Good host that was nice to introduce the area and recommendations for food. Location is decent and the apartment was good too.

Luisa's niece, Giovanna, was in contact with us a week before our stay, giving explicit instructions on how to get from the train station to the apartment by Water Bus. She kept in touch with us frequently in the days prior to our arrival and even met us at the San Samuele Water Bus stop to walk us to the apartment. The apartment was lovely and located in a very QUIET area of Venice, but was also located very near local eateries a small quick mart with great foods for those nights we didn't want to eat out. Giovanna spent the time to give us an overview of how to get around the city, places of interest, and even a few local restaurants that were really good. (We only managed to hit one, but it was spot on for its wonderful authentic food.) Though the apartment had no air-conditioning, a fan was provided and opening windows definitely kept the apartment cooler (there are mosquitos in area, but we were provided plug in mosquito repellant to keep them at bay.). We highly recommend the Multi-Day water bus passes to get around by water, because there are not straight shots across the island by land. If you want a walking adventure it's fun, and safe to walk the streets and alleys just to see Venice, however if you have plans or a timeline, I recommend the pass. You can also take the waterbus to the islands of Murano and Burano which have some lovely blown glass and Lace making (respectively). Ours was a 72 hour pass and is unlimited use for the three days you have them. We'd paid for them by the end of the second day. They can also be used to get from Venice to the Airport via city bus. The day we left, we literally hopped on a water bus at Academia, rode it to Il Roma, got off the water bus, jumped on the City Bus and was at the airport from there in about 25 minutes, didn't have to break out a single Euro more!

The apartment was very close to all the attractions and cute restaurants and shops!

Giovanna is an excellent hostess: it started with superb communications; she directed to and then met us at the ferry pier connecting the airport to her district in Venice; taking us to the rental unit, she pointed out local information and expanded that to information on rest of Venice on our arrival at the apartment. The apartment is newly renovated, has the conveniences of home, and is very clean and comfortable. It has easy access to main attractions and transportation, but allowed us to quickly leave the tourist bustle and enjoy the local flavours Venice.