What a great place to stay in Venice! The apartment is a very tasteful and functional blend of old and new. The location is not only ideal for the Venice Biennale but it's great for families. The Castello is a very calm, family-oriented neighborhood, with parks and playgrounds in the Giardini and a supermarket and vegetable stalls nearby on the Via Garibaldi. Many attractions are within walking distance and you can get just about anywhere in Venice from the Giardini vaporetto stop.
Scala Mata is in a 15th century building on the end of a block, with windows on three sides for great ventilation. There are also new AC units throughout, which came in handy during the August heatwave. There is a very comfortable queen master bedroom and a sweet bedroom upstairs with two singles that was super for our daughter. The living room has a big, comfortable new sofabed and a lovely writing table that looks out on the street. There new bathroom is very nice with plenty of hot water and good pressure. Marika is an excellent, professional host. She and her mother, Karin, who helps out, set us up, made recommendations, and were available by phone or email if we needed them but left us alone, so we had complete privacy, which we liked. Communication in advance was superb, with detailed step-by-step instructions on how to get to her place. We've stayed at quite a few airbnb's and Scala Mata is one of the best.