Lodging in Monterosso al Mare??

Hi Sandy -
We've stayed in La Spiaggia and highly recommend it, although we did not stay there with children. The location is excellent: a short walk from the train station; close to some good restaurants; almost right on the beach with a very nice view of the sea. I would make sure to spring for a room (or rooms) on the beachview side. The hotel also has an elevator, and while rooms are on the small side and not lavishly appointed, you're not going to spend a lot of time in them anyway. Good value for a prime location.

Breakfast was included, and offerings were not extensive but plenty for getting a good start for the day. The desk staff is terrific: Maria - the owner's daughter - is a gem. This is a small, family-run accommodation, and payment is cash only: no credit cards. The desk is also not staffed 24/7 but you're able to let yourself in and out whenever you wish.

Hi Sandy, the 'free parking' element may be hard to come by, as autos aren't permitted in Cinque Terre towns (save for the occasional taxi). If you're staying in Monterosso, you'd be hard-pressed to beat Hotel Pasquale. Right above the beach in Old Town, convenient to everything, wonderful breakfasts, family run (third-generation owners) providing exceptional service. We just stayed there in July, and would stay there again in a heartbeat.

Sandy,

Since you're not travelling until 2016, you'll have lots of time to find accommodations, but I'd suggest booking early as that time of year will be starting to get busy and rooms will book up fast. Here are a few hotel choices you could consider (starting with my favourite hotel).....

• Hotel Villa Steno - located at the top of the old town, they offer limited parking for guests (first come, first served AFAIK). If the hotel lot is full, there's another large car park just above that (I can confirm that in a month or so), and it's not a long walk from there to the hotel. Unfortunately, it's not close to the rock. They serve a great breakfast and the owners are wonderful. The hotel is located at the top end of the "old town" which provides a "quieter" atmosphere. Note that there are two roads leading to Monterosso, one to the new town and one to the old town, so you MUST choose the correct road to get to that end of town as you can NOT drive between them.
• Hotel Pasquale - located on the main street in the old town, just on the other side of the tunnel. It's very close to the beach in the old town and reasonably close to the beach in the new town and the "rock" (I believe they have some rooms with beach views). I believe they also serve a nice breakfast. This is a "sister property" to Villa Steno (both owned by the same family).
• Villa Adriana - located just above the main street in the new town, part way up the road that leads out of town (this is on the "other" road leading to town). They also offer some parking for guests, but it's also not far from a large public car park on the beach (not sure what the rates are). They also serve a nice breakfast.
• La Spiaggia -right on the main street in the new town and directly across from the beach. I don't believe they offer parking, but the public car park on the beach is not far from the hotel.

Happy travels!

All the rooms at Hotel Pasquale have sea views & I highly recommend staying there if you're lucky enough to secure a reservation. We really enjoyed our stay there. The owners are very nice & the rooms are clean & comfortable. We also loved the breakfast (included in rate). The patriarch gets up early every morning & makes croissants filled with jam from scratch. I loved people watching from our window & hearing the waves at night.

Hi. The other suggestions are great location wise. My budget didn't stretch that far but I found Il Portico on booking.com which is a one bedroom unit with a sofa bed in the lounge. We stayed with two kids -13 and 10. Loved it. Very clean. Great location. I highly recommend it.