Have you ever stayed at a hotel that costs $847 a night? It sounds like something a rock star would do, doesn’t it?
My vacation fund is zeroed out, but here’s my experience at a European luxury hotel.
At the end of a seven-night Mediterranean cruise, my friend M and I wanted to spend a day sightseeing in Venice (where the ship embarked and debarked), so she made a reservation through Celebrity cruise line at the hotel their travel agent recommended. The woman told her it’d be 380-some euros, and M OK’d it, thinking that was the total bill.
We were so excited — a four-star hotel right on the Grand Canal!
That is — until we got the cruise invoice and realized that rate was per person…and it was too late to make other arrangements.
The exterior of the Hotel Principe was lovely (lots of flowers) and in a great location on the Grand Canal, just a water taxi ride away from everything.
The inside was — well, very, very, very ornate. We kind of felt like we were spending the night in Louis XIV’s palace!
Our room was huge, with high ceilings, and the adjoining bathroom was the biggest one I’ve ever seen.
A gold-framed painting hung above the toilet and bidet, and two sinks with ornate silver-and-gold fixtures were located across from that.
The bedroom windows opened onto a little courtyard, and it had shutters that pulled closed for privacy (which was good, since the people across the way could see right in!)
Several large ceiling chandeliers provided light, and mini-chandeliers were located on each side of the bed.
The two twin beds we requested were right up-close-and-personal next to each other. My friend and I like each other — but we didn’t particularly want to wake up face to face. However, at that point at the end in the trip, we were too tired to do anything about it — and just hoped for the best.
After a day of extreme walking all over Venice (15,000+ steps on our Fitbits!), when we came back to the room we each wanted a refreshing shower.
However, we encountered a little problem. Neither of us could figure out how to turn the shower on! We pulled and pushed on everything we saw, to no avail. (And when you pay $847 for a room, you want to take a shower in it!)
We ended up calling the front desk. A dour-looking Italian man came up, pulled on something and promptly turned the shower on, making us feel like idiots. When we asked him for washcloths (using sign language for teensy, tiny towels), we figured out (and confirmed later) that they don’t use them there. Who knew?
The next morning, we enjoyed a top-of-the-line complimentary breakfast buffet and ate it at tables next to windows that looked out on the patio and the Grand Canal, which was absolutely stunning. (Of course, we had to take a bunch of photos outside afterwards.)
We left for the airport right after that, zooming away from the most expensive hotel room ever by water taxi — a fitting end to our extravagant adventure.Related blog posts:
16 Ways to Save Money on Cruises
12 Reasons Cruises are Better than Land Vacations
Traveling Solo: Why I Love Princess Cruise Lines
Regal Princess Review: Top 20 Amenities
Celebrity Equinox Review: 14 Cool Features
Mediterranean Cruise: Palma de Majorca
Mediterranean Cruise to the Greek Islands and Venice: Off to a Bumpy Start
Mediterranean Cruise: An Adventure in Montenegro
Mediterranean Cruise: A Day at the Beach in Katakolon, Greece
Mediterranean Cruise: Touring Athens
Mediterranean Cruise: Fabulous Venice
Mediterranean Cruise: Weird Incidents
Mediterranean Cruise: Souvenirs from Italy and Greece
9 Things People Dislike about Cruises
Wow what a beautiful hotel! Looks like you guys had a great time!
Carolann recently posted…How To Solve The Problem Of Weak Brittle Nails
Had to live it up — it was probably the swankiest place I’ll ever stay!
Pingback: Mediterranean Cruise: Souvenirs from Greece and ItalyThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Mediterranean Cruise: An Adventure in MontenegroThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Mediterranean Cruise: Katakolon, Greece Beach DayThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Regal Princess Review: Top 20 AmenitiesThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: 9 Things People Dislike about Cruises — Thoughts, Tips and TalesThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Mediterranean Cruise: Weird IncidentsThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Mediterranean Cruise: A Day in Santorini, ItalyThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Celebrity Equinox Review: 14 Cool Features — Thoughts, Tips and TalesThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Mediterranean Cruise: Palma de Majorca — Thoughts, Tips and TalesThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Mediterranean Cruise to Malta — Thoughts, Tips and TalesThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: 16 Ways to Save Money on Cruises — Thoughts, Tips and TalesThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Mediterranean Cruise: Touring AthensThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Traveling Solo: Why I Love Princess Cruise LinesThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: See the USA and Create a Map of All The Places You've Been — Thoughts, Tips and TalesThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: 12 Reasons Cruises are Better than Land VacationsThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Things People Dislike about CruisesThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Mixed Results of 2016 Life GoalsThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: South America Cruise Buenos Aires Shore ExcursionThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: South America Cruise: Punta Del Este, UruguayThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Crown Princess ReviewThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Falkland IslandsThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: South American Souvenirs from my Cruise Around South AmericaThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Casablanca shore excursionThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Riding Camels in Tangier, Africa, on a Norwegian Mediterranean CruiseThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Rock of Gibraltar -- a Fun Shore Excursion on a CruiseThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Beautiful BarcelonaThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: Norwegian Cruise Line Pros and ConsThoughts, Tips and Tales
Pingback: 169 fun things to doThoughts, Tips and Tales