My wife and I started our vacation/ 1 year wedding anniversary in Venice and wanted a more unique experience, so we opted to stay in an Air BnB rather than a hotel. Unfortunately this residence is not really your traditional Air BnB, but instead a commercialized rental apartment. There was nothing that felt like “home” here. The other issue was the WiFi (yes, I know- first world problems)- it seemed as though the router was downstairs by the main entrance of the building, and we stayed on the second floor. We could only stay connected if we were in a small corner of the kitchen. The WiFi isn’t a huge deal, but after a long day of exploring (we walked nearly 50 miles in a week!), it’s nice to come home and relax with some nice wine and Netflix. Additionally, being in a foreign place without proper means of communication and research makes life a bit difficult. Also, the bed was solid as a rock- we actually slept on the pull-out bed in the living room a couple of nights.

With the negatives out of the way, the location was perfect for us, since it was a bit tucked away and just far enough from the large crowds that infest Venice daily. Castello is very peaceful and quite with the exception of the main street (just a 1 minute walk) with a bunch of restaurants, shopping, and a market. It is also very close to a water bus station- very convenient. Also, there is also a beautiful park right around the corner, which is nice because there is not a lot of vegetation in Venice. Saint Mark’s square is only a 10-15 minute walk from the apartment.

The amenities in the apartment were all very modern- it was obvious that it was recently updated. The bathrooms were nice- my wife enjoyed the idea of having a bathtub in one of the rooms, however, the water was only warm at best. Having a washer/dryer all-in-one was very nice as well. The host was very helpful- we had a technical difficulty with the stove and they brought over a solution first thing in the morning. We brought up the WiFi issue and they offered to come over to help, but then I realized that the issue could not really be fixed. Communication was very prompt when we had questions or concerns. Overall it was a nice stay, and I would recommend it- just expect more of a hotel experience than a “home” experience.