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Ca' San Pietro Apartment, Venice - Review
Holiday rental apartment Ca' San PietroThe Ca' San Pietro holiday rental apartments are in the east of Venice. They're located on the island of San Pietro which is connected to the rest of the Castello district by two long footbridges over a wide canal. The Furlanetto family own a selection of holiday flats and also a one-room B&B. First, a note of caution. Booking our apartment through the online booking links was efficient but the information given was limited. It was never clear during the booking or confirmation process which apartment we would actually end up in, and one of the maps is inaccurate (the location is in the east, not the west, of the Castello district). However, apart from this initial lack of clarity, we were pleased with the flat and the facilities on offer. The owner described the apartment as Ca' San Pietro 4, but I haven't been able to match it against any of the flat descriptions online. > More information/make a booking
Italy Heaven ReviewWanting a cheap place to stay during the Carnival, I booked this flat online at a couple of week's notice in February 2007. The price was €100 a night for the apartment - more expensive than the cheapest hotels but offering economies in terms of eating and drinking. Arriving in Venice late, I had arranged to call the owners when I reached the station, and then again when I was near the flat. I took the line 51 around the south of Venice to the Giardini stop (more picturesque than the alternative route around the north on the 52 to San Pietro). The flat is around ten minutes' walk from Giardini, through the park and then along busy Via Garibaldi. Turning left after the long footbridge to San Pietro, I found the flat on the right after a few yards. Roberto came to meet me there, sorted out the formalities, and showed me around the flat. He was a friendly and helpful host, with advice and recommendations, bringing with him a 'what's on' guide for me. The owners live very near by, which was reassuring in case of any problem. The flat is on the ground floor, and is entered via a shared locked gateway. Following a path around to the back of the building, the entrance is through another gateway, which opens onto a tiny garden/yard with seats, plants and a glimpsed view of the slanting campanile of San Pietro. The door to the flat opens into a kitchen/living room. Three steps lead through a doorway to a good-sized double bedroom. The bathroom is off the bedroom, and is also a good size, containing a washing machine as well as the usual facilities.
The kitchen/living room is a reasonable size, with a dining table (four chairs) tucked into a corner, a sofa-bed and some shelves. The kitchen cupboards contain a fair range of equipment and some cooking basics. (I noted that previous guests had not excelled at the washing up). There is no oven, but four gas hobs and a microwave provide decent cooking options. The kitchen's two windows open onto a little yard belonging to the neighbours. The bedroom is comfortable and inviting, generously-decorated in a faintly kitsch style. The double bed is actually twin mattresses, with a mirror on the wall above. Mirrors, incidentally, are a great feature of this flat. Usually when travelling on a budget, one's reflection is a rare commodity. Here there are several mirrors around the flat, including a full-length one. There is a wardrobe, drawer and shelf space in the bedroom, along with bedside tables, a low coffee table decorated with fake flowers, chairs and a bookshelf loaded with books, mostly in Italian (including a lot of translated Mills and Boon romances and an out-of-date environmental report from the council). There is also a television with Italian channels. Negative points about the apartment: the bathroom tap was rather feeble (to be fair, I didn't draw the owner's attention to this). Having used the washing machine it would have been useful to find an iron and ironing board. A hairdrier would also have been a practical addition. Sleepy holiday-makers may not appreciate being woken by the bells of San Pietro at eight, although that's a typical feature of Venetian life and we found it a pleasant wake-up call. We'd recommend this apartment to independent travellers with a taste for peace and privacy. You can escape the tourist crowds at the end of the day, and avoid tourist prices too. Being able to cook, do the laundry and even sit outside makes Venice a more relaxing and economic experience. The flat is ideal for couples, and could also be used by families who don't mind using the sofa-bed in the kitchen/living room (note that the bathroom is accessed through the bedroom, which is up a couple of steps). Apartment location: this is a peaceful, ordinary residential area some way from Venice's big attractions. Many will like it for that reason, but visitors should check their map and consider their priorities before booking. The nearest vaporetto stops are San Pietro and Giardini. Both stops are around 35 minutes from the railway station and Piazzale Roma, although the most scenic route, the 1 along the Grand Canal, will take considerably longer. You can walk towards St. Mark's by following Via Garibaldi to the lagoon shore, and walking to your right along the waterfront (about 25 minutes). There are lots of shops on Via Garibaldi, just a few minutes, away including mini-supermarkets. There are also a few restaurants and 'local' bars. As we mentioned in our review of the nearby Vaniglia ai Giardini flat, there are lovely sunsets from the lagoon shore by the park (at the Giardini stop), and the shore is also picturesque in the mornings when old men fish in the lagoon. > More information / make a booking at the Ca' San Pietro apartment Ca' San Pietro apartment review by an Italy Heaven editor. |
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