Il Cinquecento

The price is great and the location central, but the accommodation is very basic. There’s a memory foam bed, though I’d bring my own pillow. It has air conditioning and a TV. Parking is on the street and very limited.

The room was comfortable and the shared bathroom was clean. It’s also very close to the train station, about six minutes away. There was no coffee maker or anything similar, and the fan made an intolerable noise when we wanted the room to feel cooler. We had to ask for toilet paper, and the elevator was out of service for one of our three days. Still, we had a good stay.

After I posted my review on Booking.com, the owner told Booking that I owed him 2000 euro. I believe he is a fraud and will try to scam you. He also threatened other guests who left around the same time as me. Even if the price seems reasonable, save yourself and do not stay here. The trouble started when I returned after a long day and found another guest in my locked room. The owner had given him keys, and although the guest told the owner he thought someone was already staying there, the owner said it was fine for him to enter. We sorted that out ourselves. Then, when I turned on the shower, a toilet pipe burst and flooded the bathroom and whole apartment with sewage water. I tried to use towels, but water covered the floor and soaked all my clothes. The owner replied to my first message with only a shocked emoji. When I asked what to do, he said there was nothing to do and he would call a plumber the next day. I explained that I couldn’t stay in a flooded room. After a lot of back and forth, he offered me the same room the other guest had been offered. I could see right away why that guest had left for another hotel. I gave up and checked into a hotel. When I asked the owner for a refund, he went completely silent. I wouldn’t stay here under any circumstances.

We chose the deluxe room for a little extra and got a great balcony with lovely city views. The whole apartment was impressively clean, and the large shared bathroom was spotless and could be locked for privacy, which put our minds at ease. Management was very friendly, and all communication was by text or WhatsApp. La Spezia worked well as a base for seeing Cinque Terre: the first village is only 20 minutes away by train, and we avoided hauling luggage up the hills and steps to the very overpriced places in Cinque Terre itself. The hotel is centrally located near supermarkets, the station, and plenty of places to eat. Definitely recommend staying.