My first time with airbnb and staying with Veronica was the most wonderful experience possible. She is lovely and so helpful, it was like staying with an old friend. Her house is beautiful and comfortable, and you can enjoy Veronica's wonderful paintings on the walls too. She provides breakfast including the best chocolate croissants in the world, the start of a very bad habit! Importantly the bed is super comfortable. After a long haul flight from New Zealand, arriving at Sant Elena by boat and walking the few minutes to her home through the leafy park and quiet pretty streets, was paradise. I hardly dare tell you how lovely St Elena is for fear everyone will discover it. Just minutes by vaporetto from the crazy tourist hordes, (and an easy and pleasant stroll to the Biennale sites of Gardini and Arsenale) it seems a world away. With a week long boat pass you can zip everywhere in the city and then recover in the tranquility of Veronica's. I couldn't have chosen a better host and place to stay in Venice, and I would go back tomorrow if I could.