The hotel is a little old and small but if you want the Burj Dubai you're in the wrong place. Oodles of character and charm and the most perfect location. We had two rooms on the first floor looking straight onto the canal and the Rialto Bridge. When you go anywhere in Venice there are always signs pointing to St Marco and Rialto. Stay here and never get lost. We would ramble for hours in the knowledge we could just follow the signs home.

We booked this hotel as we couldn't get into the Vivaldi (which is absolutely wonderful). Having paid a fair wack for a junior suite with a canal view we couldn't have been more disappointed. To be fair we did have a view of the grand canal and Rialto bridge but the window was so narrow you had to lean out quite precariously to get a good look.

As it is the winter season, the bar and restaurant are closed. Although the reception staff assured us we could get beverages from room service, no one answered the phone on the occasions we rang. We had to actually leave the hotel and find a cafe to have a cup of tea. I really think you ought to be able to get a hot drink in a four star hotel.

The room, as others have said, was nothing like that which was portrayed in the brochure. It was dingy, damp, not particularly clean and could have done with a good makeover. I am not sure what has gone on in the wardrobe but our clothes developed a very strange smell after being in there!

The piece de resistance was the queen size bed - err midget queen!! which was actually two single beds pushed together with a wooden ridge between the two. It was the most uncomfortable, unromantic offering you can imagine which gave us both the three most uncomfortable nights sleep ever.

We did try and raise our concerns about the quality of the room with the reception staff but they were completely uninterested and did nothing to appease or rectify the situation.

Luckily Venice is such a wonderful place of such beauty that you can't help but have a fabulous time other wise the hotel would have ruined our trip.

I wouldn't recommend this hotel to anyone, yes the location is handy but there are a million others which must be better than this.

Whilst the room I stayed in was fine, and the bathroom in line with general standards in Venice, it was nothing particularly special, and nor was my parents' room either, which was quite outdated. That said, friends we were travelling with were upgraded to a room with windows opening onto the canal, and that room was wonderful.

I loved the hotel balcony where you could sit and enjoy a Bellini without actually being down on the canal in amongst the hustle and bustle. I did get a bit cranky with the pigeons waking me up every morning on my window sill, but that's hardly the fault of the hotel, and probably made more annoying by the fact I had just arrived from Australia (where I left immediately after the working week) and was jet lagged.

Definitely paying for the location here, which, in my book, was worth it. I enjoyed other hotels I paid similar prices for across other countries in Europe on this trip, and they had better rooms, but also didn't have the location.

I booked a room for 2 nights at this hotel. It was a non refundable internet rate of $120.00 euro per night. It was a Christmas present to myself. The photo that I was shown on the internet upon booking was nothing like the room I was given. In fact the photos are misleading. When I checked in, the man that took my bag up to my room looked like he hated his job. When he opened the door to my room, my heart sank. I had booked a Classic double room with Rialto bridge view. I got the view from a small window and I was taller than the window...if I sat down in a chair I could see the bridge. I did get a fantastic picture when I leaned out the window...but, you can also get fantastic pictures of the bridge by standing in front of the hotel or riding the water bus. I thought maybe there was a mistake. So I went back down to the front desk to ask them about the room. I was polite with my enquiry but, the man assisting me was very rude and condescending, in fact, I have another word to describe him. He said, "Well WHAT were you expecting for a standard room?!!!" "Tell me!" Come on Hotel Rialto you don't talk to your guests like that. I have been to Europe and stayed in many different types of accommodation so I am not naive. They got someone to show me another room and the man showing the room was just as bad as the man that carried my bag to my room. I decided to stay in the room that I had. My room was really far up in some corner...room 306.

On my last night, I decided to put the card out on the door for room service for the next morning. I had put it out before the cut off time (in fact early), but no one had bothered to come by. Upon checkout I clunked my baggage down the stairs and the man who had initially helped me upon check in saw me and kept walking. I felt like I was in the Munsters House...what a joke! I had just stayed at the Hotel Pesaro Palace for 3 nights and that is a 4 star hotel. I got an internet deal and paid only $10 euro more per night with an amazing view of the Grand Canal. I would have stayed there but they were sold out after my 3 night booking. I think in my haste to book, I must have forgotten to read the feedback about the Rialto. If you are planning to book here for a special occasion..think of this as a 2-3 star European hotel and what you might expect. Also, anyone who has problems walking...there are a lot of stairs... I expect this with European hotels but some might not know this and the staff do not go out of their way to help you.

I managed to get out and enjoy the last 2 days of my stay in Venice but the way I was treated at this hotel was still seared in my mind and I will never book here again.