Originally Posted by anele

I believe it all depends if you like - in general - city centers (with lights / noise / dirt / people etc.) or not. I live in the Giudecca island (close to the new Hilton) and moved here because I had enough of the thousands of tourists and souvenir shops (also properties here are still a bit cheaper !).
The Giudecca is Venice 100%, so you will enjoy its flavour ! It is only 10/12 minutes away from St.Mark (with the private Hilton launch) but is much more quiet and relaxing. You can also take public transport and have a walk . It is only a matter of tastes !

As regards your helicopter ride, this is not very Venetian and might take longer than scheduled (f.i. Lido is very crowded now and so are public transports from there !). I would rather take a water taxi from the airport and enjoy a nice ride through the canals. If you want to see Venice from high, go to the campanile in San Giorgio.