The Host: Massimo was extremely responsive when booking and got in touch with us a good week before we went. He also sent information on basic logistics and things around the apartment (banks, pharmacy, etc.). While we never met him personally, Giulia met us at the Rialto vapporetto stop exactly when she said she would ( we texted her when we arrived at the train station and when we were getting on the water bus.) She was terrific in answering questions and providing recommendations. While we never felt the need to contact them during our stay, we are confident they would have responded immediately had we needed them. The apartment: While basic in decor, the great thing about this apartment is its functionality, which we found out from staying in other apartments, this is more important! It is spacious and clean, and 2BR/2BA were great with a family of four. The washing machine was great (just make sure you wash the night before so the clothes have most of the next day to dry on the racks provided). The air conditioning worked great throughout the apartment. The beds were also very comfortable. The location: Terrific! Hop, skip and a jump to the Rialto bridge, vaporetto stop, and Rialto market (highly recommend hitting that in the mornings for fresh fruit/produce!). An easy 10-15minute walk to St. Mark's Square, etc. The apartment is just off of a fun and lively piazza at night, but we didn't hear any street noise. Venice is lovely, particularly in the morning/evening after crowds have dissipated. It is so easy to just follow the very well marked directional signs to different places of interest. Have some kind of map just to have a sense of where those places are in relation to each other and you'll be fine. While we typically don't do tours, we pre-booked a 2-hour walking tour (22 euros each), which met just around the corner from St. Mark's and finished super close to the apartment! We learned some great facts and got to skip the long line to the Basilica. Highly recommend for anyone who just has a couple of nights in Venice. We also enjoyed the Guggenheim (near Accademia). Took a lovely early evening gondola ride (80 euros/30 minutes). We chose to get one from a side canal instead of the overly commercial part near St. Mark's Square, which was a good choice. We also chose to ride the vaporetto at 10 p.m. because we heard it was a good way to see things from the water when it wasn't too crowded. We enjoyed it but while we meant to get on the #2 water bus, we accidentally got on the #1, which took the very long way around (about 90 minutes!). But it was a fun way to feel like locals. ;-} We all agreed we could have used at least one more day/night to visit one of the islands nearby. We were pleasantly surprised by Venice, even in hot, crowded...