Hi,

We are two senior couples traveling together to the Italian and French Riviera. We arrive May 14th for 5 nights and would like to stay in either Rapallo or Camogli for lodging. We will have a car but will be taking local transportation, trains and ferries for our day trips. We are not opposed to renting through Airb&B or staying at a small hotel. Most of the hotels seem very expensive and as we will be spending very little time at our hotel or apartment we are looking for a more middle of the road price range. Would love to hear of hotels and apartments that folks really liked during their stay. Thank you in advance.

I have stayed twice at Cenobio dei Dogi in Camogli and loved it, it's a real favourite I intend to return to. It might be above what you want to spend but you get good value for money, pool, beach, included breakfast, free parking etc.
Nearby is La Camogliese Hotel B&B which looks really nice, gets good reviews on Booking.com, that might be what you are looking for.

Heather,
We too are Liguria-bound, but in the fall. I bow to no-one when it comes to researching accommodation (sound of trumpets). After repeatedly looking at every single option there then doing so again (hotels but especially rentals), my best advice would be trying the following obvious and not-so obvious:
VRBO/Booking.com/Air B&B/*the actual Camogli Reddit plus Google. The latter will bring up a couple local Italian 'villa' rental agency sites. Of course, many of the rentals are cross-referenced and shown on more than one platform.
Few have lifts, btw.
I looked into Rapallo, but passed on it. *There is however, one very nice B&B just above town.
I am done. the relentless

I'm a big fan of the CENOBIO DEI DOGI and I loved Camogli when I stayed there (way back in the days when I traveled with the "prune juice couple."). But for a longterm stay, yes, look at Zebe's sources; there seem to be many good options. I only spent one afternoon in Rapallo, in the center, and I did not think it was appealing.

I have saved a great-looking rental in Chiavari, but not sure how close the beach is located. I have a dream of spending a few weeks there in the fall or spring..cooking from the local markets, etc. One thing Chiavari does not appear to be rich in is "good" restaurants but again, I've never been.

https://www.lacamogliese.it/en/home

Here is the link to La Camogliese, I took a look and for 5 nights in May the price is 830 euro, works out to roughly $190.00 per night for a room with a king bed, breakfast included.

Pretty sure that they have an adjoined cafe right on the beach too. One of our short-list rentals is very nearby so that's how come why I seen this fact.
Gotta go. We're looking into palanquin services for that town, with its many steps and all.
I am done. the waves

Yes zebec they do have a restaurant as well. Palanquin services, lol, maybe they will scatter rose petals in front of you as you proceed.
You can stay on the sea level and not bother to go up to the upper town except if you need to get the train if you are worried about the steps of which, yes, there are MANY. We marvelled at the very elderly people we would see walking up and down with their shopping every day.
However, there is an elevator which can be found across from the parking lot of the Cenobio dei Dogi and lets you out across from the train station. It is nice to amble up and down the main street of the upper town as well, there is a market some days and there are some nice shops and restaurants there. The elevator lets you out at the start of the main street.

We stayed one night at La Camogliese in October 2014, and it is in a lovely location. It was quiet, even on a Friday evening, and the staff were hospitable. I'm not sure what parking arrangements they offer, but there is a public parking lot about 200 metres south of the hotel.

One thing I would mention: we had been walking in Liguria, and our hiking organizer booked us into one of the studios. It was ok for an overnight, but I would definitely look at the bigger rooms on a higher floor if staying more than one night.

As raincitygirl mentions, there is the nearby public elevator that lifts you from sea level up to the level of the train station. It is very handy if you have luggage or prefer to avoid stairs or a steep walk.

Thank you everyone, I found a lovely air B&B in Rapallo with a dedicated parking spot that is within our budget. Thank you for all the advice.