Grand Hotel Portovenere

My daughter treated us to a night here. Hotel was lovely, but disappointed with the desk service. I'm not sure if it was a language barrier or just ineffective communication. They suggested we take the ferry to the next Island to attend the beach club. No mention that they called ahead and we were entitled to beach towels. We were informed about the towels when we returned. Towels cost 15eu. each. We found a bottle of wine in our room. The note said, "Welcome to the hotel." We didn't touch it because we thought it was part of the mini bar. We then found out my daughter sent it to us for our anniversary but no mention of her sending it. How does a hotel not include a note that this was from a person not them. We found out late in the evening, never drank any of it and could not take it on the plane with us. We needed our room keys rekeyed several times. (No they were not near credit cards nor phones.) This would not have been a big deal, but with the other two issues it made this stay unpleasant even though the hotel was lovely.

Incredibly helpful and amazing service, both before our trip end during! Our room was spacious with an incredible view. We had the Scriptorium studio which was perfect for my two teenage daughters and myself. Plenty of room and an incredibly comfortable daybed/sofa. The linens were delightful, as was the bottle of Prosecco to welcome me. The shower was equally divine with amazing water pressure and Malin and Goetz products. They were incredibly helpful to us in advance by email as the Trenord trains were down for the next part of our trip- especially Sara and Simone. Additionally, we hiked all 4 hikes the Cinque Terre , and missed the last ferry! They responded promptly to my email and gave us great directions about how to get back by train and taxi. They also arranged a wonderful driver to pick us up from Milan on our arrival and drive us to the hotel. The breakfast was also a highlight, everything about this hotel was absolutely delightful and I couldn’t recommend highly enough.

I can not recommend The Grand Hotel Portovenere enough. From the moment we checked in the staff made us feel welcome and comfortable. When I walked into the room my jaw dropped. I could lay on the bed and stare at the beautiful see right out of the hotel room window. Whenever we needed any advice on anything we went to the lobby and the staff at the desk were always so very helpful. They were very friendly and full of great advice and bent over backwards to make sure we had our needs taken care of. We were even treated to a few surprise gifts during our stay. The restaurant and enoteca at the hotel are fantastic. Truly great food with outstanding views of the sea and a wait staff that made the experience even better. Breakfasts in the same spot were truly enjoyable as well. I will always recommend Portovenere to anybody I know traveling to Italy as a must-stay place. And I will always recommend The Grand Hotel Portovenere to anybody I know going to Portovenere as a must- stay at hotel! A truly wonderful experience!

My wife and I highly, and enthusiastically, recommend the Grand Hotel Portovenere!! We spent four (4) nights at the hotel, and we relaxed in comfort with a beautiful view of the port. The entire staff was outstanding in terms of customer service, knowledge of the area, politeness, and anticipating what we might need to enjoy our stay. The delicious and variety of breakfast options was also a highlight of our stay at the hotel!

We stayed three nights in this charming boutique hotel as our base for a visit to Cinque Terre. The hotel was not busy when we arrived midweek, so the hotel graciously upgraded us from a room with a sea view to a sea view suite. The suite was spacious, nicely furnished and very comfortable. The harbor view was awesome. Breakfast was included, and consisted of a sumptuous buffet as well as made to order eggs. The restaurant terrace is lovely. The staff is helpful and friendly. Parking was also included in the room rate; note that the entrance to the garage is easy to miss when using GPS, so you have to watch carefully for the small sign as you approach the hotel. The train does not stop in Porto Venere, so the most practical way to access the Cinque Terre towns is via the ferry, which very conveniently leaves from a dock just steps from the hotel. Once in the towns, you can either hike or take the train, or some combination of both, between them. Porto Venere itself is a cute town with a fair number of good restaurants and shops. The hotel is the nicest lodging in close proximity to Cinque Terre and proved to be for us the ideal venue for our visit to the area. We had a wonderful stay in the hotel and would recommend it highly.