I have had this Venezia hood installed for 2 years now. Mine is a 30" over a 30" DF Wolf range. It functions well and I love the lighting it provides. My counters on the range run are 28 1/2" deep so I wanted a deeper hood. My kitchen is part of a great room set-up and I have seating at the island across the aisle.

I have no problem with the mesh filters and I too thought I would prefer baffles. They pop in and out easily and are easy to clean. We use almost no oil and don't prepare red meat or pork in our cooking. It's mostly steam from vegetables, homemade soups, and eggs that is quickly absorbed through the hood.

My one warning about this hood is the noise produced above the level 3 setting. I use a setting above three once a year when I make potato pancakes. I generally run it at level 2 or 3. We can carry on a conversation at our island and have the hood on level 1. We can watch TV (at normal volume) across the great room at level 2. We are sitting about 13' from the hood.

Overall, I am happy with the purchase. It looks good, is well-made and the stainless is not difficult to keep dust and grime free. It functions well for our family.

Owls - Thanks for the information. I'm going to take a look at the hood at a local kitchen store.

We'll probably have more grease/oil running through the hood in our home although with my wife and son being vegetarians, probably not too much. As well, we make latkes once in a while and we all know how much smoke and aerated grease can be caused by that action!!

Too bad regarding the noise level although the higher settings may not be used that often. That's why I need to check it out. I'm hoping it fits the bill as I don't want to spend any more on a hood.