Location

Hotel Papadopoli Venezia is two bridges (the Venetians measure distances by the number of bridges they have to cross) away from Venezia St. Lucia Station, the gateway to Venice. Its proximity to the train station means we do not have to drag our luggage across countless bridges to get to our accommodation. Unfortunately, not all bridges in Venice have ramps for easy luggage transportation. The hotel is also near the Piazzale Roma Vaporetto stop, where we could hop on the water bus to explore Venice. There is a bakery right below the hotel, where guests can buy pastries or breakfast (that shop seems to be very popular with locals). However, being situated at the entrance to Venice, Hotel Papadopoli Venezia is a tad far from most attractions, such as Piazza San Marco, Rialto bridge, etc.

Deluxe Suite

We checked into the 33m² Venetian style Deluxe Suite at Hotel Papadopoli Venezia. Despite naming it a Deluxe suite, the suite does not have a separate living room, nor does it come with a sofa. Understandably real estate in Venice is limited, and Hotel Papadopoli Venezia was able to maximise the amount of liveable space in its suites by having such a design.

Entryway/ Wardrobe Area

We were hit by a Venetian-style decor when we opened the main entrance to the Deluxe Suite. There is a large amount of gold and bronze colour theme. The yellow floral motif used as the wallpaper throughout the suite (less the bathroom) complements the gold colour theme. A couple of cabinets flanked each side at the entryway to the Deluxe Suite, dressed in gold wallpaper with floral prints. One of the cabinets houses a large wardrobe, which allows guests to hang a substantial amount of clothing. The other cabinet mainly consists of shelving, providing excellent storage solutions for its guests. Housed within this cabinet is an in-room safe and a mini fridge, where the non-alcoholic drinks are complimentary, thanks to my friend’s Diamond status with Accor.

Two bronze-coloured armchairs occupy the space of the Deluxe Suite in Hotel Papadopoli Venezia a little further into the suite, right in front of the exit to the terrace, from the wardrobe area. These luxurious chairs with thick cushioning complement the Venetian decor of the suite very well; sitting on them is like sitting on a throne. The rounded table between the two armchairs would be great for occupants of the Deluxe Suite to enjoy a cup of coffee or drinks from the minibar, if not for the holder of some pamphlets. A vintage chest of drawers is placed between the bed and the wall, diagonally opposite the armchairs. Bottled water and a huge speaker are placed on this chest of drawers. This chest gave us additional space to stow our items, especially smaller items.

Sleeping Area

A large king bed occupies most of the space in the Deluxe Suite in Hotel Papadopoli Venezia, placed at one corner by the windows, a little further from the armchairs. The headboard of the king bed carried the golden luxurious and Venetian theme seen in the suite. The king bed offered excellent sleep quality with its firm, thick mattress. At the side of the king bed are a couple of side tables mounted onto the wall to maximise the space in the suite. However, I thought the space on side tables was a tad tight for us to place our lifestyle devices, as a sizeable egg-shaped night light occupies it. Thankfully Hotel Papadopoli Venezia made up for the lack of space with another stool-like side table which created more space. In addition, the placement of light switches and power outlets by the side table is thoughtful, as this allowed us to charge our mobile devices.

A LED TV is strategically mounted onto the wall facing the king bed. The TV placement is perfect for watching the hotel’s many local and international channels while lazing on the bed. However, the work table is slightly out of place under the TV. In addition, the work desk is a tad small for anyone to do decent work with space for only one laptop. The Nespresso machine and electric kettle on the work desk already occupy a substantial amount of space, not to mention the power outlets that are taken up and blocked by these additional machines, making the work desk not ideal.

Bathroom

The bathroom in Deluxe Suite at Hotel Papadopoli Venezia is equally luxurious, consistent with the gold-coloured theme in the main parts of the suite. The first item we saw in the bathroom was a white marble, high-legged sink counter. Furnished with a large gold framed mirror and a stool, the sink counter doubles up as a make-up desk. While there is some space on the sink counter, these spaces are occupied by the hotel’s amenities. The bathroom in the Deluxe suite is fitted with a large bathtub next to the sink and a window. The bathtub is deep and is excellent for soaking away the fatigue we have accumulated from exploring Venice. In addition, I like the inclusion of a window in the bathroom, which provides natural light and allows us to look out into Venice while soaking in the tub.

The toilet and bidet are found after an open bronze-coloured partition next to the sink. I like how the hotel isolated the toilet area in a semi-open space. A huge walk-in shower fitted with a regular and a rain shower head lies after the toilet area. I thought this area was a tad dark due to the bronze colour chosen to furnish this area. The multi-coloured overhead light installed does not help to provide any more illumination. Instead, this is used more as mood lighting.

Terrace

I like the terrace in the Deluxe Suite at Hotel Papadopoli Venezia. The large terrace extends the entire length of the suite, giving us a great view of Venice and one of the back-lane canals. To add icing to the cake, Hotel Papadopoli Venezia furnished the terrace with a small table and chairs, which allowed us to sit on the terrace, sipping away the coffee from the Nespresso machine and watching life in Venice. The appointment of the hotel will enable us to watch sunrise and sunset from the terrace. In addition, we used the terrace to talk to our friends in adjacent rooms.

Service

The initial contact with a member of the hotel staff was positive. The female staff who checked us in was friendly and warmly welcomed us to Hotel Papadopoli Venezia. She gave us a short introduction to the hotel and where to find things like restaurants. She even took notice of my friend’s status with the hotel group and upgraded the rooms occupied by my friends to terrace rooms. I like how Hotel Papadopoli Venezia arranged our rooms to be next to each other, which allowed us to talk to each other from our terraces in our respective rooms. The female staff also wanted to recommend places to get breakfast and meals when she noticed that our bookings do not come with breakfast. However, that is how much of a good service we received from the hotel. The service by the rest of the staff at Hotel Papadopoli Venezia was pretty standard and not memorable. It felt as if they were doing their bare minimum to provide service.

Overall

We had a comfortable stay at Hotel Papadopoli Venezia. The Deluxe Suite did come with a canal view and is very well appointed. The Venetian decor in the room is unique, and the use of gold colour did not come across as overbearing. We particularly liked the terrace, which allowed us to take in the views of Venice. The location is the most significant advantage of Hotel Papadopoli Venezia. Locating near the train station meant guests did not have to drag their luggage across multiple bridges. However, service was a tad standard and not impressionable.