Antica Locanda Montin

Talk about charm! The two-star Antica Locanda Montin is a family-run restaurant and inn, a throwback to the days when travelers were accustomed to dining downstairs before retiring to their upper chambers.

Quick read

Pros: Historic charm. Some lovely views.

Cons: A bit shabby.

Rooms

Art is a dominant theme in the 11 guest rooms at the Antica Locanda Montin. The walls are covered in canvases, and antiques mix with wrought-iron headboards. Floral bedspreads, original parquet floors and miniature Oriental rugs complete the look. Depending on your take, some rooms can feel either shabby or merely old-fashioned, but all are clean and well maintained.

All but three of the rooms are air conditioned, and two "special" rooms sport small balconies overlooking the canal. Other than that, rooms are quite simple (no TV or other amenities).

Bathrooms

The private bathrooms are clean, tiled in blue and white, and quite standard.

Hotel

Guests of the hotel enter through the Antica’s 100-year-old restaurant and head up the old wooden staircase. (Or, you can stay downstairs and enjoy a meal. The restaurant is well regarded for its typical Venetian cuisine, and guests enjoy a 10 percent discount.)

All guest rooms open onto an expansive, dimly lit salon, where paintings cram the walls and a heavy wooden table and cozy armchairs beg for a good, serious discussion. The paintings mostly date from the 1940s and 1950s, when they were used by artistic guests to pay off their hotel and restaurant tabs.

The staff at the Antica Locanda Montin is friendly, if not entirely fluent in English. Breakfast is included and served in the restaurant. Wi-Fi is free in the public areas. Note that the hotel does not have an elevator, and that at night the front door is locked and guests must enter through a side door.