Villa Marina

Wonderful
Traveller Type: Business Traveler

Very Good
Traveller Type: Traveling as Couple
  : Second visit to the Lido for two Londoners: art historian/sun worshipper. Lido is ideal for that kind of twosome; like living in South London with Venice as the West End; bus and tube replaced by Lido bus and lagoon vaporetto. Getting around is super efficient/straightforward. Last year we stayed more central - closer to Santa Maria Elisabetta and did lots of Venezia Centro sightseeing. This year we opted for Malamocco: a quiet, colourful hamlet further south and more beach time. One day trip to Venice for the International Museum of Contemporary art and Fortuny Museum, both amazing! I went to San Giorgio Maggiore and Ca d'Oro alone. The A bus leaves SMN every ten minutes. The stop for Villa Marina is 'Malamocco Centro,' eleven stops/eleven minutes. Villa Marina is run by a mother and daughter. The mother - a former pupil when the villa was a school - speaks some English, but will defer to her daughter who is more fluent. The rooms are clean, light with a fresh marina feel. They were extremely helpful in terms of where to eat. They were both very friendly and generous. A continental breakfast (croissant, rolls, ham, cheese, boiled eggs, cereals, coffee, fruit, yoghurt, cakes, juice) and breakfast room were modest with a lovely view across the rooftops to the campanile and very close to the 'main' piazza, the sleepiest part of the locale. Very local and Italian in feel, but by no means forbidding. Check out was ten thirty. Our flight was an evening flight, but they allowed us the room as a day room for free, which meant that we were able to visit Alberoni Beach one last time, using the bikes for hire. The minibar was impressive. Many hotels just have bottles of water, but this was impressively stocked with soft and alcoholic drinks; no spirits. Somehow the room, Murano, on the second floor via a spiral staircase, Venice Film Festival Wall of fame was mosquito free. Use lots of repellent all day. The mosquitoes are no joke!
  : A more powerful air con would have been nice, but there was a sweet spot in the room and we were able to sleep fine.