Exceptionnel Cinqueterre Appartement

My wife and I (in our 60s) just spent 4 wonderful nights there. There are about 40 steps to get there once you enter the apartment building and about 10 more on an inner staircase to reach the bathroom and terrace, but the rewards of this unit make the effort so worth it.

The unit is spacious, charming and filled with all the amenities you'd need. Lots of extra, nice touches, too.

The terrace is simply killer. It's huge, comes with a table and 4 chairs, a lounge chair, an awning to keep the sun off during parts of the day, and incredible views, both to the sea and the mountains. Wow. Just wow.

We had dinner on the terrace every night watching the sunset. (Full disclosure: the sun couldn't be seen actually setting from the terrace when we were there (early Oct) due to other building blocking it but you definitely got to see color in the sky.) There are several nice but very small grocery stores in town (about a 5 - 10 minute walk). They don't have full inventories/selections. For instance, basic seafood is not available. But they have a lot of take out items, including octopus and shrimp. Many restaurants also offer take out food, so dinner on the terrace was done without formal cooking.

The owner, Carolina, is a joy to work with. She is fast in responding to emails and very helpful. She doesn't live in the area but has a gentleman (Simone) meet you and show you the apartment. He's available during your stay should you need assistance. And of course Carolina is just an email away.

Kitchen is modern and very well equipped. The bathroom is upstairs is large and has a good shower with a curtain.The bedrooms are fairly spacious but the floor space is a bit tight, so we put our suitcases elsewhere. The washing machine is in the bathroom upstairs. No dryer but there are lots of clothes lines with lots of clothes pins on the back of the huge terrace.

The location is great. The train station is about a 15 minute walk (mostly uphill as is typical in Cinque Terre). The restaurants and shops are plentiful and only 2 - 10 minutes away. (Riomaggiore is basically a one street town, although the other streets are fun to explore.)

Hard to believe there's a better place to stay in Riomaggiore both in terms of amenities and value. If we return, it will definitely be here. We highly, highly recommend this apartment. Our advice: if it's available, don't pass it up.

Terrace was excellent, beds comfortable. Apartment was smaller than I expected but was good. The only negative was it was hot when we were there and humid, unbelievable in Mid to late Sept but true. Nothing can be done about that.

Host told me that they are putting in AC soon, too bad it was after our stay but hopefully it will make someone elses that much better on humid nights.

Stairs everywhere so be ready to climb. Great excercise, especially the ones up to the apartment.

Loved Riomaggiore, great people, great food, great town.

Thanks Caro and Mr. Simone for you hospitality.

Giancarlo

Caro's apartment in the charming town of Riomaggiore was perfect for our stay in the Cinque Terre area. Large, spacious and well equipped, with a lovely café/shop to the left of the entrance for cappuccino, pastry, sandwiches, gelato and another restaurant to the right. As in other reviews lots of uphill climbing and steps (hit the gym before your trip!) but that gives you what must be the best view in town. Thanks to Mr. Simone for all his help and his direction on getting back to the train station the easy way (no steps!). Took ferry and train to all 5 towns; we liked the feel of Riomaggiore best!

Simply Fantastic.

To Recommended!

We enjoyed our stay at this apartment. The decor is not cohesive but it is a comfortable apartment with lots of little extras to make you feel at home. Good little cafe at the bottom of the stairs for morning coffee and afternoon gillatto. The small restaurant to the right side is lovely as well - or enjoy dinner on the rooftop terrace of the apartment.