The view from the Hotel Antica Locanda Sturion in Venice.
Hotels in Venice Venice is a monstrously expensive city—captive audience, see—and you pay a premium just to spend the night in town, listening to the canal water slap against the marble facades of Gothic palazzi outside your hotel room.
Keep in mind one thing: Prices for lodgings in Venice are high to begin with, can double in summer, and triple during Carnevale.
Annoying? Yes. Frustrating? Yes. Worth it to sleep in La Serenissima? Boy, howdy, yes.
Don't worry. It's just a matter of knowing where to look to find wonderful hotels and other places to stay in every price range—even a room overlooking the Grand Canal for less than $200 (at the Hotel Galleria), or one overlooking Piazza San Marco where the rates start at €99 (the Relais Piazza San Marco).
Hotels
Booking.com, Venere.com, GetARoom.com,
Hostelworld.com
B&Bs & Rental rooms
Airbnb.com, Bedandbreakfast.com, Hostelworld.com, Booking.com, Venere.com
Agriturismi (farm stays)
Booking.com, Bedandbreakfast.com, Airbnb.com, Venere.com, Agriturismo.net, Terranostra.it, Agriturist.it, Agriturismo.com
Apartments
Airbnb.com, Booking.com, Venere.com, Rentalo.com, Vrbo.com, Belvilla.org, Homeaway.com
Hostels
Hostelworld.com, Hostelbookers.com, Venere.com
Any hotels with an address in "Venezia-Mestre" is actually in the dull, modern, industrial suburb at the mainland end of the bridge over to the real, ancient Venice you came all this way to see.
Do not stay in Mestre! You'll spend more time and money commuting each day in an out of Venice proper than you will save.
No matter what kind of lodging you pick, if it's summer (a) try to get a room with air-conditioning and (b) even if you can't (or you can but have a hankering for some fresh air) resist the urge to open the windows to your room.
Venice is, I believe, the primary breeding ground for the mosquito population of Southern Europe, and precious few Italian hoteliers have discovered that newfangled invention called window screens. Keep the windows shut, or prepare to be bitten.
(Also, carry some bug spray for those romantic canalside dinners outside. Trust me.)
As of 2011, Venice began charging a Visitor Tax. This is the city's doing, and it is not a scam (just annoying). All charges are per person, per night, for all guests over the age of 10, and the tax is charged for stays of up to 10 days.
In general, in high season you pay €1 per category rating—hotels are rated by "stars," Residences by "keys," etc. In Low season, you pay €0.50 per star. (Kids aged 10-16 pay half. Stays at hotels on the outer islands or mainland are a bit cheaper.)
So a couple (2) staying three nights (2 x 3 = 6) in a four-star room (6 x €4 = €24) would pay an extra €24.
(High season: Apr-Oct, plus Dec. 23–Jan 6, Carnevale, Easter week, and the week around Dec 8.)
Some hotels have folded the fee into their quoted rates; others tack it on when you check out. Just be prepared.
Venice is way more popular than the number of beds it has, so while in the dead of winter you can often show up and find a good place to crash easily, the best rooms (and the best-value hotels) are booked well in advance for the summer months and the two weeks prior to Ash Wednesday (when Venice breaks out the fancy dress and masks for its famed Carnevale celebrations).
Same goes (though less so, and more at the chic and high end hotels) during the Venice Biennale art festival and the Venice Film Festival.
Any hotels with an address in "Venezia-Mestre" is actually in the dull, modern, industrial suburb at the mainland end of the bridge over to the real, ancient Venice you came all this way to see
Do not stay in Mestre! You'll spend more time and money commuting each day in an out of Venice proper than you will save.
If you're looking for a hotel near a particular sight, just go to that sight's page and, in the sidebar on the right, you'll see a list of all the nearby hotels (with "Reid Recommends" choices preceded by a little RR icon: 
).
Tourist info
Turismovenezia.it
Walks, tours, & activities
ContextTravel.com,
Viator.com,
City-Discovery.com,
SelectItaly.com, Italy.artviva.com, MyCreativeTours.com
Other useful sites
Veneziadavivere.com [events blog], Hellovenezia.com [transport/events], Veneziasi.it [good tourist info from local Venice hotels association; last updated Feb 2012], Meetingvenice.it [general info; sadly, last updated 2010]
Public transport
Actv.it (vaporetto [public "water buses"]; land buses), Motoscafivenezia.it (water taxis), Alilaguna.it (airport ferry)
Online maps
Maps.venicexplorer.net, Smu.insula.it
Venice airports
Veniceairport.it (Venice Marco Polo airport); Trevisoairport.it (Treviso airport ~30 min. away; used by some low-cost airlines)
Airport transfers
By sea (to downtown Venice): Alilaguna.it (public ferry: €15), Viator.com (shared boat: €30; private boat: €34), Motoscafivenezia.it (water taxi: €100)
By land (to Piazzale Roma): Actv.it (city bus: €1.30), Atvo.it (shuttle bus: €6)
Airfares
Momondo.com, AutoEurope.com, Vayama.com, CheapOair.com, Kayak.com, Cheapflights.com, DoHop.com, CheapTickets.com, Priceline.com
Trains
Raileurope.com, Trenitalia.com, Seat61.com
Driving/parking
Asmvenezia.it (Piazzale Rome garage: most central, €24–29; S. Giuliano lot: farthest, €5), Veniceparking.it (Tronchetto garage: fairly central, €21)
Car/RV rentals
Consolidator: Autoeurope.com
Aggregators: Momondo.com, CheapOair.com, RentalCars.com, AutoSlash.com, Vayama.com, Kayak.com, DoHop.com, Mobissimo.com
Search engines: Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, Travelocity.com
Cruise port
Cruise terminal: Vtp.it
Transport airport—cruise terminal: Alilaguna.it (public ferry: €15), Viator.com (private boat: €34), Motoscafivenezia.it (water taxi: €110), Actv.it (city bus to Piazzale Roma): €1.30), Atvo.it (shuttle bus to Piazzale Roma: €6)
Transport Venice hotels—cruise terminal: Actv.it (public vaporetto: €7), Alilaguna.it (public water shuttle: €8), Viator.com (private motorboat: €25–€30), Motoscafivenezia.it (water taxi: from €60)
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Hotels
Booking.com, Venere.com, GetARoom.com, Hostelworld.com
B&Bs & Rental rooms
Airbnb.com, Bedandbreakfast.com, Hostelworld.com, Booking.com, Venere.com
Agriturismi (farm stays)
Booking.com, Bedandbreakfast.com, Airbnb.com, Venere.com, Agriturismo.net, Terranostra.it, Agriturist.it, Agriturismo.com
Apartments
Airbnb.com, Booking.com, Venere.com, Rentalo.com, Vrbo.com, Belvilla.org, Homeaway.com
Hostels
Hostelworld.com, Hostelbookers.com, Venere.com
This material was last updated May 2013
. All information was accurate at the time.
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