We booked a central two-bedroom, 550 sq ft serviced apartment with canal views for just £700 for three nights. A fraction of what you’d pay for a decent hotel in Venice.
On top of this, they offer a full concierge service, including booking private water taxi transfers and arranging cots, but more on the apartment shortly.
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Venice
For the record, this is not a sponsored article.
I’m not going to claim to be a Venice expert; however, I do love it. We visit every year and simply enjoy immersing ourselves in the magic it offers.
Whilst I know Venice can be hit and miss for some people, with complaints of overcrowding or how smelly it can be, we don’t see it that way.
We have visited over a variety of months, and personally, I don’t find Venice any busier than most European cities during the hotter months. I also have almost never smelt anything bad, and I’ve been in August when it has been 30 degrees plus.
I think what compounds the issue is 1) cruise ships arriving and flooding Venice for the day, 2) tours taking too many people at the same time. Sometimes I have seen groups of 50 walking incredibly slowly, and 3) the back streets can be quite narrow, which can create a funnel.
It’s great to see Venice taking a hard stance on my first two points by removing cruise ships from docking in Venice directly and reducing the number of people that are allowed on tours, although I have yet to see the latter being enforced.
One thing I do agree with is how expensive it can be to stay if you want anything half decent. Sure, you can stay on the mainland for cheaper, but that’s no fun.
I have stayed in a combination of hotels and Airbnb-type apartments over the years and today I wanted to discuss an alternative to a hotel.
Whilst I would love to stay at The Gritti Palace or Bauer Hotel when it reopens, this is simply outside of my budget at over £1000 a night, even during low season.
The Solution
We have found the fantastic Corte Rubbi, which has multiple luxury apartments in a variety of sizes. To date, we have stayed in two of them.
There are 10 apartments over 5 floors, ranging from 1 bedroom to 3 bedrooms.
The company that manages the apartment have been great. They are very communicative before, during and after our stay and tend to go above and beyond when making special requests.
Some of the additional benefits that make this feel closer to a hotel stay are.
- Meet and greet service from the water taxi to the apartment to show you around
- Concierge service
- Arranging cots for the apartment
- Arranging a private water taxi
- Arranging porter service
- Other special requests
Location
Corte Rubbi is arguably in the perfect location. A simple 5-minute walk in one direction to Piazza San Marco (St Marks Square) and only needing to cross one bridge on the way and another 5-minute walk in the other direction is the Rialto Bridge. Again, only the one bridge to cross.
Despite being so central, it’s tucked away in a quiet courtyard, which makes a big difference in a city that can feel busy.
We have stayed here with my mum, who has very bad arthritis and it’s perfect for her as she can see all the sights without the need to cross multiple bridges or walk too far.
Arrival
Having arrived at Marco Polo Airport, the concierge arranged for a private water taxi to meet us. If this is your first time in Venice, then a water taxi is an absolute must. Expensive but easily the most convenient and enjoyable way to arrive.
Where you’re dropped off depends on the tide levels, but you’ll never be too far away. We were dropped only a 5-minute walk away but thankfully, we had the porter to help with our bags. All we had to do was walk and enjoy the scenery.
Upon arriving at Corte Rubbi, the check-in host showed us how to enter, what to do with rubbish and showed us around our apartment. He also offered to help with suggestions for dinners, drinks and sights to see.
TOP TIP – As mentioned, we booked a porter to transport our bags from the water taxi to the accommodation. They carry them to your door regardless of what floor you are on and for 4 bags it only cost us 25 euros. No brainer, especially when travelling with kids.
The Apartment
It looks unassuming from the outside, although I quite like the rustic, very typical Venice style architecture with colours.
Unfortunately, one of the very few drawbacks is that there are no lifts. Arriving with multiple bags or parents not able to walk very well isn’t ideal if you are staying on the top floor, as we did both times.
One of the benefits of this is that you get to walk up the beautifully restored communal hallways and staircases.
As you can see the renovation was completed to an exceptionally high standard.
When we eventually reached the top floor, we were welcomed by another lovely light and open space.
As you walk into the apartment, you are straight into the open plan kitchen/dining and living area. This space was plenty large enough and even had bag and coat storage.
Don’t you just love the wooden beams on the ceilings?
The kitchen was fully equipped with everything you’ll need if you want to make your own meals during your stay.
The kitchen area also has a clothes horse, an ironing board and an iron, which is another benefit of staying in an apartment over a hotel.
Through a small hallway, you’ll find the two bedrooms. Both bedrooms are very large rooms and have queen-size beds along with a dressing table, wardrobes and air-conditioning.
They also have a canal view, which is obviously a great thing, seeing as that’s why most people visit Venice.
The bathroom again is large and very modern. It was thought out and designed very well.
The management also provides toiletries.
As mentioned, the apartment comes with both air-conditioning and heating throughout. Given how hot it can get, this is a must.
Another benefit of the building is a shared laundry room, which was conveniently located on the top floor for us. Not so great if your room is on the ground floor.
This was actually at the end of a two-week trip to Oman and Qatar, so we managed to wash everything during our Venice stay, so when we got home, we only had to unpack.
Summary
Overall, this is a really smart alternative to the usual Venice hotel stays. You get space, comfort and a central location, along with helpful extras that make the whole experience easy and all at a much more reasonable price point.
It won’t replace the very top-end hotels, but it’s not trying to. For anyone looking to enjoy Venice without overspending, this strikes a very good balance between quality and value.
