residenza goldoni — Hotel in Venice

A Disgraceful Scam – Avoid This Hotel at All Costs My stay at this hotel was nothing short of a nightmare, and I feel compelled to warn others about this blatant scam. From start to finish, it was the most appalling experience my family and I have ever endured while traveling. This hotel’s practices are not only deceptive but borderline unethical, and I’m shocked it’s listed on Booking.com with an 8.3 rating, which must be propped up by coerced or fake reviews. Upon arrival, we were immediately disappointed. The air conditioning was completely unusable, as the settings had been deliberately disabled, leaving us sweltering in cramped, suffocating rooms. The rooms themselves were tiny, barely fit for purpose, and infested with flies. Opening the windows was impossible due to rusted frames, and the overpowering stench from a nearby fish and meat shop permeated the space, making it unbearable to stay inside. The breakfast was an absolute disgrace—meager, limited, and nothing like the appetizing photos advertised. A few stale items were grudgingly handed out by staff who were extraordinarily rude and unwelcoming, treating guests with utter contempt. Their attitude made it clear they had no interest in providing even basic hospitality. The hotel’s predatory tactics were relentless. We received an email threatening exorbitant fees for checking out even a few minutes late, clearly designed to extort extra money. They also charged an outrageous €1.50 just to replace a towel, a level of nickel-and-diming I’ve never encountered before. There was no fridge in the room, no elevator, and no assistance with carrying bags up multiple flights of stairs, leaving us to struggle with our luggage alone. The management’s behavior was the final straw. On our checkout day, we were initially told we could leave our bags at reception for a few hours. However, when the time came, the staff claimed a “meeting” had taken place the previous night, and bag storage was no longer allowed—unless we left a 5-star review first. They brazenly admitted this was the owner’s policy, framing it as a “favor” to us. This manipulative tactic was not only unethical but deeply disturbing. Worse still, the reception area was often unmanned, with no cameras, meaning anyone could walk in and take our belongings. It’s an open invitation to theft. This hotel’s entire operation feels like a calculated scam to exploit guests at every turn. The glowing reviews on Booking.com are clearly fabricated or coerced, as evidenced by their own admission of tying services to positive reviews. I witnessed other guests leaving in frustration, unable to tolerate the conditions. My family and I have traveled extensively, and this was, without question, the worst experience of our lives. I’m horrified that Booking.com allows this establishment to operate on their platform with such a misleading rating. I strongly urge anyone planning to visit Venice to steer clear of this hotel. It’s a shameful operation that doesn’t deserve to be in business. I plan to report this to the relevant authorities and hope the owner reflects on the disgraceful way they treat their guests. Save yourself the...

DON'T stay here!!! For the hotel itself, the room is fine and you get what you pay for. It was relatively clean and comfortable. My problem is with the behaviours of the staff...

Throughout our stay, the owners and other staff we met seemed to be very friendly and helpful (initially). When we checked out, we kindly asked if we could leave our bags at reception for 1 hour whilst we waited for our train. The lady at reception said that they would only allow us to leave our bags if we leave a good review immediately. I wasn't too keen on doing this as I like to take time to consider my reviews and I also believe that this is unethical. Keep this in mind when scrolling through the reviews of this hotel - some of them are forced.

After telling the lady I did not want to leave a review and would instead take our bags with us, she didn't seem very happy with us. Whilst at the train station, I was on the Booking.com App and noticed that they had "cancelled" our reservation, even though we had just stayed there for 2 nights??? I called the hotel and explained the situation and she was not happy to help and then hung up on me. I tried to call again and also send messages with no response - extremely unprofessional. I assume they did this to stop us from leaving a review.

Thankfully I had evidence of our stay through our city tax payment eftpos receipt, as well as photos taken in the room. So when I raised this issue with Booking.com they believed me and rectified it on my end. It is just so disappointing that people can be so extremely unprofessional and do something so unethical to 1) force people to leave good reviews, and 2) provide false information to Booking.com to stop us from leaving a review.

Overall, the hotel is fine. Nothing special but what you pay for. But just be mindful that the staff are extremely unprofessional and unethical, which matches what some other reviewers have...

I reported that my room had no air conditioning at all and that the window leads to a fish market with reeks of dead fish smell if opened and is also incredibly noisy with people constantly working with metals and boxes they throw around in all hours of the night. I needed help to get air conditioning as I am traveling with two small children and the room is very very hot. I asked for help immediately upon checking in at 2pm the lady at the front desk said she would try to get this fixed and asked to open the window to fix my issue even after I said the smell coming from outside was unbearable. No help ever came, I contacted the hotel via their number to get help and they replied with a standardized message no empathy at all. Although this place is in a good location I would stay away as you will not be able to sleep in it because of how hot it is inside and you do not get help or a functioning air conditioning unit. You only get tons of noise and dead fish smell. Run from this place if you can, the hotel response when I contacted them was pure avoidance and quoted some rule which only applies to public places and totally ignored the need and the noise issue also. Lady at the reception was very rude and she dismissed all the concerns by saying we were the only ones with this problem, well I said or course my window leads to a stinky fish market or restaurant that closes at 11PM and people make lots of noise well past midnight! Hotel is also mosquitoes infested, (bit my sons ears causing severe allergic reaction) remember your windows will need to be open if you come here in winter as they have no air...