The Lido isn’t the first thing that springs to mind when you think of Venice. An adjacent island to the beautiful city, its wide, quiet streets and long sandy beach seem more reminiscent of mainland Italy, but when the tourist rush of summer begins and Venice’s narrow streets are clogged with people, you’ll be glad of some breathing space.
Hotel Villa Pannonia is just off the main drag on the island, a poppy-red building with good rates, making it a fantastic place to stay if you’re on a budget but want to get the best out of Venice. With modern art exhibitions in the lounge, restaurant and bar area, and chic, monochrome rooms, it’s not a symphony of excess like many of the palazzos in the city centre. And it has good-sized bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as an excellent breakfast spread.
Hop on a vaporetto and cruise down the Grand Canal to the Rialto market; ramble the narrow streets and explore gilded churches and lavish art collections, then hop back on a boat to laze on the beach in the afternoon. And if you come in late August/early September, keep an eye out for movie stars as the Venice Film Festival is held here.
Highs
- When we last revisited, the vaporetto took just 15 minutes from St Mark’s Square - such convenience makes it great value
- Good for families - no bridges to negotiate, no steep flights of steps and it’s close to the beach
- It’s very quiet and we had a great night’s sleep
- Helpful staff
- The boat connections are excellent and quick from here to the centre of Venice (15 mins), as well as the outlying islands in the lagoon
Lows
- The location lacks the atmosphere and history of the city centre - given the choice, we'd stay in central Venice
- Slightly characterless and service is more professional than friendly
- The food options nearby are fairly limited so you’ll end up going back and forth to the centre by vaporetto (which is actually great fun)
- The Lido is fairly dead out of season, though in the summer it’s a great spot
- Boutique Hotel
- 30 rooms
- Breakfast only (walk to restaurants)
- All ages welcome
- Open all year
- Pool
- Spa Treatments
- Walk to beach
- Babysitting
- Creche / Kids Club
- Car not necessary
- Parking
- Pet Friendly
- Disabled Access
- Restaurants Nearby
- WiFi
- Air Conditioning
- Guest Lounge
- Terrace
- Garden
- Gym
Rooms
Being out of the city is good: you get a lot of room for your money and it’s blissfully quiet. We slept really well in the pared-back, monochrome rooms, which are well-equipped if a little impersonal. It’s a shame that the exciting modern art displays in the main reception and communal areas don’t extend into the bedrooms, too.
There are well-sized Standard Doubles; Superior Doubles, which have extra space and an optional rollaway bed; Attic Rooms, which are a little dingy as they only have small windows at knee height, but a good option for larger groups; Standard Quadruples, which are spacious with a double sofabed, and Suites, which have 2 double bedrooms. Bathrooms are spacious, though a little dull in décor, with power showers.
We slept in one of the ground-floor rooms (which are all very quiet) - a large Superior Double with a desk, a flatscreen TV, small pouffes and a great view of the garden.
Features include:
- Air conditioning
- Central heating
- Coffee / tea making
- Cots available
- Hairdryer
- Minibar
- Toiletries
- TV
- WiFi
Eating
Hotel Villa Pannonia's breakfast is very good. One of the worst things about central Venice hotels is their rubbishy breakfasts - there’s a strange predilection for pre-packaged croissants and anything-but-fresh bread rolls. Here, there’s nothing of the sort. We really enjoyed our big breakfast: several types of fresh pastries, breads, honey, yoghurt, cereal and cake, served with boiled eggs, ham, cheese, fresh fruit, juice and coffee. In the summer, you can breakfast in the garden where modern tables are shaded with umbrellas.
No other meals are served but you can have coffees and drinks from the bar delivered to your room or the garden, and breakfast can be served in your room for a small fee.
As for eating out, Venice is a strange city for food and the Lido is no exception. There are plenty of tourist-friendly restaurants on the Gran Viale, under 5 minutes’ walk away, but they didn’t dazzle us: menus in 5 languages with pizza, pasta and panini of varying quality. It's probably best to seek recommendations from reception. For an expensive treat, we’d recommend Venissa on Mazzorbo Island, a short boat ride away. Otherwise, perhaps have lunch in Venice while sightseeing, and dinner too, if you can, where there’s certainly more atmosphere.
There are snack bars on the beach which are open during the summer season, serving drinks, pizza slices and paninis, and a couple of good delis on the Gran Viale if you want to buy picnic food for a day out cycling round the Lido.
Features include:
- Bar
- Breakfast
- Restaurants nearby
- Room service
Activities
- In the summer, take the vaporetto (waterbus) to St Mark’s Square in the morning and explore the busy streets and galleries. In the afternoon, return to the Lido and flop on the beach
- Swim in the sea - it’s fine for children as the beach slopes gently into the water. Just watch out for occasional jellyfish
- Play golf. The course on the Lido is renowned as one of Italy’s finest. Or hire bikes, buy a picnic and explore the island's fishing villages
- Keen birders might enjoy a trip to Pellestrina Island, which is fantastic for bird watching, especially around Carmona beach where you may see Little Terns, Plovers and Red Falcons. Take the vaporetto there from the very south of the Lido - the island is just off the tip and its candy-coloured houses are pretty in the afternoon sun
- Visit during the Venice Film Festival (late August/early September) to experience the glamour of an international art event
- Take day trips to the other islands in the Venetian lagoon, including Torcello, Murano, Burano and Mazzorbo
- Cruise down the Grand Canal and under the Rialto Bridge. There’s a market beyond the bridge - get there early (8am) to see the fish being unloaded and the barges carrying goods up the canal
- Lose yourself in the back streets of Venice, browsing exquisite paper, animal mask and pastry shops, and delicious gelateria
- Take an early evening stroll around the Dorsoduro district of central Venice and enjoy a cappuccino as the sun sets and turns the city a beautiful shade of orangey-pink. Eat dinner then hop on the last vaporetto (around 11pm) back to the Lido Island
Activities on site or nearby include:
- Birdwatching
- Boat trips
- Cycling
- Golf
- Historical sites
- Museums / galleries
- Shopping / markets
- Swimming
Best Time to go
Venice is a year-round attraction but this hotel is closed for a couple of months in winter. It comes into its own in the summer months when Venice is really busy (and the lagoon water isn’t terribly fragrant) - the beach and spacious streets are a real draw. The Lido is busiest when the Venice Film Festival is on, during late August and early September each year. It’s very quiet here in the spring and autumn, when it might be better to stay in central Venice itself.
Our Top Tips
Buy a 72-hour vaporetto ticket when you arrive so you can hop about easily and cheaply to St Mark’s Square, central Venice, around the Grand Canal and over to Torcello, Burano and Murano.
Location
Hotel Villa Pannonia is on the Lido, an island located 10 minutes by waterbus from St Mark’s Square in Central Venice.
By Air
Fly into Marco Polo (26km) or Treviso (47km), a 40-minute bus ride from the entrance to the city.
From the Airport
From Marco Polo: take the shuttle bus from outside the airport to the docks. To reach the Lido, either take the waterbus (50 minutes) or a water taxi (30 minutes). From Treviso: Take the bus to Piazzale Roma (40 minutes) then take a waterbus on either line 51 or 61 (30 minutes).
By Car
You can take a car to the Lido. Drive towards Venice on the A4 motorway and follow directions for the Tronchetto terminal. From here you can take the car ferry to the Lido. The hotel offers on-site parking for a small fee. We wouldn’t recommend having a car on the island though; you don’t really need it. See our car rental recommendations.
Detailed directions will be sent to you when you book through i-escape.com.
More on getting to Venice and getting around
Airports:
- Marco Polo 26.0 km VCE
- Treviso 47.0 km TSF
Other:
- Beach 0.2 km
- Shops 0.2 km
- Restaurant 0.2 km
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