Great apartment. The location is excellent. You are close enough for easy walks to St Mark's and the Rialto Bridge, which we did many times every day. Yet the apartment itself is just a block from all of the activity and crowds. So you get all the benefits of a quiet area and the benefits of being close to everything. Perfect.
All of the windows along the exterior wall of the apartment are a floor above a small canal and you can look out and see small bridges, colorful facades and gondolas with tourists passing by. Some of the best pictures I took were just right out of the window.
Practical matters: It is just a short flight of steps up to the apartment which was great. There is a large living room, a small dining room, and a foyer area which gives a family plenty of room to spread out. You'd need probably three or four hotel rooms to get close to the same amount of space. The kitchen is small, but has everything you need: stove, microwave, medium-sized refrigerator, things to cook with and eat. The main bedroom is large with a comfortable bed. The smaller one is perfect for one or two children, plus there is a desk. Up some stairs in another good-sized room for two adults. There is a full bathroom downstairs and other one in the upstairs bedroom. A washer in one bathroom and a dryer in the other.
The Internet connection was very good too. And the air conditioning, so important since we were there during the hottest part of the year. The only issue we had is that being Americans we are used to big strong showers with unlimited hot water. We only used the downstairs shower and it was very low pressure with hot water for maybe 5 minutes. This was only really a problem the first time, and then we got used to it.
Elena was also a great host, meeting us there and accommodating our arrival time. She explained everything well, made some good recommendations, and responded very quickly when I texted her with a question during the stay. Thank you for everything Elena!