Marco was an excellent host, he gave us great directions and met us at the Vaporetto stop. He even helped carry our luggage! He had useful information about the area, good restaurants to go to, places to see and when to see them. He was quickly available to us if we needed information before the trip as well.

The apartment was a very nice, modern flat. It was a good size with a nice big bathroom, generous kitchen with all the mod cons and a comfortable bed. The air conditioning worked well. The building is a recently converted factory and has been done to a high standard as the complex also includes the Hilton Hotel, which you have access to. (Don't miss the Piazza Nutella! Seriously, they have one ;-)) The roof top bar has fantastic views of all of Venice as the hotel is probably one of the tallest buildings in the city.

The Giudecca area, that is just off the main part of Venice, is a bit of a mixed blessing. It is one of the few areas of Venice where it feels like real Venetians live. Walk down any of the little side streets and you feel like you are in the real Italy. The waterfront area has about 7 or 8 restaurants that range from the super expensive to cheap and cheerful with many being local hang outs. We really enjoyed it. It is very peaceful and calm compared to the crush of the main city. It is however a bit of commitment. The hotel has a free shuttle boat that goes to San Marco square every hour and straight across the water every 20-40 minutes. (There are also 2 Vaporetto stops close by.) Although this is a fantastic amenity it does restrict you somewhat in being spontaneous. You can't just pop out to see something when you feel like it, you do need some pre-planning especially if you are coming from San Marco.

Overall however we really liked it and have no complaints about Marco or the apartment. It is a great spot if you are looking for a restful place to stay outside of the Venice tourist hordes.