Mr & Mrs Smith

There couldn’t be a better place to stay in Venice than this one; and the contrast between arriving with a water taxi at the front entrance on the Canal Grande and leaving the hotel through the back door to explore the really tiny passages and streets couldn’t be more striking. Get a day ticket for the vaporetto and start your little cruise from San Toma station just around the corner. Line No 2 will take you up the whole Canal Grande to the railway station and then around the western half of Venice, before arriving at San Marco. Get off at San Giorgio, an island just opposite San Marco, to have a postcard view of Venice, and then take the next boat across the water to San Marco. A real gem in the Dorsoduro area, is the little bar Cantinone Gia Schiavi, in Dorsoduro 992, Fondamenta Nani. A few cicchetti and a glass of wine at the bar, surrounded by wine bottles on the shelves, will make a perfect afternoon break. Strolling through the Santa Croce area, we found Osteria La Zucca, in Santa Croce 1762, a really nice place for lunch or dinner and located just around a few corners from the hotel. In the San Polo quarter you will find Muro Frari, near the Frari church, a busy, but friendly modern restaurant pizzeria.

We arrived at the hotel by private water taxi. To be frank, it's the only way unless you know your way around; the hotel is quite awkward to get to from the vaporetto stop, particularly if you've just arrived and haven't yet become orientated. The taxi goes at quite a speed in the open sea, and I felt positively sick. The fast bit is only for ten minutes, but it felt like ten hours. It settles though once it gets into the canal. As did my stomach - eventually. Beautiful hotel, dark and sultry. However, make sure you see the breakfast menu. We didn't see one until the last day so were eating pastries, fruit, meats, and cheeses, only to realise that there were cereals, yogurts, and eggs, on offer too. That makes us sound piggy, which is entirely true. We had the classic room, which was perfectly lovely, but don't expect to be able to see your make up. If you're looking for Venetian glass, then trips to Murano is a must, and go to Neropaco on the main drag of Fond. dei Vetrai, which is a small shop, but much more reasonable than most, with some beautiful things. Leave room in your suitcase, as well as some weight allowance. The hotel staff are charming and helpful, and will book anything for you. We will definitely go back, but next time the arrival will be by vaporetto.

Fantastic location and helpful staff.

Just wanted to say a few words about the staff, firstly I managed to lose my passport in the room and not discover it till Milan. Not only did the staff go out of their way to find it, but they also had it couriered over night so that I could fly the following day. This was just one example of their willingness to help. We found them at all times to be courteous, helpful and happy. The hotel itself was also exceptional and very much tailored to a couples’ getaway. The whole hotel is adorned with black velvet with purple trim, and very sexy and intimate, not really one for the kids. As long as you realise this you'll love it. It's positioned on the grand canal, its very convenient and the views are amazing.

Great location in the San Polo district, 10 mins to either the Accademia Bridge or Rialto Bridge and less frantically touristy than the San Marco district. We found a great contemporary little restaurant called Rosa Rossa away from St Marks Square which was very reasonably priced (a bottle of very good quality prosecco was 18 euros) and had great service. We also stumbled across some live music in a restaurant, a very talented singer called Ty LeBlanc – the entire restaurant was on their feet dancing, so we went in for dolci and an aperol spritz – my new favourite cocktail.

As our stay was during Carnival time, we recommend that you walk to and have a cocktail at the Hotel Danieli. Many of the guests at the hotel were attending Carnival parties and this gave us the opportunity to see some authentic and beautiful Carnival costumes. As this hotel is in the heart of San Marco, a key area for Carnival events, we really felt that as we walked to the hotel we had experienced the Carnival atmosphere.

A perfect stay – we highly recommend two restaurants. A higher price-range option is Da Fiore in San Polo, a seven-minute walk away – the absolutely beautiful fish dishes are a taste sensation. A more reasonably priced, typical Venetian restaurant is San Tomo, literally just around the corner – very helpful staff and tasty food, especially the Venetian linguine and cuttlefish.

We had a wonderful stay. Great room and views and the staff were wonderful. We just loved everything about Venice and the hotel.

La Bitta is a small 'no fish' restaurant near the Campo San Barnaba. Everything was delicious, service was good, and the staff were very nice. This is a small place though and you will need to book.

The Palazzo Barbarigo is a nice boutique hotel. The furnishings and finish of the rooms are great and the staff are very helpful. However, the moody lighting can be a bit of a challenge if you are female and wear make-up, as even the bathroom lights are very subtle. Would suggest taking a travel mirror with a built in light. Other things to take would be an Ipod and dock as there are no music channels/CD player or Ipod docks in the room – it would have been nice when chilling out in the room to have some background music.

There are two fantastic family run restaurants just around the corner from the Palazzo Barbarigo, they both do excellent fish dishes and are always full of locals (which is always a good sign) One is: Osteria Al Ponte "La Patatina", San Polo, 2741/A, Venezia Tel. 041 523 7238 the other is: Trattoria da Ignazio, S. Polo 2749 - 30125 Venezia, Tel. 041 523 4852.

Finding the hotel:
If you don't want to arrive by water taxi (v expensive) then you need to go in the back door by foot but it's not signposted and extremely hard to find! Get the vaporetto to the stop 'San Toma' then you need to follow the numbers on the wall down the alleyways until you get to 2765, the number of the hotel (ignore the street name, it's not relevant). The alleyway that the back door is on has a neon pink heart graffiti'd on the end. You'd never believe that a gorgeous boutique hotel was at the end of it!
When you eventually get there, the hotel is in the perfect location and is absolutely lovely.

I planned a surprised weekend in Venice to propose to my girlfriend, and booked the top suite (room 10) at Palazzo Barbarigo. It was the perfect boutique hotel, and the staff were incredible, helping me arrange roses, champagne, chocolates, and flowers to make the room extra special. I also arranged a wine tour with Sara at www.venicevenetogourmet.com, and would highly recommend both the tour and Sara's help. We spent the day touring Venice and stopping at wine bars for tastings. It was the perfect trip.

As the Palazzo Barbarigo has no restaurant we wanted to venture out for a romantic honeymoon meal. The restaurant at Hotel Metropole (+39 041 520 5044) was first class, with a well deserved Michelin star rating. The decor is pure old world antique with a contemporary feel and a surprise five-course menu to die for. Make your evening even more special and arrive by water taxi at the private jetty, to be greeted in style.

This hotel is already set in the less tourist-infested part of San Polo. We wandered around one evening and came across Impronta Café (041 27 50 386) at 3815 Dorsoduro. It's far more modern and crisp than a lot of the more traditional restaurants in the area. The food is good and the welcome extremely friendly...and it's also a great place for people-watching as the locals regularly pop in for drinks at the bar. Head there from the hotel towards the Accademia Vaporetta station.