Initially the hotel does not seem ideally placed- on the opposite side of the lagoon from the tourist haven which is St Marks, but rather wonderfully; (1) the hotel provides a free water shuttle service (takes about 5 minutes) straight to St Marks every 20-30 minutes until midnight (2) there is a water bus service about 20 meters from the front door to take to you other hotspots such as Murano. It was lovely to be in such a quite spot with such easy access to all the action. On the staff at the hotel- from the second you arrived until the moment you left the staff could not do enough for you- everyone was very friendly and helpful. We stayed in a suite with a garden view and it was lovely. The bed was comfortable, the bathroom was on the luxurious side and the room was very clean. Every time we popped out the room was obviously spruced up and new towels left. A nice touch was the little notes left on the bed by the turning down service. On the Spa- as it is a smaller hotel I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality and size of the spa. A trip (or two) to the spa is a must if staying at this hotel. We ate out every day so cannot comment too much on the food, however the one lunch we had at the hotel was very nice. One tip for smokers- you cannot buy cigarettes at night. At the hotel or in St Marks. Not all shops sell them and to use the vending machines you need an Italian health care card proving your age. Give up or stock up.

My wife and I stayed in the Bauer Palladio for our 29th Wedding Anniversary. We were upgraded to a room with a Lagoon view which was fantastic. The service and attention to detail could not be faulted and Simone the resident manager and his staff were extremely attentive and professional. We have stayed in Venice 5 times now and this is by far the best hotel we have stayed in,
The building is beautifully minimalistic but stylish with bare brick, and beautiful carpets and fabrics.The hotel operates a free and regular private shuttle water taxi to ferry guests over to the Bauer Palzzo, which is just off St. Mark's Square.
Breakfasts were very busy (especially at 9.30) but staying on the Guidecca was restful, with good food and local wines, yet just a few minutes away from the rest of beautiful Venice.

We are planning to go there for our 30th!

Situated a 5 minute water taxi ride from the centre of Venice; the hotel runs it's own free water taxi service between it and it's sister hotel very near St Marks Square which is brilliant. The hotel is sitauted on the island of Guidecca which is quiet; a nice oasis of calm after the hoards of 'Venice propper' Most of the rooms of the hotel are in an annexe which is a modern building (not in the nice old bit). Our room was ok; clean, but a little sparsely furnished. Breakfast and dinner was a disaster; totally disorganised; at breakfast they seemed to always run out of something (coffee, coffee cups, etc) and the choice was very limited. We only ate dinner at the hotel once and the service was abysmal (the food was quite good, though)
Overall, the hotel was ok; not sure we would stay there again, though.

We only stayed one night while preparing to embark on a cruise the following day, but I fell in love with this hotel and will be back. It is a beautiful little hotel, a converted convent, with an absolutely amazing garden. This place was beautiful, the entire hotel was well appointed, well staffed and well taken care of.

Pros:
Staff: the staff here are so helpful and so amazing!
Rooms: the rooms here are huge compared to many of the rooms in Venice. (And the rooms were very clean)

Cons:
the only con I could think of, and it may not be a con for every one, was the location. It is located on a separate island from the main part of Venice. They have a shuttle boat that runs every fifteen minutes to half an hour, but still if you intend to spend most of your time on the grand canal and/or St. Marks square this is a bit distant from that.