Casa di Andrea — Hotel in Monterosso al Mare

Worst Travel Experience in my whole Life

Save yourself the headache and stress I experienced by not booking a stay at Casa di Andrea.

I booked my husband and myself a room for September back in April. Carola responded, I provided my credit card information, I was emailed confirmation and a map of how to get to the hotel from the train station.

Fast forward to the week before our stay. I emailed her to confirm. She did not respond, but as we were already on our journey, I didn't think much of it. The day before we get there, I email and try to contact her via WhatsApp. No response. On the train, I called her via WhatsApp as it says in the confirmation email she will advise us on the best way to walk there as there are many stairs. She picks up the phone and tells us she does not have our reservation and she is fully booked. I tell her she must be mistaken, that I have written confirmation from her. She says she needs time to look into it, then calls me back, LAUGHING, saying she made a mistake and that "it happens", and "why should it matter", she hadn't charged my credit card. At this point, we have arrived at the train station and I am crying. We are on vacation halfway around the world and we have nowhere to stay. She says she will find us a hotel room but that because it is peak tourist season, it is not promised. She calls us ten minutes later to tell us she booked us a room by the beach and that she will pay any difference in fee and that it is "a better hotel anyway". Again, laughing, she says "my mother used to say you know you are alive because you make mistakes". We get to the other hotel, and while it is nice and the staff was incredibly kind, it was immediately next to the train station which kept me up all night and was not the restful experience I was hoping for.

The next day, we have to check out early in the morning because Carola has an opening for one night only at Casa di Andrea. Again, an incredible hassle. We spend the whole day exploring and have to get back to drag our luggage up the town. I was expecting her to offer a discount on the night stay for our troubles. She did not. Instead, she offered us a cheap bottle of 12Euro prosecco to "apologize". The room was also right by the stairs that you must take to exit the property, so the other guests were constantly walking outside our room and could see us relaxing on the bed. I still cannot believe she did not offer us any discount on the stay. We left the next day for Rome and while the town itself was beautiful, Carola ruined the experience for us.

I have never worked with someone in the hospitality industry as incompetent as Carola. Not only is she extremely unorganized, she is someone who is completely devoid of empathy or a base knowledge of customer service. Do yourself a favor and stay...

Save yourself the headache and stress I experienced by not booking a stay at Casa di Andrea. ||I booked my husband and myself a room for September back in April. Carola responded, I provided my credit card information, I was emailed confirmation and a map of how to get to the hotel from the train station. ||Fast forward to the week before our stay. I emailed her to confirm. She did not respond, but as we were already on our journey, I didn't think much of it. The day before we get there, I email and try to contact her via WhatsApp. No response. On the train, I called her via WhatsApp as it says in the confirmation email she will advise us on the best way to walk there as there are many stairs. She picks up the phone and tells us she does not have our reservation and she is fully booked. I tell her she must be mistaken, that I have written confirmation from her. She says she needs time to look into it, then calls me back, LAUGHING, saying she made a mistake and that "it happens", and "why should it matter", she hadn't charged my credit card. At this point, we have arrived at the train station and I am crying. We are on vacation halfway around the world and we have nowhere to stay. She says she will find us a hotel room but that because it is peak tourist season, it is not promised. She calls us ten minutes later to tell us she booked us a room by the beach and that she will pay any difference in fee and that it is "a better hotel anyway". Again, laughing, she says "my mother used to say you know you are alive because you make mistakes". We get to the other hotel, and while it is nice and the staff was incredibly kind, it was immediately next to the train station which kept me up all night and was not the restful experience I was hoping for.||The next day, we have to check out early in the morning because Carola has an opening for one night only at Casa di Andrea. Again, an incredible hassle. We spend the whole day exploring and have to get back to drag our luggage up the town. I was expecting her to offer a discount on the night stay for our troubles. She did not. Instead, she offered us a cheap bottle of 12Euro prosecco to "apologize". The room was also right by the stairs that you must take to exit the property, so the other guests were constantly walking outside our room and could see us relaxing on the bed. I still cannot believe she did not offer us any discount on the stay. We left the next day for Rome and while the town itself was beautiful, Carola ruined the experience for us.||I have never worked with someone in the hospitality industry as incompetent as Carola. Not only is she extremely unorganized, she is someone who is completely devoid of empathy or a base knowledge of customer service. Do yourself a favor and stay...

We stayed for 4 nights in late September and everything was great. (Booked one year in advance and glad we did!) Carola stayed in contact with us throughout our year of planning as well as during our trip and arrival, letting us know train schedules and where to meet her. She and her husband helped us with our luggage upon arrival as there is an incline to the hotel/house. The rooms were very clean, comfortable bed, spacious and clean bathroom and shower, beautiful terrace and even a screen door leading out to the terrace so you could have the door open to enjoy the fresh air. Yes, as others have stated, there are stairs that you must climb to up and down each day, but it's totally worth it for the room and view. We will stay here again for sure when we return to Monterosso. This is a small city with much beauty...be sure to relax and take your time and see the beautiful sites. Of note: coffee/cafe and pastries at Pasticceria Bar Laura in the mornings, happy hour at Enoteca Da Eliseo, and the bruschetta at Enoteca Internazionale is fantastic! All recommendations from Carola at La Casa Di Andrea! Thank you, Carola, we wish you all the best during these difficult times and we look forward to...