Cinque Terre hotel alternative

Posted by Melissa (Littleton, Co) on 06/13/07 11:07 AM

My family and I are looking for a B & B/hotel in Cinque Terre and came across this place. It's called Hotel Clelia and the website's location in relation to CT is very vague. We want to spend our days in Cinque Terre & this place sounds wonderful if it's convenient, but I'm not sure... Is anyone familiar with this place?

Quoted from the website...
"Hotel Clelia is half way between Portofino Promontory, S.Fruttuoso, Val di Vara and Cinque Terre (Five Lands), five beautiful villages clinging to sheer rock above the sea, and reachable in 18 minutes by train and, during spring and summer, also by boat"

http://www.clelia.it/lingue.htm

Thanks so much,
Missy

Posted by Larry

Elk Grove, CA, USA

06/13/07 04:05 PM

6898 posts

Portofino is not in Cinque Terra. Cinque Terra refers to five specific towns (riomaggiore, Manorola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monte Rosso). Portofino is not one of them. I looked at their website. The place looks very nice but it's north of Cinque Terra by 18 minutes. Plenty of trains will get you into Cinque Terra. Also note that the area between Levanto and La Spezia, which includes the 5 towns of Cinque Terra, has a special 1-7 day pass that provides unlimited rides on the train. The Portofino area, which is north of Levanto, is not included in this area. You will have extra train fares. We were just there but we stayed in La Spezia. Cinque Terra was getting crowded. There are lots of places with rooms for rent but we also saw people in line signing up for the rooms.

Posted by pat

cochranville, pa, usa

06/14/07 04:52 AM

320 posts

We stayed at Hotel Clelia 2 years ago . Levanto is a nice town and was really a great base for us as we had a car and parking in the Cinque Terre is a problem. We like the town's atmosphere. It has a couple of grocery stores, lots of nice restaurants, a great beach and friendly people.
The B&B is very nice. It's located off a small square and has a nice walled yard. Breakfast is a do it yourself but adequate.
We just walked to the train station and got a day pass for the Cinque Terre . A quick train ride takes you to Monterosso and then on to the other villages. We opted to go all the way to Riomaggiore and make our way back on foot and train part of the way.
If you do decide to email them for reservations realize that their daughter is the one who speaks English and therefore it may take a few days to get an answer as she is mostly there on weekends.
I would definitely recommend this place if you want a nice base close to the villages.

Posted by pat

cochranville, pa, usa

06/14/07 05:02 AM

320 posts

Now I'm embarassed. I should have clicked on your link before posting.
This is the Clelia I assumed you meant.http://www.levanto.com/villaclelia/

It's actually Villa Clelia and is listed in Rick's book. Sorry I can't comment on the one you had posted. I apologize for the confusion.

Posted by Melissa OP

Littleton, Co

06/18/07 08:52 AM

31 posts

Thanks you guys! I ended up making our "beach trip" a stay in a town just south of CT called Lerici. Its a beachy town and apparently that's where the Italians go for their swimming holiday. It's connected with some sort of international chain, but privately owned and managed with the owners on site. The owners seem very helpful and kind and accomodating as far as arranging boat trips to CT. They seem to understand that's part of the popularity of their location. It got great reviews on TripAdvisor too. Here is the link http://www.hotelflorida.it/
Because it's outside of CT, the price is reasonable- a quad with a sea view for 220,00 Eur. We can spend a day or 2 plopped on the beach (not my idea, but for my husband and kids) and a day or 2 traveling into CT and hiking for the day with a boat ride or 2 pending the weather. In planning this 3 week trip for my family, and I have to remind myself that it's not all about what I want to experience (ha ha) but making the rest of the family.