Domus Cavanis it's a normal place, nothing special but it's OK. It has everything you need: perfect location, cleanliness, good heating, hot water, nice breakfast, silence (if you don't have too noisy neighbours). But nothing more, for example you have to make the check-in and breakfast in an other hotel, near the place, in Domus Cavanis you can't find any member of the staff. A simple place to stay, but if you aren't too exigent, and you are a low-budget traveller, it's perfect, we liked it!

This is without doubt the worst hotel I have ever encountered. It quickly becomes evident in Venice that securing return customers is low on the list of priorities.

The 5 or 6 receptionists encountered at this hotel were nothing short of rude. They did their very best not to speak to me at all, and when pressed for information would either say, 'I don't know' or just make something up entirely to get rid or the pestering customer (like sending me on a wild goose chase looking for a non-existent laundromat).

The room was okay; and obviously your dollar gets you much less in Venice than I would say anywhere else I have ever visited.

The free breakfast was not worth fronting up for, and staffed again by extremely rude people.

If you want to spend about $200 American dollars (which is cheap in Venice.. so I now know) and don't mind a teeny-tiny bathroom/shower... the flattest pillows I have ever seen and no air conditioning, the location is terrific. I will admit that the only reason I booked here is because all the other reasonably priced (less than $300) per night hotels were full. The location is great, and the room was clean. I would have been much more tolerant of the whole situation if the air conditioning had worked. I even had them come check it - and because the fan was blowing - they insisted it was working, even though it was 85 degrees in the room.
The bed was soft enough, but the pillows were flat and old and the blanket was so itchy we had to throw it on the floor (not like we needed it anyway.)
Apparently the breakfast was included - but they did not tell us that, and I was so mad in the morning we left.

I would highly, highly recommend Domus Cavanis for anyone looking for budget yet comfortable accommodations in Venice. It is a 1-star 'pensione', but it's facilities and amenities might as well be 3-star. The lobby, breakfast (delicious and with unlimited espressos, yum!) and rest area are actually at another (3-star) hotel, the Belle Arti--which is 10 steps in front of Domus Cavanis. The rooms were impeccably clean, quite large, and quiet at night. Many had a view to a nice internal courtyard of some other building. The hotel itself is well-located in the Venetian area of Dorsoduro and is about a 30-second walk from the Accademia and Accademia Bridge, a 5-min walk from the Peggy Guggenheim, 10-min walk from St. Mark's and the Doge's Palace, and a 15-20 min walk from the Rialto bridge and the Jewish Ghetto. But hey, it's Venice, and part of the fun is walking through its back-alleys and narrow, winding streets! Do yourself a favor, stay away from the tourists jam-packing other areas of Venice, and come for a genuinely Venetian experience at the Domus Cavanis in Dorsoduro. In the afternoons you can see local students pouring out of their schools and universities, and you can see Italian grannies taking their grandchildren for a stroll.