We were warmly greeted by our host, who opened a map and spent about 20 minutes, sharing all the best nearby spots for meals, coffee, pastries, and grocery shopping. He also gave us local info, to help us maximize the little time we had in our short stay—which sites to see, what to avoid, how to get around. We really appreciated the extra attention and all the advice he shared! It really helped us make the most of our 2 days in Venice.
The apartment was fine for our short stay, with views out the front window of an inner canal—along with locals and tourists walking inches from the windows. Not a lot of privacy, so the heavy curtains covering the windows are nice. The kitchen is set up for simple meals, but we chose to dine in the various cafes and restaurants of Venice. The main fridge was broken, so they installed a small, dorm size fridge—which leaked water all over the kitchen when our son had to unplug it to plug in the washing machine for a load of laundry.
It can be really challenging to understand the layout of a flat from the VRBO listing photos. This apartment said it could sleep 6-8, and we thought there were 3 bedrooms, but there ended up only being 2 rooms—each with one double/queen bed. Additional guests are expected to sleep on a pullout couch and 2 pullout chairs, in the living/dining area. We had 4 adults booked to stay in this rental, and discovered at bedtime that the pullout couch and both chairs were broken. Our college age son somehow made it work, but it wasn’t a comfortable 2 nights of sleep for him. We reached out to our hosts about this situation, but didn’t hear back from them.
The apartment is away from the hustle and bustle of the main areas in Venice, which was nice. But it can be challenging to get cell phone coverage, as you’re finding your way to Venice hot spots. Not a reflection on our rental, but important to know when you visit. It can be an adventure finding your way around, with cell coverage coming and going. Another reason we were so thankful for the paper map our host gave us at our welcome!
We had mixed feelings about this rental stay. We really enjoyed and appreciated the extra attention and assistance of our host when he greeted us. But we were disappointed about the sleeping situation, the hassle with the small replacement fridge leaking, and some black mold on a wood beam in one of the bedrooms, as one of our family members has a severe mold allergy.