I Gioielli del Doge - Cannaregio

Finding the apartment was confusing at first, tucked away in some strange narrow alleys. Once inside, it felt like a hovel or a construction site. There was a terrible smell, dirt on the floor that clearly hadn’t been swept or mopped, and unwashed sheets. The red blanket seemed to be there to hide the grime. Even the towels smelled odd. There was no hand soap, barely half a roll of toilet paper, and no water, extra sheets, pillowcases, or kitchen paper. Tiny spiders were there too, as the photos show. There was no wifi, which had been mentioned but still wasn’t acceptable. The heating didn’t work and there was no air conditioning. We were there for just two days, thankfully, but this happened two years ago and I still felt I needed to write about it. It was the worst apartment we’ve ever stayed in, a real waste of money. I wonder how anyone can feel okay renting out a place like this.

The beds were so uncomfortable that my parents had lumbar pain throughout our vacation. We also found someone else’s hair clogged in the shower tray, and dirt under the beds. Then came a charge from the apartment: they said we had taken a blanket and withdrew a large amount from our bank account to make us pay for it. When we left, we were told to leave the keys and that nobody would meet us to inspect the apartment with us there. So anyone could have done anything after we left. I’m unhappy with what happened and how they handled it, without giving us a chance to respond. What had seemed like a nice family vacation in Venice ended very badly. Avoid this place.

We were delighted by the service, how quickly things were handled, and how clean the place was. It was exactly as the host described and excellent value for money, in a very good part of Venice. I don’t know why it has so few stars. We left feeling great and would definitely return if we get the chance. Thanks so much for hosting us!

There’s no wifi, and I couldn’t get internet inside the apartment, which felt like a basement. They ask for your bank card details and a 300 euro deposit. I suspect that if you pay it, you won’t get it back because they’ll claim something was broken. The drawers aren’t cleaned out either. There’s a hairy rubber band in one that seems to have been there for ages and is pretty alarming.