Check in was a very trying experience. I was exhausted after travelling all night and then navigating Venice with luggage, and arrived to discover that Nicholas had not sent check-in info. Nor did he answer my calls or texts. The local helper he identified in the listing would only say she did not speak English and hung up on me several times. I was left stranded out in the calle. Nicholas did eventually send the door code and then called from LA to apologise.
Inside, the space was very cluttered and a lot of the apartment was taken up with personal belongings of the host, such as a big stereo turntable (not for guests use) that took up half of the kitchen counter.
Cleanliness was also a problem. Bookshelves coated with dust, placemats in the kitchen with old food stuck on ... this is the apartment of a guy who lives alone and is often away.
After I used the stove to make tea, after my difficult check-in, I heard a loud explosion and discovered shattered glass all over the kitchen. Apparently there had been a glass cover on the glass range that was supposed to have been lifted before the range was used, a situation I'd never before encountered. There had been no signage or instructions in the house manual info to warn guests. I was very fortunate to have been out of the room at the time of the explosion.
I found the location to be excellent, well-situated for exploring Venice, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly for most of my month in Venice.
I didn't appreciate the host requesting through Airbnb, after my checkout, to pay for the exploded stove top. Had it not been for the stovetop debacle, I would have been inclined to simply say, the place was cluttered and not particularly clean, but great location in Castello and a good value.