B&B I Portici di Sottoripa

My wife and her friend stayed here for a few nights in May this year while taking part in open swim competitions. They arrived on Friday just before the event, but train problems meant they didn’t get there until about 20:15. The host said the rules allowed arrivals only until 20:00, so they had to quickly find another hotel for the night. The host said they could cancel one night on the booking, and booking support said that would be fine if the host confirmed it. He never did. A very bad experience, and I can’t recommend this place.

The room was clean and tidy, and it had everything I needed, including a kitchen, though the apartment is dated. The host was kind and explained the room and included services. The air conditioning kept things comfortable during the warm part of the night. It’s also very close to Porto Antico and the Aquarium.

We’d paid for two nights but couldn’t get to the property on the first night because of car trouble and an emergency stop in Sanremo. We told the owner we’d arrive the next day. Instead, the owner cancelled our reservation and didn’t reply to our messages or phone calls through booking. I really don’t recommend this place. The owner was very disrespectful when we ran into trouble. It felt like all he wanted was the money.

We were surprised by the good reviews. Before arriving, I called twice to confirm our reservation. I understand there was a language barrier and tried to use as much Italian as I could, but on the first call I was hung up on before I could say “Bonn a Serra.” On the second, he told me I had the wrong number. A few minutes later, my wife’s Italian friend had to call and confirm for us. When our train was late and we arrived early, the man did try to accommodate us, to his credit. His English was much better in person, and he communicated with my wife better than with me. The place was noisy. There was an impromptu market for stolen goods in the alley below us, which the police broke up. The room was clean and the attached washroom was nice, but a similar place we stayed at in Florence later made this B&B feel very bare-bones. The kitchen had no pots or pans, though I’d planned to cook. We only had a small box of breakfast coffee and tea, two of each per day, and breakfast meant one cheap croissant and a handful of basic biscotti. It felt like airplane or prison snacks. The Florence place cost the same and had lovely bedding, complimentary bed and bath products, a complete kitchen, and plenty of breakfast options like toast, croissants, coffee, tea, cereal, bottled water and fruit. This Genoa B&B offers the bare minimum, and the price and reviews should reflect that. The guy is nice, but you only see him...