Hotel Mercurio Venice — Hotel in Venice

RUN, don't walk!!!! We specifically booked this hotel based on the fact that their website stated that their rooms were air conditioned...and I quote from their website " Room amenities include private bathroom, with shower and hairdryer, SAT TV, free Wi-Fi, safe, direct phone line and air conditioning." Upon arriving in mid October we woke in the middle of the night sweating, ( my 8 month old and 3 year old were soaking wet from sweat). My husband went out at 2AM to complain that we could not get our air conditioning working and he was informed the air was " turned off for the season and to open the windows." This would be like stating that your room has a private bathroom and arriving to be told that you only had a communal bathroom. My husband opened the windows ( it was much cooler outside then inside), and came back to bed. We woke up constantly after that feeling like things were biting us all night. We awoke to my 3 year old's face covered in 15 mosquito bities ( YAY, looks like he has chickenpox in our vacation photos!!) and my arms and chest were covered in 25 extremely itchy mosquito bites. We spent the next hour jumping up and down in the room killing the hordes of mosquitoes flying all over the room, on the walls and ceilings. Don't even get me started on HOW bad the wi-fi connection was, not sure how you can even say you have wi-fi, how slow the hairdryer was- I didn't wash my hair while here because it would of taken an extreme amount of time to dry it and how FLAT and pathetic the pillows were ( they only provided two even though we had 3 people sleeping in the bed). Mind you, when we stayed here the rate was 180 Euros per night, its not exactly like we were staying at a super inexpensive hotel.

The next morning I went to the front desk to ask to speak to a manager and was greeted by a very impertinent front desk lady who responded that " I could speak to her instead." I asked her if she was the manager and she said, " I am as good as the manager". It was extremely rude, and as I began to explain the situation about how their website states they have air conditioning in their rooms and she became very argumentative and dismissive. She told me that " I couldn't understand because I wasn't from Venice and that its the law!" NOBODY that stays at your hotel is from Venice and nobody iss going to understand that you flat out lie on your website about having air conditioning. I understand you may have a season where you turn it off, BUT put that in your wording on your website that you ONLY have air from May-Sept. It is wrong, deceptive and a lie if you do not have air year around to state on your website that you have "air conditioned rooms". Our room was AT least 87 degrees. We had two children with us and could not come back to our room for naps because it was so unpleasant to be there. It has been a few weeks since our stay and I see that even after speaking with the manager finally, that your wording has STILL not been changed. This is totally unacceptable. Also, to be told to open our windows when there is no screens and you know that Venice has a major mosquitoes issue, is not acceptable either. Mosquitoes carry deadly diseases. I understand this is a historic city with codes, but get with the 21st century and figure out a way to either provide air to your visitors or have some kind of contraptions to keep the mosquitoes out. This tainted our Venice experience greatly and for a city that mostly runs on tourism, it should be a great concern of yours. Also, note that we asked if the hotels that cost 1,000 euros a night had air in their rooms, they said yes. It is a some kind of government thing they sign up for. Not exactly sure the details, I'm am sure they get a kick back...but at the cost of their...

Short review: 5 stars for the service of the staff 5 star location - 3 min walk from St. Marco sqr. 4 stars for the room.

Long review: The Service: Very nice and friendly staff, they accommodated everything we asked for and even more!

Breakfast is extra and cost 15eur pp. You can grab coffee and pastries outside on the streets for less, but if you enjoy a buffet breakfast - this is a nice option to consider.

Also, when you Checkout you can leave your bags at the front desk - there is always someone there (24/7)!

The location: As mentioned, it's in a very central location. If you walk there from the train station it's around 35 min.

You can also take a taxi boat which is faster but more expensive.

The room Ours (number 61, 4th floor, no elevator but the staff can help with luggage) had a double bed, 2 small armchairs, a closet with hangers and a safe, two night stands, a hidden mini-fridge and a big body mirror.

Also the nightly rate for the room (during April) was affordable compared to other places around this location (220 EUR for 2 nights, 2 people, without breakfast).

What we didn't like in the room: Small TV No shelf for toiletries in the bathroom Noise - we could hear other guests walking or Talking in the hallway and doors slamming Also if you open the windows it might be a bit noisy from the street below. So BRING EARPLUGS!

Despite the disadvantages of the room, the location and service made our experience really great, hence the overall 5 star rating.

A general tip for anyone visiting Venice (not just this hotel): travel light.

It's not ideal dragging around big suitcases and luggage - so try to manage with only trolley bags (especially if you walk around...

I can’t attest to rooms or location since we never experienced it- I can attest to their terrible website for booking (the hotels itself) which the reps said they have had complaints about before as well as the terrible customer service and horribly rude front desk agents. In a nutshell, I booked the wrong date for our stay. However I was never notified of a “no show” after said date which was two weeks prior to our arrival so I had no clue it occurred. I have worked in a hotel, I know how the system works. I emailed to touch base the night before our stay and was told they couldn’t find the reservation on the arrival list. I called twice and spoke to two different agents trying to figure out what was going on as it took two calls to see that the stay was past. During the first, the rep told me i “made the reservation not her so it wasn’t her issue”. The second rep told me that this is just how their system works and it is what it is. I’m ok with owning my booking mistake, what I am not ok with is being spoken down to especially when I was without a place to stay. Neither rep offered an apology nor to help me find another place to stay, they just said it wasn’t their fault and it was my problem to deal with. When I called the rep out on being rude to me he said he had other guests to help and hung up. We skipped Venice entirely as a result and when we eventually come back we will be avoiding this hotel based on...