We loved staying at Barbara's place and found it was incredibly close to everything we wanted to see. It's the best location, just one minute away from the Rialto bridge, and the area of San Polo is packed full of great local restaurants, cafes and bars. It was totally silent in the apartment despite its location. It IS dark but I've stayed in several places in Venice, and because the buildings are so close together, this is normal unless you book somewhere more expensive overlooking a campo or canal. It was the perfect size for two adults and two toddlers, and the communication between us and Barbara, Chiara and Alessandro was spot-on. Lovely Alessandro met us off the vaparetto, later than we expected to arrive as our flight was delayed. He showed us the apartment and gave us some local tips. There was even water, pasta, pasta sauce and biscuits in the apartment which made a good emergency late-night tea for the children. Lastly, it was great value. At under £100 per night (early March) in this location, it was a total bargain. Grazie di tutto!