Venice - Italy - page 282

€€

On Campo San Geremia, just 270m (900 ft.) from the station, is the good-
value Hotel San Geremia

(Campo San Geremia, Cannaregio 290/A; % 041-
716245 or toll-free 800-391992; www.sangeremiahotel.com), one of the most
pleasant budget hotels in town. I was once drawn here by the cool music playing
in the small lobby, and then shown upstairs by a welcoming manager; guest rooms
are charmingly bright and cheerful, and those on the top floors have terraces. If
you get one overlooking the square, you'll have views of the church, and can keep
track of one of the artists busily sketching or painting it. Rooms with private bath-
room cost between

5

115 during the high season, or you can shave off
€ 30 by opting for a room with shared bathroom facilities. Either way, the San
Geremia is a sound deal.
Hotels in the Heart of Cannaregio
€ - €€ Two people who have made me feel right at home in Venice are Maria
Teresa and Leonardo Pepoli, a marvelously outgoing couple who have owned and
run Hotel Bernardi-Semenzato

€

95 and

€

555

(Calle dell'Oca, Cannaregio 4363-4366;
% 041-5222424; www.hotelbernardi.com) for the last quarter of a century. The
good value offered here is combined with a relaxed, friendly atmosphere, gener-
ated by people intent on going out of their way to make guests happy. Also
impressive (especially for a budget hotel) is the endless array of genuine antiques
and artwork scattered throughout the main hotel and—even more so—its nearby
annex, where rooms are generally much larger and more attractive, and feature
newer amenities. Maria Teresa (who reminds me of Giulietta Masina, the beauti-
ful star of films by Federico Fellini, her husband) is a seasoned purveyor of
antiques and shamelessly worships art and places of architectural beauty; her
enthusiasm for Venice is intoxicating, and has left its mark on the design of the
rooms, all of which have something special to offer. Ask her to point you toward
a restaurant or special church, and she'll put you on to a good thing. I recently
stayed in a huge room in the annex (which will soon become a hotel in its own
right) with splendid views over the neighborhood. The Pepolis offer the best lodg-
ing deal in Cannaregio (and one of the best in the city); you'll pay on average
between € 75 and € 100 for a room, with off-season specials starting as low as € 28
per person. The cheapest rooms have shared bathroom facilities (from

€

50 dou-

ble), and there are units for up to four people sharing.

€€ - €€€€

During quieter periods, you can get a double room at the crimson-
colored Hotel Tre Archi (Fondamenta di Cannaregio, Cannaregio 923; % 041-
5244356; www.hoteltrearchi.com) for as little as

55 (at other times that amount
can triple). Like Ca' Dogaressa (see below), the styling here is Venetian “antique,”
but this is a larger hotel, with a less intimate atmosphere and more public space,
including a small courtyard garden where you can enjoy breakfast in summer.

€

5
(Campo del Ghetto Nuovo, Cannaregio 2892/2893; % 041-2759292; www.venezia
hotels.com) may not look like much from the outside, but it has pleasant accom-
modations in a 15th-century building that is also a former synagogue. Guest
rooms are all on the first floor and feature parquet floors, modern and antique fur-
nishings, and neutral-toned fabrics; two of the rooms have small terraces from

€€ - €€€€

Situated on the edge of Ghetto Nuovo, Locanda del Ghetto