Husband and I wish to stay in Rapallo for week 29th May to 5th June, following a week at Hotel Floridiana in Amalfi. Thereafter will have 1 week in apartment in Orvieto, then 10 days in apartment in Rome.
We wish to be seaside for the Rapallo leg and look forward to ferry visits to Cinque Terre and day trips to other small towns and villages so well described on this board, particularly by Zeppole.
Reviews of hotel we first booked are becoming less welcoming. Seems there is a new owner. Could anyone give us any recent first-hand Hotel recommendations?
Many thanks

L'attico B&B looks pretty good, they don't have a new website but here is the email [email protected].

I'll be there in July and I will stay in the Italia e Lido Hotel
I also wanted to stay in this one that is booked when I go.

Tre Palme Bed & Breakfast

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g1...ra-Hotels.html

Since I live in the area I don't stay in the hotels, but I do tend to think that the reviews on Tripadvisor, Venere.com and Booking.com are descriptive.

If you don't find anything you like in Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure next door is only slightly smaller, and has several seaside hotels, and the same good train, bus and boat connections to Portofino, San Fruttuoso and Camogli.

I am not sure that ferries all the way to le Cinque Terre will be operating from Rapallo during your time frame. They often run on weekends during the high season. I just don't know when they start. But if you wish to see le Cinque Terre by boat, you can take a train from Rapallo to Levanto and catch the ferry there. Go on a day when it's not windy.

Thank you pookymini. I have a response from Italia e Lido Hotel for a double room with balcony, though their website offers a large difference in the looks of double rooms.

Zeppole - I had thought Rapallo the best town from which to explore Cinque Terre by ferry, but also looking forward to walking to a number of the small towns around Rapallo. I shall investigate when the ferry service to Cinque Terre begins. Thank you.

There are lots of pretty towns and walks in the vicinity of Rapallo, but you need to take a bus or boat or a brief train ride to visit them. (I am talking 5 - 10 minutes at most.) The Ligurian coastline is entirely composed of small and large coves and gulfs. Inside each cove is a town, but the edges of the coves often are too rocky for roads or anything but hiking paths.

So you can't really walk from one town to the next very easily along the coast. Those willing to share a narrow road with car traffic can walk from Rapallo to Santa Margherita Ligure and then into Portofino, but it's actually much nicer to take the boats, or else take the bus up to the mountain summit of Ruta and hike down the mountain into Portofino.

If you do a google search with the words "Rapallo Italy" you will get a map that allows you to click on it to get a satellite view of the terrain. You will clearly see what I'm talking about.

Many people who mainly want to visit le Cinque Terra by ferry stay in the towns of Levanto -- which is on the train line as well -- or in Portovenere or Lerici, which also have ferry service to Le Cinque Terre, but for those two towns it is better to have a car, since trains don't stop there.

PS: Rapallo is quite a fun place to stay, lively with a holiday feel, so if you don't mind the hour train ride to Levanto to catch a ferry to le Cinque Terre, I'm not trying to discourage you. I just wanted to make sure you knew all the details. For a week's stay, you will probably find there is more variety in and around Rapallo than closer to le Cinque Terre, but it will be busier and more bustling than the fishing villages without cars that make up le Cinque Terre.

Zeppole, thank you for your advice and interest.

We are looking forward to our stay in Rapallo, which for a week I believed would give us the most options, as you have confirmed. The train ride to Levanto and then ferry won't bother us. The bus to Ruta and hike back is something we've planned, together with a visit to Camogli and the cable car to Montellegro. Have also noted Frigidarium for gelato!!!

So.....we look forward to our fun stay in Rapallo.

Great! There's lots to enjoy. For a week's stay, a copy of David Downie's "Food and Wine of The Italian Riviera and Genoa" will really repay the investment in helping you eat affordably and get really tasty food, including a few take-out picnics on that balcony in the evenings. Also in Rapallo, I highly recommend enjoying a prosecco or other glass of wine at the Cantine d'Italia -- nice and cool and shady and breezy on a warm day. And if you get a rainy day, head to Chiavari. Downie's book can help you out with lunch and dinner recommendations. For a great "shakerato," go to Caffe Defilla and enjoy it with a chocolate sorrisi.

Have a great time!

Zeppole - thanks again. I am currently reading David Downie's "Food and Wine Rome" and shall search for your recommendation.
Chiavari is on our list of day trips, having read so many reports on its beauty on this board.

We will raise a glass of prosecco at the Cantine d'Italia - thanks for the recommendation.
......and I've googled "shakerato" and its sounds sinfully delicious....perfect for a lazy day!!