Staying in this cramped, tiny space, was a truly horrible experience. Here, you will find nothing that indicates that your comfort has been thought about, such as an extra pillow, or even a bedside light. Elena greeted us with the air of a busy businesswoman who had to get away as quickly as possible. On discovering that the fan didn’t pan round (important, with two small children trying to sleep in the humid Venice summer), I called to complain. She returned, obviously irritated, and said it was impossible to buy a new fan the next day (Saturday), or Sunday. This was simply not true. When it became clear that I was not going to accept this, she left and returned 15 minutes later, depositing a new, boxed electric fan. I then spent most of the next hour of my precious evening in Venice, assembling, on their behalf, the various parts of the flat-packed fan, using a kitchen knife as a screwdriver. (I had neglected to bring my tool kit on holiday).
So, a shower: ignoring the mould, I stepped in to discover their ingenious method for limiting shower time – they leave the drain semi blocked with previous occupants’ hair, meaning you are ankle-deep within a minute or two. Again, the kitchen cutlery was useful, this time for clearing the hair from the shower drain. But the shower was one-handed, as the wall fitting for the shower head was broken. The toilet seat was similarly “rustic”, being split clean through in two places. The flat contains two power sockets, one of which is equipped with an extension cable with exposed wiring. The entrance hall also has exposed wiring round the ceiling light. The lighting is, let’s say “industrial”, rather than “romantic”.
Plainly, this hovel had been abandoned for full-time living, and certainly isn’t someone’s flat that they are letting out for a few days. An internet search reveals that the Airbnb client is a property management company. If our experience is typical of their modus operandi, it appears that this company manages derelict properties, fills them with an absolute minimum of cheap, junky furniture, ignores maintenance and repairs, and charges unsuspecting tourists to Venice extortionate amounts. I suspect this place would be illegal as a regular B and B. Like other visitors, we were charged an additional amount for “cleaning and local taxes”, but given no receipt for this supposed “tax payment”. I am making enquiries with the Italian tax authorities, and also intend to report this to the Venice Tourist authorities. My advice is not to stay here! If you book another place in Venice, I advise you to check that the owner is not this company. It is hard to ruin a holiday in a wonderful city like Venice, but this place came very close.