My wife and I were looking for a place in Venice where I could work remotely for a couple of weeks, where we would be away from the touristy centers of Venice, but still have easy access to amenities, restaurants and transportation. We selected Flat Z OrmEsini and could not have been more pleased.
The apartment. The flat is a relatively large, well-lighted, comfortable space with a separate bedroom, large ensuite bathroom and open concept living room, dining area and kitchen. The kitchen is small, but not tiny, and is fully equipped and functional, with a large refrigerator (enough for 3-4 days’ worth of food for 2 people) and a 4 burner gas stove. We cooked lunch or dinner every day and didn’t have any issues with the space, appliances, utensils or lighting. The bedroom has a large, comfortable bed (think King sized bed), nearby electrical outlets for charging devices (of which we travel with many) and plenty of closet space (a rarity in many European apartments). The dining area has a table for 4 people, which was large enough not only for dining, but to use as an office for my laptop, mouse and various accessories. There are plenty of electrical outlets throughout the flat, so we were able to charge our many devices at the same time. The Wi-Fi is very good and I didn’t have any issues uploading and downloading e-mails, files or pictures, connecting to my corporate VPN or streaming music or video (note: please be aware, especially if you are from the US and used to very high speed Wi-Fi, that most homes, and even hotels, in Europe, don’t have Wi-Fi speeds that compare to the highest speeds available in the US). And the flat has its own new washer and dryer in a separate room downstairs. Not only is it rare for places to have private laundry facilities, it’s even more rare for there to be a separate dryer, as well as a washer (walking throughout the neighborhood, you will see many families still dry their clothes on outside lines). It was great having access to a private washer and dryer rather than disrupt our work, travel and sightseeing plans with trips to the laundromat. The flat is modern, clean, well equipped, comfortable, functional and well located. It’s a great alternative to staying in a hotel.
The neighborhood. The flat is located in a quiet part of the Cannaregio neighborhood, away from the touristy centers of Venice, but very close to excellent amenities, and just steps away from a very nice canal (but not the Grand Canal). If you want to go to St. Mark’s, the train station or Rialto, you are a 15 minute walk from those areas. The flat is located about 2 minutes and across a nearby bridge from the Jewish Ghetto and a 5-6 minute walk from the vaporetto and Alilaguna (transport to/from the airport) stops. There are 2 nice, well stocked supermarkets within 6-8 minute walks from the flat. And although the neighborhood is less touristy, there are many excellent restaurants, bars, coffee shops, gelato shops (an obligatory daily stop) and bakeries close by, leading to lively morning and evening crowds. The long fondamenta (the walkway along the canals) is a great place for walking/jogging or just taking an after dinner stroll. If you are looking for a more “authentic” Venice neighborhood to make your home, somewhere away from the touristy centers, but close to amenities and services, this is an excellent place to live local.
The host. Diana is terrific. She is very responsive, quick to answer questions, provide information or make recommendations. She is very friendly, helpful (she met us at the Alilaguna stop to walk us to the apartment, which was very welcome after traveling all day), hospitable and welcoming. Diana will provide you with helpful hints for seeing Venice. She speaks English well and will walk you through all the rules and routines of living in the apartment (e.g., water conservation, trash and recycling). Diana makes it very easy to get comfortable in Venice and she very much wants her guests to be comfortable and happy.
We loved staying here and are planning to come back next year to our Venetian home away from home. We highly recommend staying at Diana’s apartment.