Cinque Terra - Room with a View?

The best option I can suggest would be either Hotel Villa Steno or Hotel Porto Roca, which are both located in the "old town" part of Monterosso. Both are slightly separated from the centre of town (and the cruise ship hordes) but both have great views. Villa Steno is one of my favourite hotels in all of Europe.

If you decide on one of these, I'd suggest getting reservations soon as mid-September can be somewhat busy.

I second Frank's recommendation for the Hotel Villa Steno. It was fun to sit on our balcony and enjoy pizza/wine after a long day of taking the boat to one end of the 5 villages and then hiking back. The next morning, having tea on the balcony early in the morning, looking down toward the village as the sun rose is one of my happy travel memories. We stayed there was part of the Heart of Italy Tour thru Rick Steves, and we found the hotel clean, comfortable, and the staff delightful. If you have any issues with stairs, just be aware there is a good flight of stairs to climb if you are walking up from the village. But, you will most likely arrive by vehicle and depart that way....seems I recall the hotel provided luggage transfer to the train station and I only remember walking up the outside stairs when we returned from time on our own in the village. But, the stairs are not bad....just to be aware in case any of the 5 in your travel party have issues.

La Spiaggia, Monterosso. Request a sea-view room with a balcony. Rooms are small (not unusual for Italy) but very clean, breakfast is included in the tariff, and it's an easy walk from the train station and local restaurants. Super desk staff. It's a very popular, family-owned hotel and may already be booked up for mid-Sept but give it a shot? We stayed there on a reco from friends who'd stayed there on every trip, and recommended it to another couple of friends who reported back that they'd had a great stay there.

Oh, and it has an elevator. :O)

Thank you all, has anyone had experience with booking an apartment via AirBnB?? I know my family wanted to try one.

Airbnb is fine, I use them a lot. Just be sure you read the descriptions and reviews thoroughly!

Hi eecc
apathtolunch.com has lots of info about the coast, haven’t been but hoping to within a year or two. If you check airb&b, read fine print, is there a minimal day stay, how many bed and baths, deposits, do you pay for linens, maximum people allowed, exact location and not climbing 200 stairs with luggage, if driving place to park car. Lots of options to look for, just a reality, learn thru experience. Happy travels
Aloha

I suggest you book ASAP. Both Hotel Villa Steno and its sister hotel Pasquale were booked solid for our September dates back in February. We ended up in a sea view room at Manuel's Guesthouse. His balcony rooms were gone as well. There were lots of accommodation options without sea views or balconies at that time. Don't delay!

Check actual locations too. Rentals have been know to state that they're located in (town) when in reality they're out far enough not to be walking distance and guests must rely on their own wheels or local transport that's not frequent/convenient.

thank you all. yes it seems like a lot of the AirBnB's can be deceiving and I don't want to be disappointing when we arrive.