Hotel Sant’Antonin

Tucked away, but within easy reach of San Marco, the hotel's unassuming brass-door entrance can be tricky to find. Being the portal into an oasis of calm, it's worth the narrow street hunt to it, plus a private dock outside caters to travelers arriving by water taxi. Exquisite interiors retain this former palazzo's antique charm with beamed ceilings, wrought irons, and carved dressers, as do the lobby's black-and-white checked floors and regal red carpets draping staircases. An elevator here is a bonus, although it doesn't reach the top floor. The lounge's Murano glass chandeliers and stone lion friezes in the statue-filled garden are lovely -- where guests often eat their free breakfast, and family owners tend to flowers and plants as attentively as they cater to guests. Owned by the same lineage since 1889, the hotel opened in 2014. Chic terraces and winding garden paths add romance, and while they're great for kids to explore, the place is more of a grown-up spot. 

Removed from the Grand Canal, but bordering a smaller one, the hotel can be challenging to find for travelers opting out of water taxi arrivals. Known as vaporettos, water busses dock at several nearby locations -- the nearest being San Zaccaria (five minutes on foot). Its Gothic Renaissance church is the same distance, and it's twice that for San Marco Square and Basilica, Bridge of Sighs, and the Ducale Palace. Historic shipyards forming Venice's Arsenale are a five-minute walk. Buzzing waterfront promenade Riva degli Schiavoni is one minute farther, although plenty of pizzerias, gelaterias, cafes, and small museums dot surrounding streets, and the neighborhood has a local, artsy vibe. The Rialto Bridge is a 14-minute walk. Beaches at Lido island are a 19-minute vaporetto ride. The main Santa Lucia railway station is 25 minutes by vaporetto. These take one hour from Venice Marco Polo Airport.

Homey, charming rooms with high ceilings are outfitted in a mostly pale-green palette from old-fashioned bedspreads, although some sport brighter light blues and whites. Beamed or vaulted ceilings have original frescos or Murano glass chandeliers, and heavy wood antiques vary between rooms. Hand-painted armoires, map wall hangings, and cream wrought-iron coat racks and standing mirrors. Rooms range from Economy Doubles to Suites, and the entry-level units are too compact for cribs. Upgraded rooms offer balconies or furnished terraces, and ground-level ones have a country-house feel thanks to direct garden access. 

Amenities include phones, desks, flat-screen TVs, and minibars, plus hairdryers, safes, and AC. Kettles for tea- and coffee-making are available on request. Modern tiled bathrooms have walk-in showers, toiletries, towels, and slippers. Suites have living areas, and Family rooms with two bedrooms have a second bathroom. Garden or city horizon views are generally lovely, but some rooms overlook nearby buildings. Note, top-floor rooms are reached by stairs. All have free (but sometimes weak) Wi-Fi.

Trellis plants framing wrought irons are charming in the garden, and it's among the largest privately owned in the city. A curious mix of outdoor antiques, stone balustrades, and limestone statues grace its lawns, and shrubbery around a centerpiece fountain accentuates calm here. Immaculately maintained paths lead to ivy-clad gazebos sheltering gray wicker seating and glass tables. Guests can relax indoors amid the lounge's period wall hangings and deep woods, but the garden is more popular. Overlooking it and under cream awnings, free breakfasts are served either here or in the wood-beamed breakfast room. Hard-boiled eggs are the only cooked option, but the rich buffet offers home-baked cakes, rolls and pastries, cold meats and cheeses, cereal, yogurt, and fresh fruit. Juice, tea, and made-to-order coffee come standard. No other meals or drinks are offered, however. The 24-hour reception can store luggage after checkout. Wi-Fi is free throughout.