Luxury Lodging in Cinque Terre
 

My husband and I are hut to hut hiking in Switzerland then heading down to the Cinque Terre. Where should we stay??? We are considering Monerrosso or Vernazza area. We like uncrowded places, beautiful beaches, snorkeling, and prefer a place with a sea view. We want to do more hiking here, wine tasting and in general, enjoy the people, the scenery and relax. We don't mind paying extra for a splurge for this part of our trip. Since we are spending several nights here, we don't want to get the lodging selection wrong. What can you suggest? I've heard Hotel Portico is nice, but some have stated the rooms are small and the quality inconsistent. We don't mind climbing steps if the view is worth it. I don't think any places have pools, if so, we'd want to have a place to swim. Ideas for me? We also prefer a bed and breakfast, family owned lodging selection, rather than a larger establishment.

Why don't you check out Cenobbio al Doge in Camogli? You can hike the Portofino peninsula, with its spectacular views, and snorkle in the nationally protected waters around Camogli and the peninsula. The hotel is 4-star luxury, and has a pool. You can take a train to visit Cinque Terra to see what all the fuss is about, but Camogli is a far less crowded destination.

La Casmona (with a terrace) is also a charming 3-star, but with far fewer amenities. If you do a google-search for Camogli bed and breakfasts, you might get a few hits there, too.

However, if you are looking forward to spending your evening chatting with fellow travelers, Cinque Terre has more people hanging around!

The spelling of the hotel in Camogli is Cenobio dei Dogi. Sorry!

If you prefer a bed and breakfast, Cenobio dei Doge may not be for you, but, if you change your mind, I think you would like Camogli and this hotel...it has a spectacular location, lovely staff, and an amazing view...the dining room has all glass walls that overlook the water and small beach...and you won't soon forget the setting of their pool, especially at the end of the day when the sun sets....not in CT, but not far with train station a walk away...we have stayed many times and will go again this fall...highly recommended..

If you like uncrowded places, I don't think 5Terre is for you, because it is very crowded. Of course, it's long on great food, hiking, scenery, etc.
That being said, the only "luxury" hotel I know of in Monterosso is the Porto Roca. I haven't stayed there but it was high up on a hill and I'm sure the views are outstanding.I think it also might have a pool.
For a wonderful, family run place with beautiful views I can recommend the Villa Steno in Monterosso. It's not "luxury", but very comfortable and many rooms have large terraces with lovely views. It has a garden filled with roses, lemon trees and bouganvilla (sp?). I stayed there and loved it.
Of the towns in 5T, Monterosso has the largest waterfront.
There are places you can stop for a swim along some of the trails.

You might also consider Santa Margherita Ligure, on the train line north of CT and south of Camogli. I haven't stayed there but there are a couple of good looking hotels there. And others who have stayed in SML have really liked it.

Another vote for Hotel Villa Steno in Monterosso. Carla and Matteo (owners) are wonderful as is the entire Pasini family. We have visited the CT 4 times since 2000 and this is our favorite place to stay.

The Porta Roca is your only option actually in the CT. However, here is a new place that looks good:
www.ilgigantecinqueterre.it

If you want "uncrowded" you won't find it there in the summer months, but Manarola or Riomaggiore will be less crowded than Monterosso and especially Vernazza. And don't expect "beautiful beaches". CT's beaches are smaller, cove-type and will be crowded with people and cigarette butts in summer. Not sure you can snorkle there either.

CT's fantastic for hiking, seaside views, food and local wine though.

We did stay at Cenobio dei Dogi in Camogli. It was nice. The views from the hotel were great - right on the water. We loved the town of Camogli because it was NOT touristy at all! We never even made it to Portofino because we loved it hear so much. It was an easy train ride (about 1 1/4 hour) to Cinque Terre. I don't know that I would call the hotel "luxury", but it was very nice.

We enjoyed our stay at Hotle Porto Roca in Monterosso. The views were beautiful and the food among the best we had in Italy.

My husband and I have been to Camogli for many years running. Stopping by Cenobio dei Dogi for a drink on the terrace at sunset is about as close as the two of us get to religious ritual!

Just wanted to add again that while I have not done any snorkeling, I have seen people snorkeling in the pristine waters at Camogli. And I've noticed before there is a scuba diving school in Camogli:

http://www.bbdiving.it/en/start1024.html

Is that beach at Cenobio dei Dogi a swimming beach? Or is there one nearby where we could swim? Thanks.

There are always people swimming in the water...however, the beach is all pebbles..it doesn't seem to bother the beachgoers though...

Thank you for responding. So we could wear sandals on the pebble beach, I think. Do you see people actually swimming out, or just standing in the water? My husband is a serious swimmer, and I'm trying to find him some nice water after our next time in Switzerland. I have pretty much the same request as the OP; just want to be sure there is actual swimming available. I will start researching this village on-line; I hadn't even heard of it. That's why this board is so great.

I think sandals or flip flops are fine....the people I saw were swimming, not just wading...water is beautiful, clear, and fairly calm in that area..

People definitely go swimming. One morning I sat on my terrace in Camogli (hey, that is so great to say: MY terrace) and watched a very fit Italian man of 60 swim out and do laps for about an hour. (Me, I just splash around in the shallow end.)

You definitely want aquashoes. Camogli is a true Italian beach town, so if you are there in summer, you can buy sandals there or a beach chair for a few euros from any number of colorful kiosks.

...and, there are no "knit suits" for miles and miles.....

CT is good for the one day walk through all five villages. it is a very nice walk. other than that, CT has little to offer in my opinion. the restaurants are very poor as compared to most other areas in italy. i would not spend a long time there. i think 2 nights is ideal because this gives you one full day to do the walk. after that, you are better off just about anywhere else in italy. if you don't spend much time in europe, you will probably be fine with the beaches and the general environment there but otherwise, you will probably be wanting more after two or so days.

I love this knit suit thing between you two. One of my favorite memories from Venice was when my husband and I were walking back through a neighborhood on Giudecca, where my husband went for his workout in the public pool there. A lovely lady, 65 or so, stopped us to tell about a building we were photographing. She was truly "la bella figura" in her trim double-knit wool suit, in a shade of dark brick-red. She told us that the building used to be a mill or a shop where they made either the cloth or the clothing such as hers (she referred to her own suit), and she used to work there when she was young. I only understood about half of what she said, but that was the gist of it. Her last sentence, said with a shake of her head, was ". . .and now it's all houses, houses. . . "

Enzian,

So you mean Nessundorma isn't just pulling my leg??? They really do wear those "knit suit" things??????

Well. . . I did see this ONE in Venice (Giudecca actually). But never in Bellagio, of course.

There....you have proved I was right!!!

Porto Roca is a fine place, well situated...you actually walk right past its terrace en route to Vernazza. Lovely hotel, but my taste runs to Villa Steno...I always recommend Room #5 with it's terrace overlooking the coast...Matteo is a master host....about half the rate of Porto Roca...a real bargain.
Stu T.

Truly, Krissy, if you're looking for luxury in the CT region, why not take a shot at the incomparable Hotel Splendido in Portofino...for $800 a night, you'll be awash in luxury. No, no, I never stayed there...but I did manage to sip a coke on its terrace. You can then take the train from SML to CT. Tell them I sent you..."you know, the guy and his wife who sipped cokes and spent a few hours on your terrace two years ago!"
Stu T.

Krissy---someone else here has been looking for advice on hut-to-hut Hiking in Switzerland. No one besides me has responded, and all I could do was point her to some guidebooks. If you can help her out, you will find her post under "Jenski" or, if tht doesn't work, "trekking". Thanks.

Ok, let me clarify my request. WE don't need a 5 star hotel, but we want something nicer than what we will be getting with the hut to hut switzerland stuff. A classy, smaller hotel or bed and breakfast, with a possible view and nice meals is probably fine for us. How much do you think we should expect to pay in september for 5terre lodging? Thanks for all your wonderful advise!

krissy,

We paid 170E for our room at Cenobio in late October..it is a 4 star...I believe that is an off season rate, but I'm not sure you wouldn't get that in September....

First of all, there may not be good restaurants in Cinque Terre (a friend of mine reported after a week there that Miky was the only he liked, and he did not like Porta Rocca) but there are certainly good restaurants in Camogli, starting in particular with Da Paolo, but there are several others, most with lovely views, as well as two much-prized gelaterias and a very fun pizza place right on the beach.

As for knit suits, one of my eccentric pleasures in Italy is to curl up in a comfy clean Italian bed after a hard day of touristing or hiking or driving and turn on Italian TV and try to figure out what the heck is going on. (I loved Luna Park. What was it about?) For several years running now, I've been fascinated by a non-stop informercial where middle aged Italian women are seen wearing knit suits both WITH and WITHOUT a nude-colored full (sternum to kneecap) body shaper, while a young blond woman screams hysterically into the camera that we all have to pick up the phone and buy one right NOW so we can all look great in Bellagio.

Rates for fine hotels in Liguria are easily found on the internet. You might also check out the high end offerings in Sestre Levante, a very friendly town with no fewer than two long sand beaches, with a very poetic lick of land separating them into two lovely bays, and closer to CT than Camogli. Some German tourists go there but mostly it's Italian families, and it's unpretentious and fun. It's got a couple of well-positioned villa-type hotels favored by honeymooners.

Also, I recommended earlier that a google search of "bed and breakfast" followed by "Camogli" (or any of the 5 towns of the CT) will give you most of what's available. And you'll get rates too.

I've never stayed in any of them in Camogli, but the typical Ligurian B&B is comfortable and cheerfully decorated, with a simple breakfast.

nessun,

Not that anyone would, but if some poor soul ever thought about wearing a "knit suit" on their next trip to Bellagio, they would certainly never do it now after reading these posts...and,.. I never saw that commercial on TV...are you sure about that?????

How late do you stay up? The presenter is blonde and sort of looks like Greta van Sustern.

Something tells me we are never getting Italian women out of those knit suits and body shapers. Especially the beige ones whose jackets have pale pink piping and scalloped hems.

nessun,

I stay up late enough to watch Greta and to see that she doesn't remind me of any blonde I saw on Italian TV selling body shapers...!!!!

I am glad to see you enjoy Camogli too..it is a charming little place with few tourists off season...I especially appreciate the quiet and serenity we find there...the faux painted facades of the houses remind me of a movie set..last trip we were sitting in the breakfast room at Cenobio when a fast moving storm came through...the colors of the water and the sky were just amazing..all the small fishing boats came rushing back to shore to try to beat the weather in...it was like a painting...

I think Krissy has checked out of this conversation (see "Special Lodging in CT"), but I'm very happy to have learned about Camogli, and knit suits. Thank you both!

enzian,

LOL!!

I"m still here, but now I'm more nervous about the hut to hut hiking than the CT part. Help!

Actually, I always have mixed feeling about telling anybody about Camogli. (The conspiracy of the knit suits has been out for some time).

Traviata, it's always possible I've drunk too many Negronis and drank too much Vermentino, etc by the time to be a reliable witness of late night Italian television. (I've often wondered: "Does this make sense if you're sober?") But I'm sure I didn't imagine that infomercial twice!

Have you ever seen the one where the women are wearing these full bodysuits that are constructed with ridges that supposedly massage away cellulite while you move around? There are all these willowy Italian models with long blond hair wearing these ridiculous bodysuits (like something out of a 50s sci-fi movie) while they are happily pushing a vacuum cleaner around. It's hilarious!

Anyway, what are you favorite restaurants in Camogli? I really like Da Paolo.

Nessun,

Have not tried Da Paolo but it was recommended by the desk staff..in late October, many are closed for the season...we had a great meal in a tiny little place with the unfortunate name of Spaghetteria, right by the harbor...simple place with opera playing, homemade pastas, and water view...

I must admit I,too, have mixed feelings about sharing Camogli...there are so few places left that are undiscovered and while I want others to experience something wonderful also, I don't want them to be there when I am there!!!

Dear N.,

I can keep a secret---don't worry. If you look at my posts on the "shall I do this trip" thread, you will see we have something in common. I appreciate your recommendations on places that are a bit out of the way for Americans. I wanted to add Cinque Terre onto the end of our Swiss hiking trip, but was put off by all the "too touristy" comments I saw here and elsewhere. So I was happy to find this thread. Camogli looks very nice, and I will look into it more. At this point, it's a choice between there or three days at the Swiss Open (tennis). The trip isn't until 2007, so I've got lots of time to consider. But thank you for letting me know about this place.

enzian,

Imagine...I am probably the ONLY person who has not been to CT....every year I say I am going to go, but, every year something holds me back and I find myself looking at quieter, less well know villages....I do believe that in this world, there is something for everyone...we are happiest when we find it...

I can tell you will like Camogli...