Raffaella’s place in Mestre is the perfect launching point for experiencing Venice. We drove up after spending time in Tuscany and needed to keep our car for the return to Milan. She offers a gated/locked parking area, which was perfect for our peace of mind. The bus to Venice is extremely close by (Raffaella will tell you exactly where to pick it up when she greets you) and every time we saw some poor group of tourists lugging their suitcases up and down the bridges of Venice or on/off vaporetti, we were so grateful we’d decided to stay in Mestre. The apartment is air-conditioned, which was a godsend during our late-August stay. The bedrooms are spacious and well appointed, with very comfortable beds and shuttered windows, which provide a nice dark atmosphere for sleeping. The bathrooms were pristine and equipped with shampoo/conditioner and nice towels. The street is central but fairly quiet—and there are grocery stores within easy walking distance. The kitchen is fairly well equipped for cooking – perhaps a few larger serving bowls would have helped but there was plenty of cookware and we made a wonderful dinner which we enjoyed on the open terrace just off the kitchen. Raffaella is a lovely host who was raised in Venice so she has good advice about the city. She was flexible about our arrival and departure time and very patient with our questions. Her apartment was the perfect place for our stay and I would highly recommend it!