JMichael
100+ Posts
Casa dei Pittori - Ca Guardi Apt.
Apartment: Casa dei Pittori, Ca Gaurdi apartment
Link: http://www.casadeipittori.com/ca-guardi/
Stayed 1 week, October 2018
I'll preface this review by saying we are experienced apartment renters, and this was our fourth time renting in Venice.
Pro: We were greeted near the train station and led to the apartment. Francesco was affable and efficient getting us in and collecting the rent. The apartment is in Santa Croce at the intersection of canals used by commercial boats, private boats and gondolas. It’s a quiet section of Venice away from the usual tourist traffic, though the commercial canal traffic was louder and earlier in the morning (5 am) than expected. It's an 8 minute walk to Ferrovia where you can catch almost any vaporetto route. 9-10 min. walk to Rialto. Nearby Campo San Giacomo del Orio has a real neighborhood feel with children playing in the afternoon and locals visiting with one another. A small Coop store has the essentials and it's not far to a larger Conad. There are plenty of excellent restaurants within a three to five minute walk. The apartment is a first floor walk up. The private loggia overlooking the canal was a great place for coffee in the morning or wine later in the day. Wi-fi worked well. The dishwasher appears to be fairly new and works well. The clothes washer works, but we had to look for instructions online. Its dispenser was so filled with crud that we just dropped the soap in with the clothes.
Con: At 250 euro per night, the value isn't there. I would guess the pictures posted online were done some time ago. To say that the apartment reflects a high standard of quality is simply not true. The apartment is in need of a handyman for more than a few days. The once lovely Venetian chandelier in the living room has several broken lights and ages of grime clinging to it. Only 5 of its 15 lights work. Fixing the sockets, installing 15 lower wattage bulbs and cleaning it could add a good deal of elegance to the room. The cushions on the rattan couches are crushed, worn and faded. Two of the chairs at the dining table are coming apart and are unusable. They simply need a bit of glue to fix them. The bar in the shower that holds the head is loose from the wall and nearly came off in my hand. The toilet paper bracket is also coming loose. The parts for the radiator were in the medicine cabinet. The towels are well worn and have little or no pile left. The king size bed is laughably low, so that one feels as if he is sleeping on the floor. The curtains in both bedrooms are detached from their hangers on both sides making it nearly impossible to cover the windows completely. A ladder and five minutes work would fix them. Only five hangers in the single armoire for the whole apartment is inadequate. It appears a section of the terrazzo floor outside the bathroom door was taken up at one time and a patch put back down. Other worn spots in the flooring need sealing so the sharp edges don't hurt bare feet. The application of some epoxy to fill the gaps would be helpful. One of the four chairs on the loggia has chewing gum on the seat. Rather than removing the gum, the chair was simply put off in a corner. It would be nice to have at least one pot holder in the kitchen or more than one kitchen towel for a week. Considering the supplies (salt, pepper, sugar, olive oil, etc.) we had to buy, I think the kitchen would be useless or expensive for anyone staying less than a week. We don't expect a fully-stocked kitchen, but it's not unusual for owners to leave a few necessities from the last renters or to leave a small basket with coffee and a few other things. It appears to have been some time since the oven was cleaned. Simple instructions for the dishwasher and clothes washer would be helpful.
All in all the neighborhood, canal-side location, and spaciousness of the apartment, including the loggia are huge assets. It's too bad the owner has neglected to reinvest in the interior. Ca Guardi has the potential to be a wonderful apartment, but again, one can do much better in Venice for the price.
Apartment: Casa dei Pittori, Ca Gaurdi apartment
Link: http://www.casadeipittori.com/ca-guardi/
Stayed 1 week, October 2018
I'll preface this review by saying we are experienced apartment renters, and this was our fourth time renting in Venice.
Pro: We were greeted near the train station and led to the apartment. Francesco was affable and efficient getting us in and collecting the rent. The apartment is in Santa Croce at the intersection of canals used by commercial boats, private boats and gondolas. It’s a quiet section of Venice away from the usual tourist traffic, though the commercial canal traffic was louder and earlier in the morning (5 am) than expected. It's an 8 minute walk to Ferrovia where you can catch almost any vaporetto route. 9-10 min. walk to Rialto. Nearby Campo San Giacomo del Orio has a real neighborhood feel with children playing in the afternoon and locals visiting with one another. A small Coop store has the essentials and it's not far to a larger Conad. There are plenty of excellent restaurants within a three to five minute walk. The apartment is a first floor walk up. The private loggia overlooking the canal was a great place for coffee in the morning or wine later in the day. Wi-fi worked well. The dishwasher appears to be fairly new and works well. The clothes washer works, but we had to look for instructions online. Its dispenser was so filled with crud that we just dropped the soap in with the clothes.
Con: At 250 euro per night, the value isn't there. I would guess the pictures posted online were done some time ago. To say that the apartment reflects a high standard of quality is simply not true. The apartment is in need of a handyman for more than a few days. The once lovely Venetian chandelier in the living room has several broken lights and ages of grime clinging to it. Only 5 of its 15 lights work. Fixing the sockets, installing 15 lower wattage bulbs and cleaning it could add a good deal of elegance to the room. The cushions on the rattan couches are crushed, worn and faded. Two of the chairs at the dining table are coming apart and are unusable. They simply need a bit of glue to fix them. The bar in the shower that holds the head is loose from the wall and nearly came off in my hand. The toilet paper bracket is also coming loose. The parts for the radiator were in the medicine cabinet. The towels are well worn and have little or no pile left. The king size bed is laughably low, so that one feels as if he is sleeping on the floor. The curtains in both bedrooms are detached from their hangers on both sides making it nearly impossible to cover the windows completely. A ladder and five minutes work would fix them. Only five hangers in the single armoire for the whole apartment is inadequate. It appears a section of the terrazzo floor outside the bathroom door was taken up at one time and a patch put back down. Other worn spots in the flooring need sealing so the sharp edges don't hurt bare feet. The application of some epoxy to fill the gaps would be helpful. One of the four chairs on the loggia has chewing gum on the seat. Rather than removing the gum, the chair was simply put off in a corner. It would be nice to have at least one pot holder in the kitchen or more than one kitchen towel for a week. Considering the supplies (salt, pepper, sugar, olive oil, etc.) we had to buy, I think the kitchen would be useless or expensive for anyone staying less than a week. We don't expect a fully-stocked kitchen, but it's not unusual for owners to leave a few necessities from the last renters or to leave a small basket with coffee and a few other things. It appears to have been some time since the oven was cleaned. Simple instructions for the dishwasher and clothes washer would be helpful.
All in all the neighborhood, canal-side location, and spaciousness of the apartment, including the loggia are huge assets. It's too bad the owner has neglected to reinvest in the interior. Ca Guardi has the potential to be a wonderful apartment, but again, one can do much better in Venice for the price.
