Portofino hotel recommendations
 

We are considering staying in Portofino as a jumping off place for a visit to Cinque Terra. Can anyone recommend a moderately priced hotel ($150 a night) and is this a car friendly city? Would you recommend driving the car to Cinque Terra or is there a more practical way to get around? We have three days.
If not Portofino, is there a more scenic and practical town?

Portofino is not at all efficient to see the CT. It is more than an hour by car and there is no train connection. Why would you not stay close to the CT? My choices would be Levanto, Portovenere, or Monterosso. If you want the Portofino peninsula then stay at Santa Margherita--closer and more hotels in your price range.

Portofino is a tiny hamlet, not a city. And a nightmare with a car.

If you are stuck with having a car in the area, then Lerici is your best bet for parking. One of the nice things about staying in Lerici with a car is that if it rains, you can take the car and visit places in Tuscany that have indoor things to do, One of the difficult things about staying in Lerici is that you must rely either on boats or bus+train to get you to le Cinque Terre (it is foolish to drive there)

If you would rather be north of le Cinque Terre, Sestri Levante is a lovely town with good food . Despite being only a very short train ride from le Cinque Terre, it gets only a fraction of the tourist mobs that descend on le Cinque Terre from May to the end of September. Bonassola and Moneglia are pretty and almost undiscovered small towns equally convenient to le Cinque Terre. If you are not bothered by mass tourism, Levanto and Monterosso al Mare have parking lots, and some hotels in Santa Margherita Ligure offer it, but you will need to up your budget substantially.

If you can get rid of your car before coming to the area, it's helpful because parking is at such a premium. If you need a car when you leave you can always pick one up in either La Spezia or Rapallo, depending on which way you are headed. (Rapallo is fun, lively town with some hotel bargains, some parking and not so many tourists).

In case it wasn't clear, Sestri Levante, Bonassola and Moneglia all have accommodations with parking, and they also have train stations so you can day trip to le Cinque Terre with a very quick train trip without "unparking" your car.