I chose to travel to Venice in October and stay at the Excelsior with friend who also likes to splurge every now and than. It was just as quiet and wonderful like expected: after the deck chairs are removed and the noisy bars closed down along the beaches ot the Lido, the walk along the empty beaches in the soft autumn sun was just wonderful.

The hotel interior has seen better days in terms of interior styling: a somewhat carelessly furnished lobby and hall is not the grand welcome one expects at such a place. But the sweeping view of the sea is there to make up for the disappointment. The rooms are really spacious and well equipped. Mine had a terrace with a marvellous view of the sea; my friend was disappointed with her "Venice view" which was almost not visible (it's too far away). Breakfast both from the buffet in the hall and served in the room (to be enjoyed on the terrace) was excellent.

Venice itself was accessible quite easily. But one has to mind that the boat service provided by the Excelsior leaves only once per hour and the boat ride will take approx. 20 minutes. A nice thing to do while waiting for the missed boat in Venice... is to hang out in the Danieli lobby and bar - it's just accross the private jetty of the Excelsior and a perfectly nice place to enjoy a drink and snack.

WLAN (at extra cost) was difficult to master for the iPhone 4. As for the airport transportation: we wouldn't book it via the hotel anymore. A person with a name tag will wait for you at the exit of the airport and accompany you to an ordinary water taxi at the extra charge of EUR 70,00.

Past its prime, but definitely worth it if you are able to book a deal on your room. Having access to the beach and the pool was worth the shuttle ride into Venice. We stayed here for our honeymoon and were not disappointed by the staff and their exceptional service.

The hotel is located in Venice Lido, on the plus side it has a nice beach access, but on another hand it is a 15 minute boat ride away from the city (there are hotel boats every 30 minutes that will take you to the city center). There are a couple of restaurants near the hotel, but in general not much to do.

Hotel looks impressive and beautiful from both the outside and the inside. Rooms are reasonable size and clean, but could use updating.

Service was sufficient for our needs.

Poor view for expense of room. On honeymoon and ask for a view only to be offered a room with twin beds.