Apartment in Venice
 

We had the most wonderful service and accomodations provided by Venice Rentals! Our apartment was in the heart of Venice, in the wonderful San Toma district. It was centrally located, yet away from the busy tourist attractions and crowded thorofares. We were only about a 10-minute walk from the busy and crowded (during the peak of the tourist season) Rialto Bridge and maybe 20 minutes from San Marco Square, yet we were on a quiet and elegant tiny residential plaza, immediately next to a quiet canal.

Our apartment was in a wonderful, well-kept, centuries-old building -- as are most of the buildings in Venice -- in a very quiet neighborhood . It very large -- by Venetian standards -- 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (one had a very small shower), large livingroom, and small but fully equipped galley kitchen. We had a washing machine (and lines out over the alley for a dryer -- like all Venetians!). It was PERFECT for us -- 2 couples and a teenager. We were there for a relatively long visit -- 15 days -- and were endlessly appreciative of this beautiful, large, comfortable, well-equipped apartment in its fabulous location.

Venice Rentals provided exceptional personal service. All 3 contacts spoke English (2 are Americans), and the "reality" definitely reflected their website description. They are extremely knowledgeable about Venice -- since they live there! I had a million questions beforehand -- never having booked private accommodations over a website -- which Denise always graciously and promptly answered. Payment was easy and worry-free: Denise quickly acknowledged receipt, provided the current exchange rate, etc. This apartment was on the higher end of cost because of its size, but we needed the space for the 5 of us.

Julie met us at the boat stop and escorted us to the apartment. She was very personable, thorough, and accurate regarding her descriptions of how to manage all the Italian-style (odd, to us!) mechanisms and equipment of the apartment. Venice Rentals was always very accommodating, conscientious about not infringing on our precious vacation hours; including arranging our water taxi pick-up when we [sadly] left.

I ABSOLUTELY recommend Venice Rentals and this particular apartment to ANYONE! (Though people needing handicap accessibility will need to look into other options -- it has stairs, no elevator, as with many Venitian buildings). I plan on staying there again, myself, if we need the size on our next visit (this apartment is oversize if you only need 2 bedrooms; they have other smaller apartments that have lower costs).

Glad to hear Venice Rentals worked well for you, KForrest. We are renting with them for our second time in six more weeks.

OK, I'm sure I'll get slammed for my "negative" response, but am I the only one who thinks it odd that a person who has never ever registered or posted on Fodor's before, comes here for the sole purpose of writing a long and detailed glowing report of one service during a trip? Was there really no other thing worth mentioning on that trip -- like a restaurant, some wonderful site, or anything else?

I'm glad you had success with them and perhaps this is a sincere post. I apologize if so for my doubts. But surely you have to admit that this long and very detailed rave seems odd since you haven't taken the time or interest to mention another single thing about the entire trip, including details of any other cities you may have visited.

Yes,Patrick,it smells like a sneaky advert to me,too.

I thought I was being cynical but guess I have company.

Sorry Korrest if this is a legit posting, but it seems odd to me also. First post ever and no mention of anything except how wonderful Venice Rentals and the apartment was, something just doesn't seem right.

I absolutely agree with the report. We stayed in this apartment in December last year and it was wonderful as was the advice and support we recieved from Denise at Venice Rentals. You can see my report on the apartment & Venice Rentals at www.slowtrav.com/italy/vr/review.asp?n=1269

Thanks, maryk, and you've helped prove our point. You didn't merely register here to post an "ad"-like rave for an apartment. Your rave was part of a regular trip report with many other comments as well. That tends to be what "real" posters do -- report on various aspects of a trip, not simply go on and on about every detail of booking, arrival, etc. as it relates to using a particular agency.