Hotel Review: Best Western Hotel Bologna Venice

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We made last minute plans a couple weeks ago to leave Austria and head back to Italy (for the third time in a month!), but this time we were going to visit Venice. We scrambled to book last minute trains and ended up arriving to the Venice Mestre Train Station late in the evening. To our delight, the Best Western Hotel Bologna was directly across the street. When I say directly across the street, I mean you could go from sitting in the train to standing in the hotel lobby in about 45 seconds. It is not often that we have a effortless transition from transportation to hotel, so this was a huge plus.

Loving all of the Best Western locations we have stayed with in Europe thus far, we were excited to give this location a try. Now, we had not completely done all of our homework, and while we knew that Mestre was not directly in Venice, we were a bit surprised to find it really is a totally different city and although Venice proper is only a short 15 minute train ride out into the bay, we did feel a bit isolated in Mestre.

The Hotel Bologna has done a fantastic job of offering an extremely modern feel complete with flat screen TV, stenciled quotes on most mirrors (inside and out of the room) as well as connecting the main lobby to a chic bistro next door which serves amazing drinks, appetizers and main courses.

A nice 15 minute walk from downtown Mestre, the hotel is really not meant to be a part of the downtown area of Mestre and better acts as a jumping off point for nearby Venice, a job which it does beautifully.

The rooms are modern, sparse and comfortable. They feel a bit like a mix of an IKEA commercial and a loft, with a bathroom almost the size of the main living space. Blackout curtains helped a lot, as well as the nearly sound proof windows, as the train station is so close. Plugs by the bed is a huge plus, which some hotels don’t have these days! The internet is free and fast, with no restrictions. Checkout is at noon, no late check out.

The breakfast is not what you would expect for a free Best Western hotel breakfast. Maybe it is the Italian influence that adds the extra care, but it is delicious and impressive.

I’ll admit we both wished we were closer to Venice, but that didn’t stop us from thoroughly enjoying our stay. Free internet, an amazing shower and a beautiful old city to walk through made for a great night, not to mention the wine. Don’t write off Mestre just because it is not in Venice proper as it has a wonderfully vibrant and happening downtown and main square. It might be a bit quiet on a Sunday evening, but there are some amazing restaurants and cafes to try, even if you are in town for just the night.

Rating:

Overall: 3 (Solid, comfortable, clean)

Location: 3 (Not as close to Venice as we’d hoped)

Food: 4 (delicious but a bit pricey)

Breakfast: 4 (free and delicious!)

Internet: 5 (free and fast!)