Grand Hotel Portovenere

Fantastic Stay at Grand Hotel Portovenere! 🌊 I've just had the most magical 3-night stay at the Grand Hotel Portovenere, and I'm already dreaming of going back! This place is an absolute gem, set in a beautifully restored 17th-century convent right on the water's edge. From the moment we arrived, the staff went above and beyond to make us feel welcome. Their kindness and passion for the region truly made our trip special. The food was a highlight every single day. Dining at the Palmaria Restaurant with its stunning panoramic terrace views was an experience in itself. The cuisine was innovative, fresh, and absolutely delicious—a perfect taste of Liguria! Waking up to the view of the colorful harbor and Palmaria Island from our balcony was unforgettable. The hotel's location is perfect, right in the heart of charming Portovenere and with the ferry to the Cinque Terre literally at your doorstep. If you're looking for a luxurious, romantic, and utterly satisfying escape, look no further. I can't recommend this hotel enough!

We originally stayed at Grand Hotel in May for a short 2-night stay and loved it so much we decided to return in September and get married in Portovenere. We booked rooms for ourselves and four other guests (including a very distinguished golden retriever!), and a dinner for after our wedding ceremony. We stayed in the Cloister Suite which is spacious, has a lovely terrace and beautiful views of both the bay and the town/marina. The staff team were amazing; from Marta and Francesco who helped us with booking and arrangements, Alessio who helped us with our menu and throughout our dining experiences (arranging a tiramisu wedding cake!), Simone who helped us pre-arrival, and all the other wonderful people in the restaurant, bar staff, housekeeping, room service, bellhops and reception. They were all so incredibly kind and welcoming. Our guests continuously commented on how exceptional the service was. We were treated like family, welcomed with Prosecco and a letter of congratulations on arrival, and the day after our wedding when my husband called down for room service he was greeted with, “good morning Nate, how is your wife?”! There were so many of these sweet interactions during our stay that made it truly special. In my ‘normal life’ I am a sales operations manager for a bespoke travel company, with discerning tastes in hotels, and I have been almost constantly recommending Grand Hotel since we returned. Thank you so, so much for a wonderful experience (you were right, Alessio, the small weddings are magical!), we’ll see you next September for our anniversary.

Horrible experience in Portovenere. We were given the worst room in the hotel. We paid for an executive room with a balcony/terrace and it had neither. Our room was cramped and small and we had to go down a set of stairs on the 4th floor to get to our room. Upon arrival the staff insisted that we had to leave some of our luggage in storage because they did not fit in our room. They also insisted that we upgrade to a suite because our luggage would not fit at an additional cost of $E130 per day. I don’t know if it was worth to book online since we had no one to complain too. It was a hour drive to Rio Maggiore from the hotel. We would have been better off staying in Portofino and driving to Monterosso instead. Don’t order the Caesar salad at the restaurant as they used iceberg lettuce past its prime. It was almost white in color. Beware that the daily whole fish is priced per kilo and not a fixed price. We paid $E80 for the fish that I shared with my friend.

My son and I enjoyed two fabulous nights here. The hotel staff were very helpful and welcoming. I was pleased to learn that the hotel would provide us with beach towels, a beach bag, and water to take to the beach. Porto Venere is simply wonderful and this beautiful hotel made our stay even more special!

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.

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.

Wonderful staff, very helpful with recommendations for activities as well as booking what you might need. Rooms were very clean, views were amazing and the breakfast may be the best I've ever had at any resort including some 5 star hotels in New York. My wife and I weren't sure we'd realize the value we paid initially, but after leaving I would say it's a great deal given what the hotel provides from a service and location standpoint. We will be returning next year.

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.

Very nice hotel...the location is perfect! The breakfast in the on site restaurant is great...endless choices and great cappuccinos. The suite was beautiful...shower was amazing You want for nothing and you can just sit on your porch and take it all in. Soany great place to eat...highly recommend Torre out near the castle on the end of the point. The ferry is like 100 feet away and you can ride it all day for a flat fee. Saw all 5 villages and had a blast. My only negative was that the bed is super firm...you might like that but I do not. There is a wonderful spa that is tied to the hotel...highly recommend to relax and set the tone for your stay. Portovenere is quiet at night and full of life during the day. They even have a private beach across the street! This is a.magival place...it is full of history and adventure.

The Grand Hotel Portovenere is a most beautiful hotel in a prime location. My stay here was the highlight of my trip! The area is incredibily beautiful: at the entrance of the Gulf of Poets: the deep blue Mediterranean sea becons with islands Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto in view along with dramatic San Pietro. The hotel is elegant and retains its history in its respectful and beautiful architecture. In the midst of such beauty, the staff and management make everything truly magic! From the warmest of welcomes to taking care of every detail with genuine kindness and consideration, the experience is heartfelt and magic!!! Great compliments to the chefs for the preparation of meals with delicate flavors highlighting the high quality ingredients. The team even made a dish that I had spoken to them about... a true surprise and absolute delight!! I recommend enjoying the experiences that can be arranged by the gracious staff. I had wonderful experiences in the cooking class with a truly talented chef who was informative, made delicious dishes and was fun! In addition, the sunset cruise experience was truly breathtaking! The boat was beautiful with a great Skipper, who showed me the natural beauty of the Portovenere area that can only be appreciated from the aspect of the sea: the black and gold marble caves, the beautiful islands and the views from the sea towards the Carrara mountains. The lovely aperitivo prepared by the hotel team made it perfect! The beautiful property, prime location and wonderful experiences make this a wonderful and grand place but what truly makes this a special Grand Hotel is the amazing staff led by their General Manager, Mr.. Polesel. They are gracious, warm and phenomenal at what they do!!! I am grateful to have been able to spend time here and will return soon!!!.

I was surprised and amazed with beauty of the location of this beautiful cozy hotel. But, some of the staff and room was not as excepted. They have best doorman, valet, bell services, and restaurant services (one of the best restaurant in town) which they are kind and helpful. But front desk and bar service personnel were rude and not helpful at all. Let's talk about how good the location of the hotel. It is in one word gorgeous. You just steps outside of the hotel lobby and you are in heart of beautiful Porto Venere town with amazing view of harbor and Church of Saint Peter. Check out those photos on my Instagram page minoolifediary and fenulphotography. I cannot find better place to walk and enjoy the weather than this beautiful town of Porto Venere out of all Cinque Terre area. When we drive with car over there, there is no place to stop at front of hotel lobby. However, the bell and valet services was so friendly and useful that they unload the luggage and park the car somewhere in small tiny garage. So without valet parking, I have no idea how you want to deal with the parking in this city. They have also one of the best restaurant in town called Palmiria. The food was expensive but worth the view and quality of service they have provided. I have deduct one star because I could not sleep well in our room. They have disabled the air-conditioner at the time we have visited them and the room became hot. When we also open the window to get fresh air, their personnel working all night outside in the back yard that our window facing and makes tones of noises. Tolerate the noise or tolerate the heat. In both scenarios I had really bad sleep. The front desk at night shift was so rude and he did not care. The morning one, also just simply apologized, and give us parking for free (nice gesture but I expect much more than that, and apology did not seem to be sincere!!!). I have also deduct another star from them because the bar service personnel was so rude. We sat there in the hotel lobby on second floor and asking for hot tea. He instead of welcoming us, noticing us to do not make the furniture dirty with our shoes!!!! While I was just stretching my leg to have relax afternoon, and none of my shoes touching anything which by the way was clean like crystal because they were new. We also asked for the check from same person takes half an hour and finally we went to bar to sign the check!!! Overall, nice and prime location. Cozy and clean hotel. Make sure you get the room with ocean view or street view rather than back yard and do not order drink from bar in lobby. I wish you have five star experience over there because it is possible with few adjustment.

If Audrey Hepburn were to visit Portovenere, I have no doubt that she would stay here. Jutting off the cliffs, looking over the whisper of the town that is this better-than-cinque-terre Ligurian hamlet, this place is all class. Yes you have to pay for parking (20€ a day) and the price for the rooms are a little excessive, it truly is the only grand hotel in the area. Our room was quite simple, but very comfortable, the best part about it was the gorgeous terrace overlooking the town. It was huge and perfect for early-evening drinks before dinner and our dog Ginger loved it too. The ferry to visit the nearby Cinque Terre is located right in front of the hotel (awesome!). The bathroom had a shower which was probably one of the best I've had in Italy (water pressure was on POINT), though I'll never understand why luxury hotels in Italy often forget conditioner! It should be scared, but note to you all who use it, bring your own. I highly recommend eating at their in-house restaurant, the service is almost too good and we really enjoyed our meal there, a smorgasbord of fish and local favorites, like fresh trofie pasta with pesto, served with a dry white local wine from Cinque Terre. Breakfast was also great, plenty of fresh fruit for those pretending to be on diet after gorging on a four-course meal with wine and grappa the night before. Other tips for those staying here, is to visit the 'Locanda Lorena' restaurant in nearby Palmaria island, the free shuttle leaves at the port directly in front of the hotel and it's a five minute ride. Great local fish and simple atmosphere.

Great location. Great view. But Overpriced! Again, I am reminded that 4 stars in Europe is not 4 stars in America. And 4 1/2 stars is definitely not. The Deluxe Room featured a small double bed, and no sitting area. The beach chair and umbrella (that were listed as included) and provided by the Royal Sporting Hotel was to our surprise an extra $40 euro per day, and the hotel owned car service to La Spezia station was 50 euro - compared to 35 for a private car company. (whatever happened to the free shuttle) Combine the nickel and dime amenities with the $400 a night room rate, makes me wonder if I had stayed at one of the many half-priced 3 star hotels available. Breakfast was great. And the staff service was excellent. Guarding your plate from seagul attack was a nice touch. But was it worth paying twice the competition's rates? I can't say, but somehow I doubt it!

Not a top 10 pick if your looking for amenities. Hot water was inconsistent the tv was installed to the right of the bed so you could not watch from the bed without getting a stiff neck, the shower in our room was smaller than on a cruise ship inside room. Staff tries. But just not trained well. The rooms have to have a room key in place to keep a/c or lights on. They have Boston ability to exchange dollars for euro. There is on bank on closed more than open Finally. Not the hotel. But the ferry to the cinque terra is a pushing and shoving nightmare. Not a vacation voyage. The most disorganized operation I have seen in 40 years of travel

Great location, service, staff , breakfast and room! Highly recommend this hotel . Dinner is very delicious and well prepared and 5 star service.

Great location. So close to the harbor to take the boats to Cinque Terre. Breakfast was wonderful with variety and international options. Great dinner view amazing view!