I am in the middle of booking an apartment in Venice that seemed very nice in the website and is cheaper than the B&B we had narrowed our choice to. I found it through a review posted by Stephanie from CA in May 2002.
I am starting to have reservations (no pun intended) about the booking process. I know the people renting stand to lose money if we don't show etc, but I'm feeling a bit vunerable. They want the deposit now and then the rest of the money prior to our arrival (30 days prior) and we can only send the money in two ways, both rather expensive options for us from Oz. The only type of money order accepted is only issued in USD and the guy has said that they apply their own exchange rate which is slightly higher than the market one. When I pressed him on what this rate would be he says it depends on the day we pay. I'm feeling this could turn into an expensive exercise with no way out once all the money is paid to them. Can anyone offer any advice, if they have stayed in this apartment in Venice or got stung before?
I am thinking blow it, find somewhere easier, but it looks like a lovely apartment and has a canal view that I have now set my heart on (hey, we probably will never get back to Venice so why not?!!!)
All advice or further reviews appreciated.
Robyn.

We stayed at Rosa di Venezia in October of 2003 and found it exactly as presented on the website and in Stephanie's review. I giggled when I read your post because your concerns are the same as mine--except my misgivings didn't surface until AFTER I had sent my deposit. Which is when I began to ask myself how crazy I could be to have sent money by Western Union, which is essentially cash, to a person in Vienna for an apartment in Venice! A quick e-mail to Stephanie allayed my fears. The owner Robert was very precise in his reqirements, and the method of deposit and final payment was expensive (I believe I paid an extra $50 USD for sending each installment), but we really liked the apartment and the location. I guess one just has to consider the cost of sending the payments as part of the rental cost. Robert did offer the alternative of sending cash in a padded envelope--now THAT is really scary!

That is exactly the case!
The bad exchange rate and the $60 per transfer fee had me reeling, but I too have decided it will be worth it. Australia Post said it is illegal to post cash, so no registering the letter and no insurance on what would be the best part of $1000!!! The thing I'm fretting over now is the bit about if you turn up later than expected, you are charged 75 euro per hour that the person meeting you has to wait. We fly in from London and then have our first ever find our way on the Italian trains experience and I'm terrified we will be late! Please no flight delays that day...
After all this fretting and finally deciding to go ahead, he may well have given our dates away anyway as I haven't sent anything off yet (I'm about to)plus now I can't remember if I told him I was booking for 2 adults and a child or 3 people. I have recently found a mention on the web that no young children are allowed.
I'm sure it will all be worth it in the end.
Can I ask you a strange qeustion? Are there power points in the apartment, everything looks wired in. Also, is there a table and chairs to eat at?
Thank you for replying it is nice to know we don't go through these things alone!

>>when I pressed him on what this rate would be he says it dependson the day we pay>>

Well, that's going to be true for any payment you make in a foreign country. It's what the exchange rate happens to be on that date. The owner saying they set their own exchange rate is a tad scary...ask him how it differs from the 'official' rate according to a bank or such.

Sally, Robert(the owner)was referring to the exchange rate for the Euro that is used by Western Union on the day the money is sent, which was a bit higher than the official rate. And Robyn, there was a small table in the apartment with at least two chairs. If by "power points" you mean electrical outlets, I can say there is at least one that I used to charge my telefonino, in addition to one in the bathroom. In order to avoid a surcharge in case you are late, perhaps you could arrange to telephone when you arrive in Venice. We were early and found the apartment ourselves from the map and then called to be let in. If you do not have a telephone, there are restaurants, etc. nearby to telephone from.

What a great idea about phoning. We could phone from the airport, giving the person time to arrive in Venice (aparently they come from outside the city)and that would give us time to train in from the airport. We aren't flying until May and already the airline have altered our fight times considerably.
The exchange rate difference was if we sent a type of money order that Robert wanted, only issued in USD and then Robert converts it to Euro at his exchange rate (slightly higher than market rates). It was HOW much higher that worried me, regardless of the differing rate day to day, I thought maybe he had a standard 2 euro cents higher, or so on. I will send him money via moneygram, apparently we have those agencies here (didn't know!)If he accepts our booking!
Where does the person meet you? At the vaporetto stop, in the main square? And thanks for the heads up on the (yes) electrical outlets (I'm learning new expressions!).
Cheers
Robyn

We met the person at the door of the apartment, having taken a water taxi from the airport, which I do not recommend because, although we showed the driver where we needed to go on the map and he agreed to take us there, he left us 3 bridges away. His excuse was that the tide was too high to take us under the bridges to get there; this was true on the canal he took into the city, but wouldn't have been if he had used another (longer)approach. Luckily, we are familiar with Venice and were able to make our way to the apartment. Taking the Alilaguna Boat from the airport, you can get off at the San Marco Stop and proceed to the Piazza. If you take the bus from the airport to Piazzale Roma, you can take Vaporetto 82 and get off at the Vallaresso stop, from which you can make your way to the Piazza without encountering a bridge (The bridges are a problem when you are pulling luggage. To avoid a bridge,ignore Robert's map and go straight ahead down the calle from the stop, turning right at the end unto Sal.da San Moise to get to the Piazza.) You could arrange to meet the person at the lion statue at Piazetta dei Leoni, immediately to the left of Basilica San Marco near the clock tower. That way, if you are early, you will be able to enjoy the beautiful Piazza while you wait and your child can climb on the lion statue.