Hotel Cavour

The staff were SO NICE AND POLITE, and they helped us with everything. Service was amazing. It's also very close to both the train station and the beaches.

The location is the one clear plus: it's a short walk from the station, the center, and the lungomare restaurants. It can also be cheap if you book directly with them. The rest was a nightmare. The carpeted stairs were dirty and smelled like something, maybe urine. There was no lounge, just two old, sagging couches at the entrance. Our shower was so cramped that my elbows kept hitting the frame, and the old building had broken or loose fixtures. In warm weather the rooms were suffocating because reception said the inverters only produce hot air and told us to open the windows. We did, and mosquitoes ate us alive because there were no screens. Internet was practically nonexistent. When we asked, they said 7.8Mb dwld was normal because all the rooms were using it, which made it seem they didn't want to pay for a stronger plan. Breakfast was included but barely decent, with the worst coffee ever. At night you could hear everything from other rooms, including TVs, conversations, footsteps, running water, showers, and toilet flushes. That's about all I can say.

It's less than a five minute walk to the promenade, which has restaurants all along it. The hotel entrance is inside an arcade, with plenty of nearby places to eat or grab coffee and a pastry. The staff are friendly, helpful, and happy to answer questions, and the station is only five minutes away. My room was very basic and could use a refurb. The AC was good and much needed, while the wifi was shaky and slow at times. Breakfast was included, but there wasn't really anything for vegans.

For a low cost short stay near portofino, I'd definitely recommend it. The value for the area is very good, the room was spacious and much cleaner than I expected, and despite the busy street outside, it was very quiet inside. The hotel is right by the train station and close to the beaches, making it easy to explore the region or take the sea shuttle to Portofino. My only small complaint is that the terrace, or solarium, could use a little more decoration to feel as warm as the welcome we got.