Santa Margherita or Camogli

It was nice enough for Rod Stewart to get married there. We stayed there in 1997 and liked it much

Have you looked into tripadvisor.com? It can be a great resource for places not covered in the RS books.

Santa Margherita Ligure is a beautiful place, with lots of shops and restaurants. However, Camogli is absolutely stunning and like no 'beach' I've ever been to. Even if you can't spend the night there, its only like 10-20 minutes from Santa Margherita by train so I suggest going to Camogli either way. Check tripadvisor more hotels.

Santa Margherita may be one of my most favorite places in Europe. I spent 10 days on the Italian Riviera in Rapallo and this was hands down my favorite. The Cinque Terre is wonderful but I was happy to get out of fairytale Europe every now and then. I went here several times for lunch and dinner. My sister was working in Rapallo, otherwise I would have definitely stayed here. It's more real than Camogli and Portofino and not "quaint" like the rest of the tourist towns. All of my sister's co-workers really enjoyed it more than any of the other towns.

Santa Margherita is quite nice; we visited on a day trip from the CT. I really liked the pedestrian-only area near the waterfront.

Be sure to eat at Dal Baffo in Santa Margherita. All locals, no touristi, and great seafood at reasonable price. It is a couple of blocks off the main harbour blvd. A little hard to find but well worth it. Benissimo!

Thanks so much for all your advice!