We're trying to cram too many people into one space in Venice this trip (not to mention other locations) and it has of course fallen on MY shoulders to make it work lodging-wise. Have any of you had experience with the VeniceBy website and the apartments they offer. They sound reputable enough, and we're doing something similar in Paris, but the demand for cash up front with a hefty security deposit makes me a little skittish. (We can reserve with credit card, but must pay full rental in cash or cheques upon arrival, along with a security deposit.)

Not doubting that these are honest people, I just wanted to hear if others had stayed in their properties. We are currently booked into their "San Marco" apartment for 4 of us.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I don't have experience with that particular company, but we rented with venicerentals.com this summer and were extremely pleased.

Venice Rentals required a one night non-refundable deposit to secure our dates, and then the full payment of cash up front upon our arrival. We also had the same requirements for our apartment in Florence, so what we paid up front for each seemed to be the norm.

We were never asked for a security deposit on the property itself, however. Just cash for the nights we were staying, minus the one night we'd prepaid before our trip.

I will also attest to the reputability of Venice Rentals. And they have the option of paying by personal check to their office in Boston. Their reservation and cancellation policies are quite reasonable.

One poster said veniceby.com they had steep cancellation policies. veniceby.com can be found under worldby.com along with romeby.com and others. Do a text search and you will find many threads that mention veniceby.com and some other worldby.com's.

Their site is the best I have seen for extensive photos. They seem to have more listings for venice than other places.

Interesting comment on another thread about renting from Venice Rentals. They waited two hours for the agent to show up, found the apartment needed cleaning, and couldn't get any assistance with information from the agent.

I saw that, too, Patrick and was quite disappointed for Benjy. We rented from Venice Rentals in July and were extremely pleased with both the apartment and the service. Denise really went out of her way for us on numerous occassions. I guess not everyone has the same experiences at the same places all the time.

Thanks for all the responses. We have tentatively "booked" the "San Marco" apartment in Venice with VeniceBy. Anybody with experience, please comment.

Thanks,
Daniel

Hi
I recently stayed in the apartment in San Marco (September 2004) and thought it may be useful to send a review for you to consider. I know I felt a little nervous when I was booking it and would have liked to be able to read some points from someone who had stayed there.

Location - excellent. HOW could you do any better? We could walk all day, come home for a rest and then walk all night at the countless restaurants etc nearby (and the gelat shops....). 2 mins walk from Piazza San Marco, 2 mins from Rialto, ATMs, bakery, alimentaria all right in Campo di San Luco around the corner. Quiet and private. From this location we were able to get to know the city really easily and Vaporetti stops were all around us.
The apartment is on the 2nd floor with no lift so be prepared to carry your luggage up the tight staircase.

Facilities - 2 bedrooms and living room were excellent. As a family of 4 (2 teenagers and 2 adults) it was great to have the extra space (compared to tiny hotel rooms!) and privacy. Each bedroom was of a good size (though the second room only has 2 single beds and not much else) and the main bedroom has a little room off to the side which became our luggage space. The kitchen had everything we needed and was easy to use. We would have liked a bigger moka (italian coffee maker, though. We could even see gondolas from the kitchen window and hear the music from the lovely restuarant on the corner at night.

Service - everything ran smoothly. I was booking from Australia and all my emails and calls were answered quickly (given the 8 hour time difference) and completely. We called when we arrived at the station (about 45 mins away allowing for vaporetti timetables etc) and were met at the apartment where we were shown how to use everything. Directions were absolutely perfect and we got there first go - that's pretty good going in Venice! We only had to send a deposit and paid the rest in cash on arrival. All confirmations and directions arrived by email immediately after we paid the deposit so I did not have to chase up anything.

I hope this helps and ejoy your stay in Venice - is it such an amazing city. Where else are you going in Italy? We had 5 weeks and used other apartments in Florence, San Gimignano, Perugia and Rome.

Vicky Emery.
Sydney, Australia.

ladybird1,
Could you tell me how much you paid for the apt. per week?
Thanks so much.

Has anyone rented apartments from Veniceapartments.org? or is veniceby the way to go.

Veniceaprtments.org responded to my email very quickly and sent me a whole page of apartments varying in price.

Could someone tell me if a final cleaning fee of 30 - 40 euros is common?

Thanks from a cold Canadian.