent breakfast spread. Hop on a vaporetto and cruise down the Grand Canal to the Rialto market; ramble the narrow streets and explore gilded churches and lavish art collections, then hop back on a boat to laze on the beach in the afternoon. And if you come in late August/early September, keep an eye out for movie stars as the Venice Film Festival is held here. Highs When we last revisited, the vaporetto took just 15 minutes from St Mark’s Square - such convenience makes it great value Good for families - no bridges to negotiate, no steep flights of steps and it’s close to the beach It’s very quiet and we had a great night’s sleep Helpful staff The boat connections are excellent and quick from here to the centre of Venice (15 mins), as well as the outlying islands in the lagoon Lows The location lacks the atmosphere and history of the city centre - given the choice, we'd stay in central Venice Slightly characterless and service is more professional than friendly The food options nearby are fairly limited so you’ll end up going back and forth to the centre by vaporetto (which is actually great fun) The Lido is fairly dead out of season, though in the summer it’s a great spot" - Laura Dixon
