Hotel selection in Venice is exceptionally tricky. There is limited inventory and rooms are often small and expensive. After some research, we ended up at the Westin Europa Regina Venice. We were able to obtain a suite upgrade to a larger room, an excellent included breakfast thanks to elite benefits and an excellent anniversary dinner on a private table at the hotel.

This post is one chapter on our trip to Malta, Italy and Germany. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status and credited to Alaska Mileage Plan and Air Canada’s Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.

Review: The Westin Europa Regina, Venice, Italy.

Booking the Hotel:

Venice, Italy is a bit of a tough market for hotels. Everything is expensive and for the price, it’s not like you’re getting water views. In making our selection, the JW Marriott Venice was out, since it’s off on a private island, and you miss the charm of wandering Venice’s streets after everyone has gone home for the evening. I didn’t have any Hilton Honors points at the time, and the Aman hotel was priced a bit too dear.

I took a look at all the Starwood Properties in Venice. I had my eyes set on the Gritti Palace by Luxury collection. Given that most hotel rooms were around 400€ during our visit, and the Gritti Palace’s were around 1,600 €, I decided it would be a good use of SPG points. Unfortunately, by the time I got around to booking, all the reward inventory had disappeared from the Gritti Palace availability pool and there were only suites available to purchase.

After reading the reviews, I ended up turning to the Westin Regina Europa Venice. We ended up redeeming 25,500 Starwood Preferred Guest points per night (now the equivalent of 76,500 Marriott Bonvoy points) for a Premium Deluxe Room. We applied SPG Suite Night Awards (SNA’s) and were upgraded at the 5 day mark into a One Bedroom Suite. The suite type did not appear to be listed on the website – but it was a typical suute configured with a bedroom and separate living space with courtyard views.

Getting to the Westin Europa Regina Venice from the Airport:

We only had three days and two nights planned in Venice and really wanted to make the most of our time. As a result, I sprung for the private water taxi transfer by Consorzio Motoscafi Venezia both ways and got a 10% discount as a result of the return trip arrangements.

On arrival, we left the airport and walked ourselves down toward the water taxi pier. It’s actually quite a ways (I’d say around 800 m). I wouldn’t attempt it without porters without having rolling suitcases. We rolled the bags ourselves, although there were some porters there wanting an over the top 25 € for porter-age for a flat deck cart.

As a private water taxi, we had the whole boat to ourselves. The boat had an indoor and outdoor space for relaxing.

We passed by some nice hardware on the way in. Needless to say, they were a bit above my price point.

We used the main canal and took a side short cut through the canals. Wow – what an awesome way to arrive in Venice; cruising the canals in your own private water taxi! I was super happy with the water transfer investment at this point. My advice is don’t think of it as paying for a transfer, but a private charter with views on the trip that you’ll remember for a lifetime. There’s nothing like cruising the canals with structures all around you on your way to your hotel.

We arrived to a private water taxi arrival dock. The water taxi arrival was truly an awesome way to arrive and well worth the cash outlay provided the weather is favorable. There’s only a few places in the world where you can arrive to your hotel by boat and this option definitely beats the alternative of bus, vaporetto, walk (stairs) walk, with suitcases and bags in tow.

If you happen to be arriving from the Vaporetto, you’ll have a slightly different view. The entry is off the courtyard into an understated entrance.

Checking into the Westin Europa Regina Venice:

S. Marco, 2159, 20124 Venezia, VE

The property is situated right on the Grand Canal of Venice. It is an excellent location immediately across the canal from the Basilica Santa Maria Del Salute; a 1600’s era iconic church with a massive cupola. It is also approximately a five minutes walk from the Piazza San Marco – St Marc’s Square in the heart of all the action in Venice, Italy.

Arriving to the Westin Europa Regina Venice hotel, the initial impressions at the lobby and arrival ports impressions were very good. Based on the décor, it was unlike any Westin that I had stayed in before. The building was more old school castle with Westin themes; such as their usual healthy food / stay well themes. The lobby was quite impressive on arrival.

I had applied Suite Night Awards to the reservation, which cleared in advance at the five day mark. It was a bit difficult to tell what the occupancy rates were since the hotel has such an unusual shaped lay out making it hard to guess how busy the spaces were. Using the Suite Night Awards and holding Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum status (now Marriott Bonvoy Platinum) we were upgraded to a one bedroom suite with a courtyard view. Unfortunately, there were no suites with canal view upgrades along with beautiful terraces available, despite past reports of Platinums being luck enough to be upgraded into these categories. I think those days are long over unless you pay the posted 2,400 € for such a suite.

The Room: A One Bedroom Executive Suite

We led ourselves up to the One Bedroom Suite. The One Bedroom Suite room was quite large and probably one of the larger rooms that I had stayed in for a historic hotel. The furniture did not take up all the space provided, and as a result, made for a very roomy and spacious feel.

The Bedroom:

The room featured a proper King Size bed. Thankfully, it was not two doubles pushed together but an actual comfortable Westin Heavenly bed.

The Ensuite Bathroom:

The ensuite bathroom was functional with a double vanity sink and a smallish shower and tub consistent with the era.

The toiletries were not the usual Westin branded White Tea Aloe but instead upgraded ETRO branding. I took them home with me and they lasted for almost a month worth of use. There may have been a few road trips on the road there when I was away from home as well.

The Living Space:

The room had a fully separate living area with large window views of the courtyard. The décor was consistent with the period. I think this is a win and a lose. I personally found it was a win considering where we were.

In the living room, there was a small period style desk with a Keurig style coffee maker.

Being an SPG Platinum, coupled with a special anniversary stay, the hotel reached out with a nice bottle of prosecco and some strawberries for our arrival. I did message the hotel concierge in advance for the special occasion. It was a nice touch and certainly made us feel welcomed. There must be so many anniversaries here in Venice, the hotel actually has a “Anniversary” card. 

With the windows open in the hotel room, even with a back courtyard view, you could hear gondoliers signing their songs serenading their guests which was one of the most memorable events of the trip.

I did have a challenge in getting my “Make a Green Choice” points to post (despite turning in the cards) and wrote the hotel no less than 4 times with after our stay begging for some attention. On the fifth time, I wrote to the Starwood Guest management at head office and had to get them to intervene due to hotel in-action. It was the only disappointing event that otherwise stained a bit of a perfect stay. The hotel was so receptive for most other requests in advance and during the stay but completely ignored us after we left.

Food and Beverage:

The day after our arrival, we took in the breakfast buffet in the restaurant. I ended up taking free breakfast as the SPG Platinum benefit. It was a wise decision as the buffet was priced at 38€ a person. The breakfast was one of the better free breakfast’s I’ve had in the Starwood Preferred Guest stays ever as it included everything including prosecco.

The buffet seating was inside (or outside) right on the patio and there were terrific views of the grand canale. Dependent on the traffic, you could hear the gondoliers signing and serenading their passengers. This was a super unique experience to have while enjoying breakfast in Venice.

The buffet had hot and cold items. The food was of very good to excellent quality. Interestingly, the food quality was better here than it was at the Westin in Malta. The scrambled eggs were tasty and there was high quality bacon. There were also Westin fruit smoothies to drink and free flow prosecco; this alone made MrsWT73’s stay.

What a great way to start the day and an excellent use of the SPG Platinum breakfast benefit as the setting was simply beyond compare. The breakfast was almost a reason to stay at the property alone; fantastic views and a beautiful unique setting.

La Cusina Restaurant & The Floating Table

I was looking for something special to do for our anniversary dinner. The problem is in tourist town, many things probably aren’t that special.

With a bit of research, I happened to find the “Floating Table” at the La Cusina restaurant in the Westin Europa Venice. While there were probably nicer restaurants out there, the ease and convenience of enjoying a drink and rolling downstairs can’t be beat. That’s not to mention the awesome view. I booked the Floating Table table for 50€ cover through the hotel concierge, and they were prompt in organizing the reservation as requested.

We arrived at our 7 PM reservation time. The restaurant was just getting going and it was much quieter than compared to the breakfast hour. There were only three or four other tables being served throughout the course of the evening, making it a quiet experience. The scene was set with a beautiful sunset over the Grand Canal. It is surprisingly much quieter at night when most of the traffic dies down.

With the floating table being away from the restaurant, it got dark quite quickly. We had a nice candle lit dinner away from anyone else with some pretty neat Murano themed glassware. We saw the glassware on a later walk through Venice and it was about 200€ a set.

In honour of our anniversary, the restaurant offered a glass a prosecco as a starter. We had a sea bass and carrot puree amuse bouche.

I had the starter of spaghetti di grano selezione “martelli” con pomorodirni freschi e ricotta affucmicate di Malaga (Selected spaghetti with fresh tomatoes and artisanal smoked ricotta from Malaga) My gosh – spectacular!! It was the freshest spaghetti and basil I’d ever had the opportunity to enjoy. I still dream of it to this date.

We enjoyed a bottle of Pio Cesare Nebbiolo, which was terrific; well balanced and not over the top with tannins.

For the main, I had the Carre di angella in crosta di herbe montane, zuchine infornate e salae all amarone della valpolicca or herb crusted lamb cutlet, zucchini and amarone della valpolicella sauce. It was perfectly cooked. Overall, it was a solid choice, although I enjoyed the pasta starter more

We passed on the dolce serving and the restaurant brought us some petit fours to conclude.

My wife had the better views as the guest of honour. I kept flipping around to take photographs however. I don’t know how I couldn’t with views like that!

The Floating Table was a nice experience. It was quiet, serene and romantic. We’ll remember it for quite a while considering the setting that it was in; a super special evening for an anniversary. The fact that it was in Venice certainly didn’t hurt either…

The Bottom Line: The Westin Europa Regina Venice

The Westin Europa Venice was surprisingly good for what I was expecting. The décor was nothing like I had experienced at a Venice before and the hotel fit with the area – even if it wasn’t very “Westin-like” (chic and contemporary). Please see the second day in Venice for the experience at the hotel restaurants’ Floating Table.

Editor’s Note: Since our stay, the property has undergone a renovation and has been re-flagged as the St Regis Venice.

If you’ve stayed at the Westin Europa Regina Venice, did you have an outstanding stay?

During our stay in Malta, we would end up at the best offering in the Starwood / Marriott chain; the Westin Dragonara Resort in St Julians Malta. We’d experience an excellent oceanfront stay, in a terrific resort area with access to an enjoyable executive lounge with great outdoor deck space. Our stay was complimented by excellent staff that really went the extra mile to take care of us.

This post is one chapter on our trip to Malta, Italy and Germany. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status and credited to Alaska Mileage Plan and Air Canada’s Aeroplan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.

Review: The Westin Dragonara Resort, St Julians, Malta.

Booking the Trip:

I had picked the Westin Dragonara Resort thanks to its favorable reviews and it’s proximity to the marina of St Julians Bay. I booked directly through the hotel website and was able to locate a rate of 170€ ($197 USD) per night.

The Westin Dragona Resort is currently a Marriott Bonvoy Category 6, meaning that rooms are approximately between 40,000 – 60,000 a night under variable pricing, with 50,000 pints a night as standard. If you value Marriott Bonvoy points at $0.005 a point, you’d have to spend more than $250 USD to come out ahead for a 50,000 point redemption. In the high season months, this might represent a better value when the room rates climb beyond $300 USD per night. However, if you’re visiting in the off season, you’re probably better paying cash. As we were under the price point, we were better off paying cash.

I also ended up applying Suite Night Awards to this reservation, which didn’t end up clearing. However, the resort took really good care of us anyway by working a suite into our stay.

Getting to the Property:

Dragonara Road, St. Julian’s, STJ 3143 Malta

After getting off Lufthansa Airlines Munich – Malta, we picked up our bags and met our driver. The hotel had provided a meet and greet service with a black Mercedes E Class for just 25€ ($29 USD). With our bags in the car, we were over to the Westin hotel within 15 minutes. Our first impressions of Malta were that the island had a sunny and almost African feel to the place, with light coloured houses of all shapes and sizes.

We arrived at the property after navigating the tight alleys of St Julians. The hotel is a giant pink structure that doesn’t look very appealing from a first impression from the street side.

Once we arrived inside, the lobby bar was spectacular and made for a great first impression. It had nice high ceilings and live piano music on some evenings.

On check in, the property was showing completely full on our Saturday night arrival, so I wasn’t expecting too much in terms of elite upgrades. I had applied SPG (now Marriott Bonvoy) Suite Night Awards to a one bedroom suite; the only room type available in the upgrade pool. Unfortunately, they had failed to clear. I saw that the property seemed to have lots of room availability Sunday night onward and aimed to ask the front desk to see if there were any chances of switching mid stay to a nicer room for our remaining 4 nights. On arrival, they had provided us with a one category upgrade to a deluxe room on the executive floor (interpreted here as a high floor). I asked about the possibility of changing room mid stay and was promptly introduced to Katerina the operations executive. She indicated that she had a nice room available for us on the next day and that she would reach out the next morning around 10 AM.

The Room: An Executive Club Room

2 Queen, Sea View, Balcony

On our first night, we were assigned room 742, which was an excellent room with a double queen bed. It was excellent because it had a larger deck, terrific view of the pool and ocean, and was one floor and three rooms away from the Executive Lounge. The room was nicely appointed and had been recently refreshed as everything looked new and inviting.

The bathroom included a combination shower and bath tub. The bathroom offered a single vanity.

I had written the hotel in advance and indicated we were staying on the celebration of our wedding anniversary and the hotel was kind enough to offer a complimentary bottle of Italian Prosecco chilled on ice waiting for us in the room.

The view from the large Executive Room deck was one of my most favourite things about this particular room.

The Room: Luxury 1 Bedroom Bay Suite,

1 King, Sofa bed, Bathrooms: 2, Sea view, Balcony

As promised, the hotel contacted us at around 3 PM after the Saturday night and had our new room ready. We were assigned a Luxury 1 Bedroom Bay Suite #230. The Bay Suites are in a separate “older” part of the hotel and not in the main towers. The room was quite large at 1,026 sq feet; much larger than my wife’s first Vancouver apartment. The Bay Suites had a direct and immediate view of the ocean. The room bedroom, bathroom, and entrance way had a partial refresh and appeared to have new flooring.

There was a mini bar and a kitchen stocked with pots and pans for those nights in. We didn’t have any.

The bedroom was close to the sea and had direct windows out to the water.

The Ensuite featured a double vanity.

There was a second full bathroom off the living room that featured a full shower.

The room offered a smaller deck than the executive suite. Despite this, it was much closer to the water and much more private. The views were also nice and serene. The deck area was a bit darker than the executive suite due to the trees and the configuration of the building.

Around the Property:

Outdoor Pool and Resort Area:

The day after our arrival, we spent the day around the property taking in the wonderful heat. The property offered a nice pool and a pleasant setting to lounge around in.

There was also an area of day loungers, with an adults only area. It’s worth noting that there is no “beach” at this area. There is access to the water via ladders and the shore line right up against the resort is quite rocky; large ones that you can’t easily walk on. You need to be a bit of a swimmer to get out far enough from the shore to avoid any knee scrapes on the nearby rocks. I doubt that my twelve year old would have done it without assistance, although I could have probably towed him out myself without any problems.

We had a water view of the property with the “Bay Suites” (where we were eventually upgraded to) behind the two palm trees in the short two story building.

The shore line was great place to sack out with Tom Clancy “Commander in Chief” with nice waterway views.

On Property Gym:

We situated ourselves and got to know the resort. The property had one of the largest gyms I had ever seen for a hotel property. It had treadmills that faced the sea.

Being a runner, they also provided some local running maps. It would be more challenging to run these routes during the heat of the day and also the traffic of the day when the city got going. The routes run through local streets, requiring stops for traffic and other pedestrians.

The Executive Lounge:

We were pretty knackered from our flights but being young at heart, on the date of our arrival we headed up to the Executive Club Lounge on the 18th floor. The club lounge access was complimentary due to our SPG Platinum / Marriott Bonvoy level status.

The Westin Executive Lounge had a nice outdoor deck with great views over the harbour. It was plenty hot out at 6:30 PM when we made it up there; about 24 degrees according to the iPhone weather app. We were a bit grubby from the overseas flights and two intra-Europe segments but the gin and tonics sure helped calm the nerves and ease us into the European Time Zone. It was a really scenic setting and a great way to relax after a long journey.

There were a reasonable amount of snacks available and an open self pour bar with basic level spirits (Gordon’s Gin). Several kinds of wine were on offer, including domestic Maltese Wine and Italian Sparkling. I’m sad to report that the Maltese Wine was not terrific, but it was a neat experience getting the opportunity to taste it.

We also enjoyed breakfast in the lounge during our stay. The breakfast offering was substantial and enough to take us through the day.

Around the Property:

After a day of relaxing and adjusting to the new time zone on the resort property, we walked down to the harbor area a few blocks from the hotel. St Julian’s is chock full of restaurants; some looked like legitimate tourist traps, whereas others looked more interesting.

We ended up at the Cuba restaurant on an outside patio with a view over the harbour.

The Bottom Line: The Westin Dragonara Resort

We really enjoyed the Westin Dragonara Resort and Spa. The treatment that we received as SPG Platinum’s was terrific. The resort really went out of their way to accommodate us and make a special visit all that more special. The Executive Lounge was one of the nicer ones that I’ve found in the system, made special by the outdoor deck where you can take in a sunset with a nice view. The building or amenities are that extravagant but otherwise the setting is pretty good (save the fact that there is no proper beach). We would easily return.

If you’ve stayed at the Westin Dragonara, did you receive great treatment during your stay?