Palazzo Da Ponte

Our room was still disgustingly dirty and not ready at the scheduled check-in time. We waited more than two hours past when we were due to check in before it was ready. The wait was about 10% of our €180 stay, but we weren’t offered any refund. I posted a balanced review on booking.com. In response, the owners called me a liar and claimed they’d politely asked us to leave our luggage and wait no more than 15 minutes. Neither of those things was true. They also claimed I’d flushed female sanitary products down the toilet and was “covering for myself.” I’m male and have never used those products. I can only assume this was an attempt to bully and shame me into deleting a negative review, so I’m posting it on other booking sites in the hope they learn some grace and decorum. Avoid AT ALL COSTS. Stay anywhere else. These are, quite frankly, rude and horrible people, and they shouldn’t get your money.

That star feels wasted. I never want to stay in this accommodation again. It was the worst place I’ve ever stayed.

Thomas was a wonderful host, always quick to reply and very helpful. I extended our stay, and he was happy to make it work. He also kindly shared a tip that saved me money. Venice was a wonderful trip in large part because of Thomas and his Airbnb. The location is convenient and feels safe. I traveled with my 18-year-old daughter, and the Airbnb is at the end of a quiet street. It’s clean and spacious, with a big bedroom and a pull-out couch for my daughter. Getting there from the train station takes just three minutes on foot, with no bridges to cross. After a day of travel, that was a relief, especially with luggage and Venice’s bridges and cobbled streets. It’s close to the station without the station’s hustle and bustle. Water taxis are nearby, too, so we could drop off our bags and catch one to San Marco Square.

Room 1 was spacious and nice, and the location between San Marco and Rialto worked really well. It was easy to get there from the Rialto vaporetto stop. As other reviewers and the owner say, it feels more like an Airbnb than a proper hotel, which has its pros and cons. We didn’t mind missing hotel services like having the room made up, since we don’t usually use that service anyway. Taking our rubbish out was less convenient, though manageable for a short stay. The cleanliness issue mentioned by someone else was real, but not as bad as I’d expected. I did miss having an electric kettle and mugs. Those seem like a reasonable thing to provide and would make a stay more enjoyable. For the price and location, it’s definitely a good place to stay.