Sailors Rest Riomaggiore Cinque Terre — Hotel in Riomaggiore

We came to Cinque Terre with 2 other couples this past weekend. After stowing our luggage, we compared notes on accommodations and hosts. There were major differences in experiences....||||Thea was pleasant & met us at the train station to show us our room. However, she seemed rushed when showing us the apartment. She showed us the place, the garden, then left w/o any further instruction or recommendation. This was far different from our friends’ experience. ||||Thea told us our WiFi did not work but they’d be by the next day to repair. And, to go use WiFi at a bar or restaurant if it was needed. (My guess-the WiFi has been nonoperative for quite some time. I’d be interested to know when it finally gets repaired) When I texted Thea the following night to see if it had been repaired she said it had not b/c it was the weekend. Again, I felt in her haste to get us to the apartment and leave, it was easier for her to tell us anything rather than deal with our concerns right then and there. It was disappointing.||||Another glaring difference b/w Sailors rest and the places our friends stayed...amenities. While we had a coffee & danish from the place up the street, we had two nespresso pods in the apartment. And, they were not refreshed for the other days we were there. When I texted Thea to see if she had restocked, she simply said “no I’m sorry, bar opens around 7am”. They also never came to clean or refresh towels. Again, our friends had coffee, maid service and fresh towels....which I think should be the standard paying what we paid. Did I mention our accommodations were the most expensive of the 3?||||By the way, I met the owner of the building while up at the garden area. He was a very kind man. I enjoyed our conversation and hearing his story. I am guessing Thea is related. And, I am not trying to smear Thea. To her credit, she met us at the train station (after we were 30 minutes late) However, if comparing properties, amenities & hosts, we would not stay at Sailors Rest again. As I said, there are many places with better options in all 3 categories. ||||Hope this helps...either a future traveler, or the owner....

This is a cozy apartment conveniently located within a very short walk from the train station and ferry in the “first” of the 5 Cinque Terre towns (Riomaggiore). Andrea was very kind and met us when we arrived and showed us how to get to the apartment and terrace and explained various things about the apartment. A few things to know before you book: As others have mentioned, to reach the apartment you have to climb several flights of steep stone steps so definitely pack light. This is true for all of cinque terre so if you have mobility difficulties this is probably not going to be a good area for you. The apartment also comes with access to a lovely private terrace that is located up an additional 2 flights of steps from the apartment. The apartment is small but very clean and has a small kitchenette as well. The bed (as pictured) is a loft bed so you will also need to climb stairs to get in and out of bed at night. The apartment is built into the side of a mountain and there is no view to the outside when you are in the apartment though the terrace (not attached) has a great view. You can also hear noise from the surrounding apartments since these are older buildings. Other reviews mention breakfast, we were not informed about any breakfast nor was any breakfast provided. Since the apartment is built into the side of a mountain cell reception is not great inside and while the apartment has WiFi it’s on the slow side. You will likely spend most of your time outside in this location so it’s not a huge issue but something to know in case that’s important to you. Riomaggiore now requires a tourist card in order to use certain elevators, services, and get back to town on foot via the lovers lane walk. Our contact for the property advised that the website for these cards was not live and therefore he could not provide these to us, however, we met several other tourists who appeared to have these cards. This meant we had to take the train back to town instead of doing the lovers lane hike in reverse as they only let residents and those with the tourist cards do the...

This lovely hotel room felt more like an Airbnb than a hotel because it had a small kitchen unit and there wasn't really a check-in lobby. Instead, someone got in touch with me a couple days before we arrived via email and whatsapp and coordinated a time to meet me when I arrived into town to show me how to get to the room. This meet-and-guide set up seemed normal in Cinque Terre, as regardless of where you stay, it can be a bit confusing to navigate upon arrival. ||||When I booked this hotel, I read a few reviews and noticed the only negative ones seemed to note the amount of stairs and difficulty in getting to the hotel room. If stairs are an issue, then one might want to reconsider revisiting Cinque Terre altogether because stairs are all over the 5 towns! We did not have this problem and were able to get to the room easily after being shown the way the first time. It was also easy to get to the train station or harbor for the ferry to see the neighboring towns. ||||We found the room clean, spacious, and quiet. We loved the garden sitting area, which you get to yourself. I would highly recommend Sailors Rest and would stay there again. We were given breakfast coupons to a local cafe for the morning, and that...