Hotel Nazionale Portofino

The front desk helped make our stay special, carrying our bags up the stairs and giving us lovely, comfy, scented beach towels for our daily swims. The rooms were spacious and very clean, and the air conditioning was a treat. Breakfast with a view over the port was included. We had an incredibly lovely time here.

We were lucky to get a room looking out over the bay, right in the heart of Portofino and just steps from Portofino Bay. The hotel staff were all helpful. We had breakfast downstairs each morning. The buffet didn't have many choices, but what was there tasted good. Parking and getting your bags to a hotel can be tricky in Italy. Since we were leaving early, we managed to park down by the bay and load our luggage just a few feet from the hotel. There are great restaurants and shops all around Portofino Bay.

We've stayed here a few times, and being right in the centre of Portofino is pretty special. That's a big part of what you're paying for, along with the service. Everyone we've dealt with has been polite, professional and good humoured. The rooms are generally quite dated, though the hotel next door apparently charges 5-10x as much, so I can't complain too much in that context.

The location is good, but the bed in our Junior suite was the worst I've ever experienced. My wife had the queen size bed and I was in a full size bed up in the loft. We stayed in Venice and Florence before this, and both hotels were very nice. I decided to check out early and lose the money so I could get a good night's sleep in a real bed. We checked out on 10/16. They didn't ask why we were leaving for another hotel and seemed not to care. I'm looking forward to a proper bed and sleep tonight. Technically, I'm paying 300.00 dollars not to sleep there again. Based on the location alone, I'd put this hotel closer to 2.5 to 3 stars.