Spectacular Coastal Location, Good Alternative to Staying in the Cinque Terre…read more Much recommended, this hotel is directly on the beachfront in San Terenzo, and a short walk from Lerici, another beautiful seaside setting just south of the better-known (and sadly, overcrowded) towns of the Cinque Terre. There are several hotels in San Terenzo/Lerici but this is the only one on the beach side of the roadway and may be the main reason it is rated 4 stars instead of 3. Our large balcony had an unimpeded view of the sea, the crescent of the beach, and charming town of San Terenzo. The room was spacious but not luxurious, the breakfast was good, and the view was unmatched. There are many good restaurants, nice beaches, and a lovely walkway between the two towns of San Terenzo and Lerici. For us, it was a wonderful way to decompress. From Lerici you can take a short scenic boat ride to Portovenere where you can also catch another boat to the Cinque Terre. On the way to San Terenzo from Milan, when the train passed through the railway stops for the Cinque Terre, the platforms were mobbed (they have recently had accidents). Sadly, the Cinque Terre has become too well known and is overwhelmed by tourists.

I just spent 3 weeks traveling all over Northern Italy and my stay at La Marina Rooms was hands…read moredown the best of the accommodations. Chris was so helpful; he met us at the train station and helped carry our luggage up some steep and intimidating steps! We stayed in room N2 - the best room he has. The view from our private patio was stunning and the room was spacious and super clean. La Marina Rooms are located in the heart of Vernazza on a cliff overlooking the sea. If you're planning a trip to the Cinque Terre - do yourself a favor and book a room at La Marina Rooms!

Nice little hotel with friendly staff and cute rooms, furnished with a little old-fashioned stuff…read morewhich is nice. Breakfast buffet is ok considering the Italian standards.

I've been through a fair amount of Central Europe and this…read moreis the first hotel I've stayed at where I've had a comfortable night's sleep. To elaborate, I'm a fairly large guy and it's been a shocking disappointment that every hotel in the EU refuses to let their rooms cool to below roughly 24°C (~75°F). The air conditioning at this hotel is top notch and compliments very comfortable and quaint rooms. With a short walk to the beach and plenty of fantastic dining options in the area, I am very happy with my stay.

Our family returned to Hotel Acapulco after staying at the hotel briefly last summer. This small…read morehotel is a GEM. The location is amazing, close to everything. What makes this hotel a true stand out is its staff. They took care of my family of nine, we travelled with my parents and my aunt. They really went out of their way to make are stay memorable and a want to return. Particular staff, Stephanie & Giada, made all of our beach reservations and bikes for all. Called taxis, pointed us in the right direction and became our surrogate family! Stephanie lent her car to get us to the laundry mat one day when taxis were scarce! Book if you're looking for a four star hotel with a small feel and a big heart with their 5 Star Staff. We love you Hotel Acapulco! The MichelI Family

I love this place. It's as pretty as it is in pictures…read more Short story: Woke up at 6am to catch the 7am train to Cinque Terre and guess what?! The train conductors decided to go on strike that day. People at the station said all regional trains are canceled this morning. I was about to cry because the #1 thing I most looked forward to was visiting Cinque Terre on this trip. Everything happens for a reason, right? Somehow at 9am, a train decided to take off going to Pisa, which connects to Cinque Terre. We got to Cinque Terre around 11:30am. Late start to the day but I finally got there. I visited and walked all 5 towns. Each one is special in it's own way. The five towns are called Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. Most people would say Manarola is the prettiest, not going to disagree with that but I actually love Corniglia the most. Maybe because you have to climb a few (a lot) steps to get there. It's small and charming once you get to the top and you can see Manarola. I had the best gelato there and I have eating a lot of gelato during my 2 week trip in Italy. Each town has their own special food too. A lot of street food which was awesome. When I do visit again, I would stay a night at least to do the full hike and enjoy all the towns a little more. I cant wait to get back.

Cinque Terre translated into English is roughy "5 Lands" but it is more like "5 Villages."…read more Daniele was a great tour guide! He is very knowledgeable and passionate about his village of Manarola... And the other 4 "Cinque Terre!" The villages are only accessible by local trains from La Spezia train station or Levanto. It takes about 15min to arrive to Manarola from la Spezia (but take an earlier train because Italian trains are often very late and crowded!) We did the morning tour, meeting Daniele close to the marina at 9:45am. There were 12 of us on the boat (all Americans so communication was easy). Daniele speaks almost perfect English so the tour went very smoothly. He drove us past the Cinque Terre giving a very nice history of how his forefathers turned a very steep/rock facade into a fertile farming area. Fighting off pirate attacks and later becoming fishermen. Cinque Terre has a very deep and amazing history that Daniele tells as you pass some of the most beautiful scenery! Daniele stopped the boat for two separate swims in the Mediterranean Sea! Daniele was very helpful as to where to swim and not to. How not to use your legs (avoiding kicking the rocks) and how to climb the rocks without slipping! We dove off rocks, took a refreshing shower in a natural waterfall and swam the clearest of blue water! I cannot say enough of Daniele and his 2.5hr tour! He provides beer, water, wine, sodas. He was considerate to the children on our tour who began feeling a little sea sick. Bring sun screen!!!! There is no room on his boat for your luggage; we left ours in a "Left Luggage" for $9 euro (3 bags) at La Spezia Train Station. Hotels are NOT easy to find in Cinque Terre so make reservations far in advance or stay outside in La Spezia.

Very expensive. I found many options for less than half price but my friend insisted we stay at…read morealla porto rossa-- no idea why. We had a small room with queen size bed. A small bathroom, desk, and patio were also included. The mini fridge had some drinks for us, free of charge which was nice. We also received a bottle of water and cookie on each nightstand. The patio doors and window had no screen so when we opened the room filled with mosquitoes. But it was very pretty to look out over the water with the doors closed. The location was nice but I believe everything in town is about the same distance from the center of town. And the train is near by everything. Long story short the place is nice with a comfy bed and we felt safe. But many options in town also looked very nice and were less than half the price so I would shop around a little before committing.

Alla Porta Rossa refers to 8 apartments in Manarola and one in Riomaggiore that you can rent out…read more This review is for the Alla Marina apartment. The apartment has a living room, kitchen, 1 double "room" (really just a partitioned area from the second bed "room"), a double sofa bed, a very, very tiny single room, single bathroom with shower, huge terrace with a view of the main strip (don't believe them when they say "seaview" - that means you can see a sliver of the ocean). Apartment has a full kitchen, AC and satellite TV. The apartment sleeps 5 (two each in the two double beds, 1 in the small coffin...errr... I mean bedroom) but you can pay extra for extra people. You can comfortably sleep one person on the couch and then more people (maybe 3) on the floor of the large living room. Make all of your arrangements online through the website. You will then be given instructions on where to find the main rental office for Alla Porta Rossa where you meet Barbara. After you've paid (cash gets you a discount) you will then be led to the apartments. I love, love, love this apartment and will try to stay here as much as possible when I'm here. Hopefully they come out ok after the recent mudslides. There's nothing like the feeling of coming "home" at night, going to the balcony, opening a bottle of wine and a variety of cheeses and just looking at all the stars in the sky. Buy food from any of the restaurants downstairs and then ask them if you can take it up to the house if you desire. You can also do your laundry in the small (I mean tiny) washing machine and then air dry it right outside on the balcony. Remember that this is an apartment so no one will be coming by to fix your sheets. If you want to feel like a local this is THE place to stay! If you're coming here by train give yourself extra time to get here. The trains are completely unreliable and you WILL be late most of the time if you don't account for this. You do NOT want to piss Barbara off. Trust me on that one. =D Sorry Barbara! I will definitely be coming back to Manarola and will rent from Alla Porta Rossa again.