Free dinners, an incredibly social staff, and a location to die for make A Venice Fish
the hostel to stay at when traveling through Venice.
The Location
The Fish is located about twenty to twenty-five minutes by foot from the main Venice train station. Or guests can take a five euro water taxi and save themselves a few minutes walk. The nearest water taxi stop is the stop near the Venetian casino and is a five-minute walk from the hostel itself. Being on the main road, A Venice Fish offers access to everything. Water taxis, gondolas, and roads if you should choose to walk, are all very close.
Venice addresses are based on areas instead of streets, so the hostel can be rather difficult to locate. The best way to find it is to follow the main road according to the hostel directions and look for the small church in the square with the stone well. The hostel is the gorgeous old building on the left with doors flung open on the second floor to reveal the terrace and common area and a private bridge accessing the first floor entrance.
Rooms and Bathrooms
One downfall of the super-social Fish is a lack of security. The building is locked and feels secure but the rooms themselves do not lock and the largest girls' dorm door doesn't even close completely. This, coupled with the lack of lockers, does present some probability of theft or mischief. The second downfall of the Fish is a lack of bathroom facilities. There is a single toilet in the ladies dorm and only toilet/shower facilities for the rest of the guests' needs. This poses a problem at certain times of the day (mid-morning and early evening) when most people want to shower, but otherwise is a fine arrangement.
The dorms themselves are well-kept, clean, and quirky. Because the building is an old Venetian mansion the character is unsurpassed and the views of the square are enchanting.
Common Spaces
A Venice Fish offers the main living area of the old mansion it is converted from as its common area. There are chairs and couches in old styles and a long wooden table with many chairs around it where, though they don't advertise it, they often provide free dinners for the guests. These free dinners encourage the Fish's tendency to be incredibly social. Guests mingle and often go out afterwards to enjoy the nightlife together. It is, in this way, a great hostel for meeting people and not a great hostel for sleep. There is a small kitchen, mostly used by the staff of the hostel, but available for guest use.
Summary
Overall, A Venice Fish is one of the most fun hostels out there. Free dinners and a gorgeous common area encourage lots of socializing and the hostel staff of this new hostel will do everything they can to make guests happy.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
October 2007
Location/Contact
