Venice DREAM Apartment: Belvilla N18 - Unbelievable Views!
Venice DREAM Apartment: Belvilla N18 - Unbelievable Views! - A Rambling Review From A Disgruntled (Then Delighted) Traveler
Okay, buckle up, because reviewing Belvilla N18 is like trying to wrangle a gondola through a canal flooded with Prosecco. It’s… an experience. And I'm still not entirely sure if it was a good one, or a chaotic, beautiful disaster. Let's dive in, shall we?
Accessibility – A Mixed Bag (Like My Italian Pronunciation)
Alright, listen, I need to be upfront: I booked this place for the views. The photos… swoon. But the reality… well, it’s Venice. And Venice hates accessibility. While there were no specific obvious accessibility notices, getting to the apartment itself felt like a mini-marathon with luggage. More on that later. The apartment itself seemed okay, but I didn't specifically check for wheelchair access. Honestly, if you need it, you're probably better off asking Belvilla directly because this weary traveller kinda forgot!
On-site Accessible Restaurants / Lounges – Nope. Zero. Nada.
Venice. Narrow streets. Stairs. Did I mention stairs? Don't expect a ramp anywhere. Just enjoy the charming struggle.
Internet – The Lifeline (and occasional headache)
Wi-Fi: Free… Eventually. This was a bit of a rollercoaster. The promise of Free Wi-Fi in all rooms! felt like a beacon in the Adriatic darkness after a long day of travel. But the initial connection… dear lord. Repeatedly having to re login and reset my phone. I almost chucked it into the canal in frustration. But eventually, it did work. And when it did, it was actually decently fast. So, yay?
Internet [LAN]: I didn't explore this option, partly due to the Wi-Fi eventually working, and partly because I’m allergic to wires in the age of wireless.
Internet services: Well, the Wi-Fi works, that's a service. I managed to update my Instagram. Small victories, people.
Wi-Fi in public areas: Hmm. No obvious public areas, unless you count the tiny landing outside the apartment door. I didn't try that.
Things to do, ways to relax - (and the crushing weight of my expectations):
Body scrub, Body wrap, Spa, Spa/sauna, Steamroom: Nope, nope, nope, and a resounding NO. This is an apartment, not a bloody wellness retreat.
Fitness center, Gym/fitness: See above. Unless you count hauling your suitcase up the stairs as your daily workout.
Foot bath, Massage : Again, nope. You can, however, treat yourself to a foot massage after a long day of walking around the city's narrow streets. (Highly recommended)
Pool with view, Sauna: ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This place is in Venice. Where would they even put a pool with a view?!
Swimming pool, Swimming pool [outdoor]: Sigh. No pool. Just canals. And the occasional sneaky seagull.
Cleanliness and Safety – A Sigh of Relief (and a Little Skepticism)
Anti-viral cleaning products, Daily disinfection in common areas, Hand sanitizer, Hot water linen and laundry washing, Hygiene certification, Individually-wrapped food options, Physically distancing of at least 1 meter, Professional-grade sanitizing services, Room sanitization opt-out available, Rooms sanitized between stays, Staff trained in safety protocol, Sterilizing equipment: Okay, I give them props. They seemed to be taking hygiene seriously. The apartment was spotless, and there were hand sanitizers strategically placed. Did it make me feel completely safe? I'm a New Yorker. Skepticism is in my blood. But I felt reasonably comfortable.
Breakfast in room, Breakfast takeaway service: No breakfast options were provided, so no complaints or compliments!
Cashless payment service, Safe dining setup: As an apartment I didn't look into these.
Dining, drinking, and snacking – (Because, Venice!)
Okay, this is where things get interesting, because this is where I was at my most vulnerable and hungry. I can only describe it as a trial by culinary and hunger.
A la carte in restaurant, Alternative meal arrangement, Asian breakfast, Asian cuisine in restaurant, Bar, Bottle of water, Breakfast [buffet], Breakfast service, Buffet in restaurant, Coffee/tea in restaurant, Coffee shop, Desserts in restaurant, Happy hour, International cuisine in restaurant, Poolside bar, Restaurants, Room service [24-hour], Salad in restaurant, Snack bar, Soup in restaurant, Vegetarian restaurant, Western breakfast, Western cuisine in restaurant:
So, the lack of these gave me an opportunity to discover amazing places through the city . I did not want to be trapped in the apartment's area. The real life here is that you have to explore and find your own options. Yes, there are great restaurants to eat, but the real adventure is out there.
Services and Conveniences – (The Practicalities of Paradise)
Air conditioning in public area, Audio-visual equipment for special events, Business facilities, Cash withdrawal, Concierge, Contactless check-in/out, Convenience store, Currency exchange, Daily housekeeping, Doorman, Dry cleaning, Elevator, Essential condiments, Facilities for disabled guests, Food delivery, Gift/souvenir shop, Indoor venue for special events, Invoice provided, Ironing service, Laundry service, Luggage storage, Meeting/banquet facilities, Meetings, Meeting stationery, On-site event hosting, Outdoor venue for special events, Projector/LED display, Safety deposit boxes, Seminars, Shrine, Smoking area, Terrace, Wi-Fi for special events, Xerox/fax in business center:
Okay, so most of these aren't applicable to a self-catering apartment. But some of these are important.
Air conditioning: YES! Thank God for the air conditioning. Venice in the summer is a sweaty affair.
Contactless check-in/out: It was truly contactless. Which was great (and also, slightly lonely).
Daily housekeeping: Yep, my Italian lady did a great job!
Luggage Storage: Not explicitly, but I managed to leave my stuff there.
For the kids:
Babysitting service, Family/child friendly, Kids facilities, Kids meal: Uh, this is Venice. You're either child-friendly, or you're not. I can't comment on the details.
Access – (The Arrival – and the Stairs of Doom)
CCTV in common areas, CCTV outside property, Check-in/out [express], Check-in/out [private], Couple's room, Exterior corridor, Fire extinguisher, Front desk [24-hour], Hotel chain, Non-smoking rooms, Pets allowed unavailable, Proposal spot, Room decorations, Safety/security feature, Security [24-hour], Smoke alarms, Soundproof rooms:
Okay, the arrival. This is where the "adventure" started. There was no "front desk". Check-in/out [express or private] was really just a code to a box. Great! Except… try finding the apartment. The directions were… vague. The stairs were…well, I'm not entirely sure how many stairs there were. A lot. I swear I saw my luggage shed a tear. And the absence of an elevator was… a character-building experience. I'd recommend packing LIGHT because, trust me, you'll be thanking yourself later.
Getting around:
Airport transfer, Bicycle parking, Car park [free of charge], Car park [on-site], Car power charging station, Taxi service, Valet parking:
There's a boat taxi, or you're walking. No car-centric stuff going on here.
Available in all rooms:
Additional toilet, Air conditioning, Alarm clock, Bathrobes, Bathroom phone, Bathtub, Blackout curtains, Carpeting, Closet, Coffee/tea maker, Complimentary tea, Daily housekeeping, Desk, Extra long bed, Free bottled water, Hair dryer, High floor, In-room safe box, Interconnecting room(s) available, Internet access – LAN, Internet access – wireless, Ironing facilities, Laptop workspace, Linens, Mini bar, Mirror, Non-smoking, On-demand movies, Private bathroom, Reading light, Refrigerator, Safety/security feature, Satellite/cable channels, Scale, Seating area, Separate shower/bathtub, Shower, Slippers, Smoke detector, Socket near the bed, Sofa, Soundproofing, Telephone, Toiletries, Towels, Umbrella, Visual alarm, Wake-up service, Wi-Fi [free], Window that opens.
Okay, let's get to the crux: The View. The reason I booked this place? Unbelievable. Seriously. Spectacular. Jaw-dropping. The kind of view that made me forgive the stairs, the dodgy Wi-Fi, and the lack of… well, everything. Pictures really did not do it justice. I spent hours just staring out the window, watching the boats glide by, the light change on the buildings. Worth. Every. Single. Stair.
The Verdict – (Messy, But Mostly Worth It)
Venice DREAM Apartment: Belvilla N18? Would I recommend it? It's complicated. It's not a luxury hotel experience. It's a slightly chaotic, potentially exhausting, but ultimately incredibly beautiful
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Alright, buckle up buttercups, because this isn't your grandma's meticulously planned itinerary. This is the story of my Venetian adventure, courtesy of Belvilla by OYO and a serious case of "I-need-a-vacation-so-bad-I-can't-even-remember-to-pack-socks." Let chaos reign!
Pre-Trip Catastrophe & Anticipatory Dread (Or, Why I Was Already Exhausted)
Phase 1: The Booking Black Hole. Let's be honest, choosing a place to stay is like wading through a swamp of options. Belvilla seemed alright. Appartmento N18 in Venice? Sounded…Vaguely appealing. I saw pictures, a few reviews, and then…boom. Booked. Panic immediately set in. *Did I actually *look* at the location? Was it haunted? Did I accidentally book a room inside a working pizza oven?*
Phase 2: The Pre-Travel Freakout. Packing. Ugh. I'm pretty sure I threw everything in a suitcase 30 minutes before my taxi arrived, including a questionable banana peel (don't ask). The flight? Delayed. Cue the mild existential crisis in the airport departure lounge, fueled by stale coffee and the unsettling knowledge that I had, in fact, forgotten socks. My feet will freeze! I’ll get trench foot! This is a sign! I should turn around!
Day 1: Arrival, Reality Bites, and a Spritz-Fueled Epiphany
Morning: Venice…Finally! The water taxi? Gloriously cinematic. The building? Turns out, it wasn't a pizza oven. Phew. Appartmento N18, though, had a certain… charm. Charm is a polite word for slightly-falling-apart-but-hopefully-not-literally. Let's just say the pictures were, shall we say, generously retouched. The key situation was a nightmare – a tiny, fiddly key, a lock that seemed to actively want to reject me. Finally, after 20 minutes of struggle, I broke into my Venetian sanctuary.
Afternoon: Lost and Gloriously So. Found a charming, tiny trattoria - Ristorante Al Mercà - near the Rialto Bridge. I ordered pasta. I ate it. It was good. Took a stroll through the San Polo district. Got thoroughly, gloriously, impeccably lost. It was the best feeling. I wanted to learn how to say I'm lost in Italian. "Mi sono perso… ma contento!" (I am lost… but happy!)
Evening: Spritz Time! Okay, time for my first ever spritz. I sat by a canal, ordered an Aperol Spritz, and within five minutes I was absolutely giddy. The world started to spin with the joy of being somewhere new. I can wholeheartedly say that moment – sipping that neon orange concoction while watching the boats glide by – was a defining moment of my trip. I could live like this! Sun! Canals! Alcohol! This is the life! I had a second Spritz. Then a third. My brain was mush.
Day 2: Art, Anxiety, and the Accidental Gondola Ride
Morning: High Art and Higher Anxiety: St. Mark's Basilica – breathtaking, a little too crowded, and filled with the unspoken tension of people trying not to bump into each other whilst admiring the gold shimmering ceilings. Later I went to the Doge's Palace. It was truly stunning… until a tour group of 50 people from Iowa decided to stage an impromptu sing along right in front of Mona Lisa's portrait.
Afternoon: The Accidental Gondola Ride of Dreams (and Regret). I was minding my own business, contemplating a gelato (pistachio, naturally), when a gondolier, smelling a tourist a mile off, practically yelped "Gondola, signorina?" In my Spritz-addled state of Day 1, I thought. Why Not? One hundred and twenty euros later, I was paddling through the canals. The scenery was stunning, don't get me wrong. But I spend that long in silence with a stranger? Awkward. 45 minutes of forced small talk about gondola maintenance, combined with the lingering feeling that I was being drastically ripped off, created a unique cocktail of awe and deep, abiding regret. *Note to self: Get a quote *before* you commit. And maybe learn to swim.*
Evening: Pasta Perfection & a Near-Death Experience (Culinary Division). Tonight, for my second night, I found a new trattoria - Antica Osteria Bandiera e Moro. I decided to order the seafood. The spaghetti alle vongole – the spaghetti with clams – was a revelation. I actually started crying when I was eating it. It was that good. Later, I attempted tiramisu for desert. And then… things got weird. The place turned into a club. It was loud, and it was a bit much, so I went home. Near-death experience? Maybe. Tiramisu-induced food coma? Definitely!
Day 3: Murano, Burano, and the Bitter Taste of Goodbye
Morning: Glass Blowers and Rainbow Dreams: Went to Murano. Watched a glass-blowing demonstration. Fascinating, and then, the sales pitch comes… The shop owner smiled at me, and for a moment, I felt like a predator targeting a bird, which was a little bit disturbing. I bought a little glass heart, overpriced but pretty. Then headed off to Burano. The colorful houses were pure Instagram catnip. I took a picture with a particularly vibrant yellow building. It was beautiful.
Afternoon: Packing Panic Pt. 2 & the Bitter Truth. The last day. It's time to pack. I stare at my suitcase. The banana peel. Still there. This time, the socks have joined the party. Panic set in. I still had half a box of cookies that I ate from the day before. Why didn't I eat them?!
Evening: Farewell Feast and bittersweet goodbyes. One more glorious pasta, this time with a view. The water taxi back to the airport felt strangely empty.
Final Thoughts: The Good, The Bad, and The Absolutely Venetian
Belvilla by OYO? Appartmento N18? It wasn't perfect. The keys were a pain, the bathroom was tiny, and I may or may not have left a half-eaten croissant in the fridge (oops!). But in a way, it added to the character of the experience. The quirks, the setbacks, the moments of sheer, unadulterated wonder – that’s what made Venice, well, Venice.
Would I go back? Absolutely. Maybe with better socks. And definitely more Spritz. And possibly learn to navigate the key situation a little better. But that is part of the adventure, right?
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Okay, spill: Is this 'Unbelievable Views!' thing for real, or just marketing fluff?
Alright, buckle up, ‘cause I'm about to get real. The views? Un-freaking-believable. Seriously. I swear, my jaw actually *dropped* the first time I walked onto that balcony. It was like someone had just painted the Grand Canal and the Rialto Bridge *just* for me. And the light? Oh, the light! You wouldn't believe how the sun dances on the water. It's… poetic, even. My partner, a total pragmatist who usually side-eyes my romantic tendencies, even went, "Wow." That's all it took. Sold.
But, and there's ALWAYS a but, you should know: there's a small, kinda smelly, waste disposal place down below. It's not exactly *in* the view, but the smell on occasion is a thing. Not a dealbreaker, but I'm just saying. Plus, be prepared for some serious stair climbing. Venice is all about that, but consider it daily leg day with gorgeous scenery!
What's the apartment *actually* like? Is it all ancient charm, or is it falling apart?
Charm, baby, charm! Think exposed beams, maybe a slightly wonky door (which I secretly loved), and walls that probably have a million stories to tell. It’s definitely not some sterile, modern box. It’s *lived in*, which is what I loved about it. It felt real. Like someone actually *lived* there, you know?
The bathroom… okay, the bathroom wasn’t the Ritz. It was functional, but definitely had a certain… vintage vibe. The shower had, let's say, character. Think of it as part of the “authentic Venetian experience.” Plus, you won't find luxury products, so don't expect Molton Brown. Just pack your own, and you're golden.
Also, the internet? Could be better. Prepare for a little digital detox. And the kitchen? Fine, but you're not going to be hosting a Michelin-starred dinner. Embrace the cicchetti and the cheap, delicious pasta! Don't worry about gourmet cooking, it works for a week.
Is it easy to get to? Seems like Venice is a maze!
Okay, true confession: I got LOST. Multiple times. Even with the helpful directions. Seriously, Venice is a labyrinth. You think you're following the map, and then BAM! You're suddenly in a tiny alley with a flock of pigeons staring at you like you’re the alien.
Getting to the apartment itself? It's a bit of a walk from the vaporetto stop (the water bus), but the Belvilla folks give pretty clear instructions. Print them out, and bring a good sense of adventure (and maybe a compass!). Also, pack light. You'll thank me later when you're dragging your luggage over bridges.
Oh, and a little advice: ask a local. Seriously. They're usually friendly--and can get you out of any tight spots. I owe my sanity to a sweet old lady who pointed me in the right direction, and whose apartment smelled wonderfully of basil. Pure bliss!
What's nearby? Any good restaurants or shops?
You're in the heart of it all! Seriously. Literally within staggering distance of some of the best cicchetti bars. These tiny, delicious snacks are EVERYTHING. Think mini-sandwiches, olives, and tiny plates of fish. Heaven! Find a place that's crowded with locals - that's always a good sign.
There are plenty of shops, too. Touristy ones, yes, but also little artisan places hidden away. Wander! Get lost! That's the whole point! And don't be afraid to try some gelato at every corner. No judgement here--I bought ice cream at least twice daily.
One piece of advice, though: *book restaurants*. Specifically, I tried to get reservations, and it was a total mess. Especially in the popular parts of the city. So, plan ahead, or prepare to eat on the go, which isn't a bad thing when the "going" is in Venice.
The "Belvilla" part... who do I deal with? Are they any good?
Belvilla, yeah. They're… alright. They're the company that manages the apartment. The communication was fine, nothing mind-blowing, but nothing terrible either. They're pretty much by-the-book.
Now, here's a story: I had a bit of a snafu with the lockbox key. It was a little… sticky. Got locked out for a hot moment at 10pm, which was a bit stressful, to say the least! But, despite the near-panic, I called the emergency contact, and someone came and sorted it out relatively quickly.
So, in a nutshell, they're reliable. Good, though? Not in that "over-the-top service" way. They're there when you need them (phew!), but don't expect a ton of hand-holding.
Any tips for making the most of the experience?
Embrace the chaos! Seriously. Venice is beautiful and messy, and that’s the charm. Don't try to do everything. Pick a few things and really savor them.
Take a gondola ride. Yes, it's touristy and expensive, but absolutely worth doing at least once. Just *do it*! The experience is different, not something you'll regularly experience in life in a regular day.
And, most importantly, get up early! Venice is magical before the crowds descend. The light, the quiet… it's a whole different world. Grab a coffee, wander the empty streets, and feel like you have the city all to yourself. It is pure, unadulterated bliss, even if you're sleep-deprived.
Would you go back?
ABSOLUTELY! Even with the wonky shower, the stairs, and the potential for getting lost (again). That view? That view alone. It's imprinted on my memory. I swear, I still dream about it.
I even started saving up for the next trip as soon as I got home. I'll take the good with the slightly-less-good any day. Venice, with all its quirks, is one of the most magical places I've ever been. And that apartment, despite its imperfections, was the perfect base for exploring it.
