Il Sogno di Manarola by The First

The room was nice and really clean. We had the queen deluxe, and the sea view was good, though you had to open the windows and lean your head out to see it. With bags, take the main road past the church at the top and follow the signs for Billy’s. We followed Google Maps from the train and climbed flights of stairs, so that route would have made for an easier walk.

We had to cancel because of a medical emergency: my husband needed urgent surgery, with a risk of permanent blindness. We explained what was happening to the hotel and sent supporting documents, but got no reply to our emails. They refused any refund, credit, or flexibility, and the silence during an already stressful time felt both unprofessional and deeply disheartening. After seeing similar reviews, I get the impression customer service and basic decency are recurring problems here. I would strongly caution others against booking. If something goes wrong, there seems to be no support or empathy, and no value.

The balcony and its view were the only good parts of the room. Everything else was bad, including getting to the "hotel" up hundreds of stairs. We were three adults, a mom, daughter, and son, sharing one room. The air conditioning supposedly worked, but wouldn't cool below 28 degrees, even though the website said every room had air conditioning. We couldn't open the door to the terrace because the whole city turns into a frog festival at night. For what we paid for the suite, sleeping in a sauna felt so unfair. We were looking forward to staying here, but regretted it quickly. Definitely not coming back!

I booked months ahead and was supposed to pay by credit card. Then they suddenly messaged that my card didn't work, which wasn't true since I'd just used it for another payment, and cancelled the booking. They ignored my messages and emails and wouldn't answer the phone when they saw my number. When I tried to book again, the room had gone up by €200! What a scam.