We stayed at the Vecellio recently for three nights and enjoyed our time in Venice. We had booked a New Year getaway at the last minute when all the central hotels were charging the earth for a room. We were very pleasantly surprised by the prices on offer from the Vecellio for this popular, busy time of year and decided to book as the location, right next to the Alilaguna stop at Fondamente Nove, was also perfect for us - no lugging suitcases over bridges! We like to stay in this Cannaregio area as it provides shelter from the crowds in the more touristy areas while at the same time only being a short walk from these places.

The owner gave us a warm welcome without being overbearing, which was nice after an early start and long journey. He showed us to our room on the ground floor with a great view of the lagoon and San Michele. Unlike a few other reviewers have mentioned, we were not disturbed by the noise from the boats outside but we did visit in winter so had the windows shut most of the time. If you are a light sleeper though, I would suggest requesting a room on one of the upper floors as we could hear a lot of heavy footsteps coming from the room above ours, and also when people were using the main staircase which was next to our door.

The room and bathroom were fairly small in size, as you would expect from a converted Venetian house, but manageable and had a lot of nice traditional Venitian features - the headboard, mirror, light fittings and soft furnishings. We found our room to be clean and the maid did an excellent job of sprucing it up each day for us.

There were a few small issues that we had with the room but nothing we felt we needed to complain about due to the price we had paid, the short nature of our visit and the central location of the hotel. The TV in the room was small and very high up above the bed so hard to see. The volume also didn't work but we weren't in Venice to watch TV in our hotel room, we were there to absorb and enjoy the atmosphere of the city. If you do want to have the option of watching TV in your hotel room, please note that this hotel only has Italian channels.

The wardrobe door in our room was coming away at the hinges which meant that it kept swinging open. The owner mentioned that he would fix it for us on arrival but didn't manage to during our stay so we wedged it shut with one of our suitcases. Also, one of the lights at the side of the bed wasn't working as the bulb needed changing, we only had one pillow each and no spares in the wardrobe, and the minibar was empty. The owner was so helpful I'm sure he would have helped us with these things but as I said, these are trivial problems and it was such a short stay on a budget spending so little time in the room, we didn't feel the need to kick up a fuss.

The only other issue we had was that the maid left our window open while we were out one day - a bit worrying as we were on the ground floor. Luckily we popped back mid-afternoon for warmer clothing so were able to shut it before the room got too cold and we had most of our valuables with us while we were out and about. Do make sure if you are leaving anything valuable in the room when you go out to make use of the safe - I believe it is free of charge despite a 10E label on the door. Just ask at the desk.

There are a couple of fun places very nearby: Algiubagio the restaurant is really excellent. We shared a large starter, had two mains, shared a dessert, a bottle of prosecco and two limoncellos for 110€. Considering the quality of the food, surroundings and service we considered this to be very reasonable for a holiday treat. There is also a friendly little pub called the Tartuga a little further up from Algiubagio that will serve you a lovely pre-dinner Spritz for just 3€.

We were able to store our cases at the hotel after check out which was very helpful. The only other things maybe worth mentioning are that you must leave you key at reception whenever you go out, collecting it again on your return, and you will also see signs in the hotel reception and your room about tourist tax which you pay on checkout. What the signs don't tell you is how much this is. If you are a keen budgeter, the current cost for the Vecellio is 3€ per person per night for the first five nights of your stay. There is no charge after that. I imagine these rates are subject to change and I think you are able to try and claim it back when you get home but we were happy to pay a bit towards to maintenance and development of the city at that price. It didn't break the bank.

All in all a good option if you want to be close to Rialto, San Marco, the Arsenale, Murano etc. and are on a budget. You will receive a friendly welcome and enjoy a suitable place to rest your weary head after all the walking about and enjoyment of the wonderful Italian hospitality!