I spent hours and hours researching hotels in the Cinque Terre area before finally choosing this one - mostly because of the location. I was a little anxious about it, especially since it was only a block from the train station (thinking it would be noisy) but it ended up being PERFECT. We had a room on the 2nd floor with a large terrace overlooking the ocean and two lounge chairs - PERFECT. On the day we arrived, we flew from Vancouver to London, waited for 3 hours, then flew London to Genoa, then took a train for an hour and a half to Monterosso, so we were exhausted by the time we got there. Ella, at the reception desk, took one look at us and instead of saying "Give me your passports", she said "Would you like a glass of wine?" Then, she said "You just go get settled and we'll do all the paperwork later". I mean, who does that in this day and age? She was PERFECT. From this hotel we could easily walk the Cinque Terre trail from village to village (the hike wasn't so easy, but getting to the start of it was). Breakfast was included and it was ample. The room could have used a bit of sprucing up, but it was spotlessly clean and large enough for two people with a day bed for a third if necessary. The shower always had hot water and all the amenities were there (the blow dryer was pretty weak, but that seemed to be the case in all the other hotels we stayed in as well). Ella was always eager to chat with us, and the owner, Andrea Poggi, was full of suggestions for great restaurants. We were never disappointed (our favourite was right around the corner, Ristorante La Barcaccia - their house wine is infused with blueberries and they give you a complimentary glass as an appertif. It's PERFECT!). There were no train noises, as the train goes through a tunnel behind the hotel. If I had to say one negative thing about this hotel (and I'd be searching), it would be the sounds of the diners enjoying their late night meals at the al fresco restaurants lining the street below us. However, that's not the hotel's fault and isn't that why ear plugs were invented? There's a tunnel at the southern end that takes you to the old part of town. There are a lot of hotels there, but you have to climb up and up and up, which is a drag if you're toting luggage. This hotel was a 5-minute level walk from the train station. I would definitely stay at this hotel again - for the location, the ambience and the staff. Make sure you ask for a room with a terrace!

CINQUE TERRE 2006
A much belated partial review of our trip in the summer of 2006. We stayed at the two star La Spiaggia Hotel in Monterossa. (The espresso’s always on.) This is a small hotel on the beach run by Andrea Poggi whose ancestral home is on the main street. Andrea is truly a “local”. Four star hotels don’t appeal to us, as we enjoy exploring places on our own. Andrea was very helpful, giving advice and suggestions when requested, but leaving us alone and not being obtrusive. He does not fawn over his guests. Our trip had many highlights--- Wanting to picnic, Andrea suggested a walk ” up the hill on paved steps, to the left past the train station, and just before the tunnel, keep to the left.” We did, and ended up in a paved courtyard of a church adjoining a convent. A Gregorian chant was in the background, probably choir practice. A sign in the courtyard, in Italian, said “No Picnics” , so we walked further up the hill and ended up in the town cemetery. Hundreds of above ground crypts, some stacked four high. At the very top if the hill, surrounded by crenulated stone walls, we had a 360 degree view, with the Mediterranean Sea on one side and the terraced hills of Cinque Terre on the other. We decided not to pin-nic with the dead and began the walk back down the hill. After a few short steps, we came to a set of stairs covered with shade, which was a good place to eat as we were so hot and hungry.
We did the obligatory walking tour of the five towns. Andrea suggested a restaurant along the way. Unbeknownst to us, he called ahead and made reservations. We showed up with a table and bottle of wine waiting. We had seafood antipasti. They kept bringing different dishes of various seafood -octopus, sardines-prepared different ways, small minnows, stuffed mussels, two different seafood salads, etc. etc. and two different wines. Anyway, this was just amazing, the best meal we’ve ever had anywhere .I’m reluctant to say the name of the restaurant, so if you’re interested, you’ll just have to ask Andrea. We had a long walk back to the hotel, I had one more macchiato. (The espresso’s always on,)
This trip was truly fantastic!!!

La Spiaggia is the perfect destination for those that want close proximity to the beach (across the traffic-limited street), restaurants (two very nice restaurants within a half block; many others within a 10 or 15 minute walk), and shopping for local craft items and souvenirs (10 minute walk through the tunnel to the old section of town).
We arrived by train from Milan with two large suitcases. Every other hotel listing in the area said they were situated up a hundred narrow steps, but La Spiaggia is only 300 feet from the Monterosso train station--go down 30 steps to the street, turn right, and walk to the hotel (taxis also available).
Upon our arrival, Ella showed us to our room with their elevator--rare among other Cinque Terre facilities, then invited us down to the reception for a glass of Andrea Poggi's homemade wine--delicious. It was my birthday on the day we arrived and we also received a bottle of Proseco sparkling wine.
We met Andrea later and he asked us what we wanted to do and see. He is very proud of his town and wants his guests to have an excellent experience. Andrea recommended a different restaurant for us every night and they were all great places to eat and we had a lot of fun experiences. When we mentioned at the restaurant that we were there based on Andrea's recommendation, every place gave us a 5% to 10% discount on our meals and one also gave us a free aperitif of white wine with blueberry, and a glass of lemoncello after dinner.
Andrea studied English in London for several years and he is very generous with his guests and his staff (Ella and Giulia are both very helpful and friendly). His family has lived in the region for many years and he has a lot of information about the region and the people who live there.
Go to La Spiaggia, ask Andrea for recommendations on what to see, do, and eat and it will be a memorable experience.
One note: no credit cards, but Andrea is very happy to take a personal check and provides conversions into Euros at the going rate.

My girlfriend and I stayed at La Spiaggia 2 weeks ago (May 2009) and had an amazing time at this hotel. We were greeted by Andrea, the owner, and his friendly staff, with a couple of glasses of his special blend of local wine. The room was super clean and beautiful, with an amazing view of the sea, the beach, and the surrounding cliffs. Andrea is simply an amazing host. He gave us great suggestions for restaurants and shopping not only in Cinque Terre, but for every other stop we had along our itinerary. Since our bag was stolen in Milan’s train station (be very careful with your bags in busy places), Andrea and his staff were very helpful in getting us connected to the embassy to replace our passports, and his receptionist even looked for iphone chargers in town to help me charge my phone. Overall, great family style service. Would definitely go there again.