We stayed here last year, for 5 nights, paying a total of EUR 850, or EUR 170 / night. When we reserved, we were aware that this was more than other reviewers had paid, but since we were very keen on a large, smoking room, we didn’t quibble much.
First the pros. Bareteri was always prompt with their communication & responses, via email. The housekeeping staff was continuously above average, which was a big relief. The Bareteri offers a fantastic map of Venice, with good directions. And most importantly, the Bareteri is excellently located.
Just a small tip... if you’re arriving by train & getting the ACTV Vap. from S. Lucia Station, you must remember to get off at the *first* Rialto dock. There are two & if you get off at the second, there will be a bridge to navigate with luggage. However, if you’re coming or leaving by the Alilaguna to/from the Airport, then your only choice is the second Rialto, since the Alilaguna only stops there. Inspite of this, there is only one bridge to get across in order to reach the Hotel. Once you see the Bata shop, you know you’re on the right track; it’s just down the road from there. The other tip is that if you want to get to St. Marks, you need to make a right when exiting the Hotel, walk a few steps towards the canal, cross a small bridge, walk down the Mercerie (shops, shops, shops), and come out under the Clock Tower. For Rialto, you make a left when leaving the Hotel, past the Bata shop and then onwards past more shops. As mentioned, this place is brilliantly located.
Now to the cons... a longer list. We were on level three. Level one is a private residence, level two is the reception, with three (i think) other rooms, then another flight up to our room. Our hearts just fell when we entered the room. It was the tiniest room we had ever seen, even by European standards. You want to steer clear of this room, located exactly above the Reception. There was just a terrible use of the already very small space. A huge desk, almost wall to wall, which when used meant that the second guest could not get across the room, except by rolling over the bed. A walk in cupboard! Really? In a space this small, what a waste! After we put our luggage down, there was only the smallest sliver of space left. This is inspite the fact that we had repeatedly requested a large room & we were willing to pay extra for it! Now I understand that aesthetic sense varies, but other than a pretty curtain, all else was also very tacky! There was an extra duvet / rug that resembled one you get on the highway motels near Delhi, cheap lace doilies, mismatched bedcovers, just not pleasing to the eye. And a blue bathroom, with shabby plastic mirrors... a fair size overall, but with the smallest little shower cubicle... so there no scope to drop your soap, since you’ll come up draped in the shower curtain. Plus, no effort has been made to keep a very small room brightly lit... minimal light making it even more dingy & depressing. There were no windows in our room, but a floor to ceiling doorway to a tiny, one-person, balcony type thing. AND we were attached to the Housekeeping cupboard / space, sharing the same outer door, so there was the noise factor, when the Housekeeping began work each morning. Ofcourse, there is no telephone / intercom to complain, so your only option is to climb up & down the flight of stairs for every little thing that doesn’t work or isn’t right. No elevator & no television!!! In all fairness, we knew this in advance, but were surprised to see that a Hotel that had surveillance cameras up everywhere (including one just outside our door), could not afford to have televisions in the rooms. There is no view to speak off, unless you want to peek into someone else's house, which unfortunately also meant that someone else could look straight into your room. Overall we were very unhappy with the room and felt extremely cheated, with what seemed like the very worst room in the place!
The staff was more or less pleasant, although our ardent request for a room change was flatly denied. We mostly met with Nicolai. Whilst helpful, he had a sort of nervous energy which made us a little awkward. We were helped with *some* of our luggage on the way up and all of it on the way down. We didn’t try the breakfast at the Hotel, so can’t comment there.
Overall, I would say that a room here is worth about EUR 100-120 / night, at best, even by Venice standards. There is just not enough facility provided to merit a higher cost. We would definitely not stay here again.