This is a very good apartment in a great area away from the heavy tourist areas that you'll find down by St. Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco). The apartment has all you need, and the hosts provide a little log book with suggestions on near-by restaurants and places to visit. It is a 10-15 minute walk to either the Rialto Bridge (Ponte di Rialto) or the Scalzi Bridge (Ponte degli Scalzi), the latter which is right at the Santa Lucia train station. If you don't mind the walk (including carrying your luggage over several bridges), you can get there from the Scalzi bridge, or take the water bus to the San Stae bus stop, which itself is a 5 minute walk (with three small bridges) to the apartment.
There is a main fish / farmers' market about 5-10 minutes from the apartment on the way to the Rialto bridge, and there are several restaurants and small grocery-type stores all close by. There technically is a view of a canal outside the kitchen window, and if you lean way out the window you can catch a sliver of the Grand Canal; if a canal view is a must for you, this apartment provides very little. But it's a literally 2-minute walk around the corner to the Grand Canal waterfront, and there are many opportunities to enjoy the canals which make this city so unique.
The host was very responsive, coming over to help us with a problem with the hot water which should be a non-issue going forward (it was being fixed the day we left). The host lives nearby, and came over at a time that was convenient to us, which was great. We felt he genuinely wanted us to be comfortable and to enjoy our stay in Venice, and he did his best to make it a great experience for us.
If you want a nice, clean, comfortable place with old-world charm, off the tourist-beaten paths but still close enough to everything you'd want to see and do in Venice, this apartment is a good choice.