Cinque Terre

When you say you are having trouble, is it because they are already booked? When will you be there? Rick's book is an obvious source of recommendations. Trip Advisor has a robust list (31) for Vernazza. I would not trust TA on availability, though. Contact the establishment directly.

Try www.elisabettacarro.it and tell her that I said hello.

LOL @ "Downtown Vernazza". Sorry, don't mean any offense but you'll understand when you see Vernazza...

You're having a hard time finding hotels and B&Bs because in the strictest sense of the word, "hotels" just don't exist in Vernazza. Vernazza is one tiny street from train station to harbor and you can walk it in 5 minutes. Rooms for rent are the norm here, not hotels, along with a bare handful of pensiones, albergos, and non-traditional B&Bs (hey, not all B&B's in Italy serve breakfast). Some have no views whatsoever, like Pensione Sorriso, but will have more "modern" conveniences in a somewhat more hotel-like environment; others, like La Mala and Gianni Franzi may have shared public terraces for sea views. You really do need the RS Italy or Cinque Terre guidebook to sort through choices. Just look at the contrast for all these places: B&B Gemmy Trattoria Gianni Franzi Albergo Barbara Pensione Sorriso B&B La Mala www.cinqueterrehotels.com
www.cinqueterre.com www.venere.com If you need a REAL hotel with all the standards, services and amenities that implies, stay in Monterosso. And for nearly all of your choices in ANY of the CT towns, expect to have to send an email request for availability, then wait patiently for a reply. Few to none have "live, real-time" online booking. Not even the Monterosso hotels. Most will guarantee with a credit card but you must pay in cash. Monterosso hotels are more likely to be able to take cc for payment.

I chuckled at "downtown Vernazza" as well. Have a great time. The CT are really beautiful.

A couple of weeks ago, I was trying to make reservations for June in CT and found some of the most desirable spots (for me, that means reasonable price &private bath) were not available. I did find a site & booked what I wanted. It's www.arbaspaa.com --I don't think they cater to the U.S.

We stayed in Santa Margherita and were able to visit Portofino and Cinque Terre by sea. Both beautiful trips from the Marina. It was handy to both places and we loved being out on the water. I would definitly do it that way again. And Santa Margerhita was a LOT less expensive! There is a bakery in Santa Margherita to die for! :o)