Mr & Mrs Smith

There's so much to like about I Qs. Arriving by water taxi and trotting down the ramp into reception, to be greeted by the lovely Anna. Meeting the charming owner who gave us her time and chose our room for us. Our beautiful room that looked out onto the canal so that we could watch the daily deliveries go by. Having a coffee machine in the room so we could make really great coffees whenever we fancied. Anna arriving each morning with a breakfast box, and setting our table and squeezing fresh orange juice for us, and making us our first coffees of the day. Anna booking great restaurants for us and recommending lovely bakeries and showing us exactly how to get to everywhere we wanted to go. The location of the hotel which managed to combine a sense of being right in the middle of things with a feeling of being where the real Venetians live. Being able to walk everywhere we wanted to go. Eating wonderful cicheti and drinking spritzes in the spring sunshine. It was the perfect weekend away.

Definitely explore the fish market. And, book a table at Alle Testier, a glorious fish restaurant where the owners are passionate about provenance, with only 10 tables and the most wonderful staff. And, drop in on bacaro All' Arco, a miniature bar serving the best cicheti and spritz around.

Perfect location two minutes from San Marco. Lovely setting and a great way to be independent with the same services as a hotel. The size of the suites is also a plus: my partner loves short nights, I love lazy mornings; we could both enjoy our preferences without tiptoeing in a typical hotel room! We'll be back.

The kitchenette isn't truly functional and an additional light in the bathroom would allow guests to shave or put make-up on. Darkness is romantic but not when one is barely able to see his or her own face… Unfortunately there is no laundry service; I thought I read they had one? And the breakfast is not at the level of the place. But in Italy, despite the delicious food, breakfast never was a gourmet moment…

Rossopomodoro at the corner of Calle dell' Angelo Cannareglio and Calle Largo San Marco: it's a two-minute walk, the place is packed with Italian, prices are very reasonable, everything is good and the pizzas (a millimetre thick) are the best I have ever tasted, even in New York… and I don't like pizza! And the restaurant of the Cafe Quadri on Piazza San Marco (firsst floor) is worth its Michelin star, even if quite expensive.

This hotel was in a quiet spot – surprisingly for Venice – and was notable for its small size and discretion. They even waited for three years to approve a sign for the outside (but we think it’s fine as it is!). Anna was more than helpful with restaurants. I can’t praise her professionalism or the hotel enough.

My husband treated me to a spectacular weekend in Venice for my 40th birthday where we stayed at the fabulous I Qs hotel. It's true that it is possibly the most hidden hotel in the city and would have been difficult to find had we not booked the private water taxi from the airport, as suggested by the wonderful Anna – the receptionist at I Qs. All very James Bond and SO the way to arrive in style. We continued to use Anna's recommendations throughout our stay and she got us into great restaurants and suggested super places to visit. Our suite at I Qs was really special, though the bathroom was bit small and I would have loved a full-length mirror, but that paled into insignificance when we relaxed in our lounge with a glass of prosecco listening to the gondolas go past our window. We would both stay again and are already talking about when we can go back. We finished off the holiday in style with a return private water taxi to the airport. Not enough superlatives to say how much we enjoyed Venice, the people and all our treats.

We found the Venice Jazz Club which was wonderful as it had a Miles Davis evening on the weekend we were there.
Can also highly recommend grabbing the free shuttle boat out to the Hotel Cipriani (+39 041 520 7744 ) for some lunch. All the stars stay there and we had a lovely – if pricey – meal. You can then get back on the hotel's private boat which drops you by Harry's Bar (+39 041 528 5777), so you can grab a Bellini.