The Veneza hadn't been our original choice in Aveiro, but having arrived there by car without a street map it was the first place we happened upon, so we decided to give it a try. Firstly, it has an underground private car park, for 5 euros a night (though manoeuvring into it from the fiendishly busy one-way street demands concentration and a steady nerve). It's worth it, though, to have such a secure parking spot.

The hotel building is a rather jolly yellow-coloured building, located a 10-minute or so walk from the town centre (or where we concluded the centre was). Our second floor room was spacious and comfortable, and had a small balcony as a bonus.

The pleasant and efficient young lady on reception was a model of helpfulness throughout our stay. The breakfast buffet was fine - in fact, I would be hard pressed to find anything to criticise about this hotel.

Aveiro itself is a fine little town, centred around a series of canals (though describing it as the 'Venice of Portugal' is pushing things a bit). The gondola-style boats and the brightly-painted buildings alongside one of the canals do give Aveiro a very cheerful atmosphere, though, and there are some cosy little restaurants to sample in the back streets.

The Hotel has changed hands and is now called the Veneza. I do not know if the staff stayed on, but the people we dealt with were very helpful and professional.

The room was clean, everything worked. What more could one ask? Oh yes! Breakfast (included) was very good indeed, including fresh, fresh bread and rolls, which is not always the case in Portugal.

We enjoyed our stay at Mercure very much! The room was very clean. The walk downtown was short and easy. There was a pastry place for breakfast and parking in front of the hotel. A gentleman who worked on staff was very helpful opening a bottle of wine and getting glasses for us so we could enjoy a night cap in the cute courtyard.

I stayed here for four nights, and was really impressed. The rooms are very spacious and sparkling clean - and the staff are very helpful. In fact they gave out better information than the tourist office about train and bus timetables, things to do in the area, etc. I don´t normally like chain hotels, but the Mercure was great. Couldn´t fault it.