Nice cosy place

Guest: thend (Singapore)
Date of Stay: 09/15/11 Review Submitted: 10/20/11

I was rather pleased to know that the apartment gave me the opportunity to get a taste of how it is to live in venice. Rather then just in a hotel or hostel. I went during the month of Sep and the temperature was not too bad. Rather warm in the afternoons but was pretty cool at night and in the mornings. The place is located near the waterbus stop S Silvestro and is also near a supermarket making it convenient to do grocery shopping. It is also not too far off from Rialto Bridge and the popular St Mark Square. It is recommended to travel light or with easy to handle luggage as there's only a staircase up to the 3rd floor. Accommodation is well furnished and feels like home, everything is there ready to use. There is a portable aircon but has to be shared between the 2 bedrooms. There are individual fans in the rooms. The owner is very helpful and provides much information on getting around and also on recommendations on where to eat and visit in a file. Also much appreciation goes out to the owner who mailed me an item I had left behind. Overall it was a good experience and I would definitely recommend anyone who visits Venice to try staying at apartments like this!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, girls getaway, adventure seekers, families with teenagers.

Nice comfortable and central place to enjoy Venice

Guest: Lisa (Canada)
Date of Stay: 07/19/11 Review Submitted: 07/29/11

We stayed at Ca' del Sole at the end of our cruise in mid July. Getting to the place was easy enough, as we were given instruction by our host and met at the vaporetto (water bus) station. The neighbourhood is quiet. The apartment is clean, large and comfortable enough for 4 people. The alleyway leading to it, is clean, bright and wide. Same applies to the courtyard. All the rooms, including the wash room, are big. Loads of instructions and recommendations were waiting for us on the table. The kitchen was well equipped and we appreciate having a laundry washer. Well, every place in Venice can be reached on foot, but the most important thing for us is that the supermarket is only 2 minutes away! We had enough restaurant meals from the cruise, so this is really good. They say the Rialto Bridge is only 5 minutes away (probably true), but we never made that because we always got side tracked and bogged down at the shops along the way. The apartment is centally located that it is a great base for exploring the whole of Venice. Our host - Eva was just fantastic. A couple of families with us from the cruise had the late flights out of Venice and Eva was generous enough to allow them to store their luggages in the apartment with us. We also like that other than using the internet stick in the apartment, our kids could also use the city WIFI with iphones. The city WIFI coverage is only along the Grand Canal which is only a few houses away. There is a dock there and it's a great place to spend the evening with a glass of wine.

Recommended for:Sightseeing, romantic getaway, tourists without a car, families with young children, adventure seekers, families with teenagers.

Poorly managed but still a lucky find

Guest: JWM (Davis)
Date of Stay: 07/11/11 Review Submitted: 07/23/11

The renovations to the apartment, especially bathroom and the kitchen are well done. The bathroom is nice and big. The sheets were clean and the beds were very comfortable. It was nice to have the space of an apartment and to have breakfast in the little kitchen. The owner's communication by email was good during reservation process and helpful with local information before arrival. For these reasons the apartment was a lucky find. The apartment was clean and well maintained overall, but some areas were overlooked. The bathroom floor was dirty, and the fan was so caked with dust that no air came through the screen. The air conditioner was not properly vented, a problem that the owner tried to fix for a couple of minutes, but left without resolving, explaining or making a plan to fix. We had a hard time relaxing because it is clear that the neighbors are not enjoying having a vacation rental in the building. A sign asks guests to be quiet after 8pm. The floor bounces and no amount of tiptoeing can keep it quiet. On the last morning we were literally given the bum's rush. At 9 am the cleaner appeared at the door and we were informed that other people were arriving at 10:30. Poor management. All in all I would recommend it to a flexible friend, but not to families with children.

Recommended for:

Good value apartment in a great location

Guest: Scott, JM, Xavier & Tom (Sydney, NSW, Australia)
Date of Stay: 06/19/11 Review Submitted: 07/19/11

We stayed here for 3 nights in mid June and found the apartment to be comfortable and met all our needs. We are a family of 4 with 2 boys aged 11 and 9. We communicated with Eva beforehand and had no problem with her very comprhensive directions to get off the ferry at San Silvestro and wait for Tanja who then took us to the apartment in fact from memory Eva rang us while on the Ferry to make sure we were not lost. The apartment is up several steps (~50 I think) which is good to burn off all the calories we piled on eating at the Pasticeria not far from the apartment (which we found on our last day and had the best coffee and best cakes). We found the apartment to be as described and reflected in the photos. It's not luxurious but it was perfect for what we wanted - an inexpensive base to explore Venice in a quiet area without typical tourist traps of high prices etc.. On arrival it was certainly clean and there was a folder with recommendations on places to eat and other details regarding internet etc, plenty of books, CDs and a map of venice. We did not have a lap top and so couldn't use the USB key provided. Instead we simply used our ipods/smartphones using the free wifi venniceconnected login provided by Eva when we were in public places with better reception like Rialto market where we were able to photograph ourselves enjoying an aperol spritz overlooking the grand canal and e-mail back to our friends at home with no problem. We ate Pizza at da Sandro and dined at Osteria all'antico Dolo as recommended by Eva. We fell in love with the rialto markets for fresh fruit and vegetables, bought ham, prosciutto and cheeses and breads and picniced in Piazza San Polo. We loved a little bar called Al Merca in the Rialto market area that serves mini prosciutto con tartufo pannini and several wines by the glass also a ristorante close by named "Ancora" was very accomodating of the boys and found us a table outside overlooking the grand canal - great Zuppe di Pesce. We would recommend this place to family and friends looking for somewhere quiet, central and inexpensive in Venice.

Recommended for:Sightseeing, romantic getaway, tourists without a car, girls getaway, adventure seekers, families with teenagers.

Very Disappointing Stay in Venice

Guest: Louisiana Family Trip (Louisiana)
Date of Stay: 05/25/11 Review Submitted: 06/06/11

The apartment was VERY hard to find and the person responsible for meeting us at the apt. did not speak much english. It is located on the 3rd floor of a crowded apartment building with NO view of anything except other apartments. The apartment was dirty and we recieved no instructions on air conditioner or other appliances. The internet card promised during our stay was a sad excuse for connectivity. I finally gave up. The owner was very difficult to contact and I racked up many phone charges. We were sadly disappointed in our stay in Venice!

Owner response:Guests are kindly asked, staring from the first email, to inform about arrival time, in order to organize the welcome at the house. We assure pick up at train station or boat stop at any time of the day or night. These guests never answered to our emails and just showed up at the house. We were called by a neighbor. When they arrived, the house was spotless, as usual. We actually cannot say the same thing at guests' departure: unfortunately they did not take good care of the house at all! Internet is available ON REQUEST (before arrival, not on the same day), as specified in every email. When guests asked for the internet key, we did our best to provide it, and we did it! As per previous guests' feed-back, I am always at people's disposal at my mobile phone number. Once again, this is what happened also this time. I also was "sadly disappointed" and frustrated by guests that don't appreciate all our efforts. Luckily this is really rare!

Recommended for:

Stayed here during Carnivale

Guest: Bob (Newton, MA, USA)
Date of Stay: 03/04/11 Review Submitted: 05/28/11

This apartment was very centrally located for our stay during Carnivale, big enough for four people, modern and clean. We loved the neighborhood, great shops, restaurants, and coffee/pastry shop close by. You can walk to most places from this location and avoid big crowds, even during carnivale. Close to vaparetto stops. Difficult to find when we arrived but once you find the corner it's hidden in, it was not a problem. Highly recommended.

Recommended for:Sightseeing, families with teenagers, age 55+.

Great time in Venice

Guest: Andie (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
Date of Stay: 07/02/10 Review Submitted: 08/06/10

The apartment was very well located and stocked with all we could have needed. The information and guidebooks were really helpful, the children had their own room which was great too! Eva was great with contact before the trip and even though she had family obligations she made sure that we were met at the apartment and all was set up for us. Absolutely recommend this apartment.

Recommended for:Sightseeing, romantic getaway, tourists without a car, families with young children, girls getaway, families with teenagers.

Wishing we were back in Venice!

Guest: lorisaints (Chandler, AZ)
Date of Stay: 02/01/10 Review Submitted: 07/10/10

It was great for our family -- 2 adults, 2 teens, and our baby! We had such a wonderful time. Great location, comfortable accommodations. Have a blast!

Recommended for:Sightseeing, tourists without a car, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Good location and clean, efficient apt.

Guest: Peggy (Maryland, USA)
Date of Stay: 06/22/10 Review Submitted: 06/27/10

Clean, comfortable accommodation for our family of four. Plenty of towels, enough kitchen supplies to make simple meals, all that we needed for our stay was provided. Very well located. Our host, Eva, communicated with us well, and was able and willing to help with trip planning details. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the apartment to a friend or stay there again.

Recommended for:Sightseeing, romantic getaway, tourists without a car, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Chris and Steve, Vienna/Austria

Guest: Chris and Steven (Vienna, Austria)
Date of Stay: 06/03/10 Review Submitted: 06/16/10

Wonderful and clean apartment in a terrific location. Shops and restaurants are basically at your doorstep. Communication with the owner Eva was very swift and all information given was absolutely accurate. We were met on time at the Vaporeto stop which was a mere 5 minutes from the apartment. Our family had a great time and can truly recommend the apartment.

Recommended for:Sightseeing, romantic getaway, tourists without a car, girls getaway, families with teenagers.