Punto Zero

Avoid this place. I booked through Booking.com as a partner offer, with all fees shown as included, but the access code didn’t work when I arrived. The owner insisted on a €50 deposit before giving me a working code, so I had to pay by credit card out on the street with my luggage. The room was advertised with a balcony and had none. I never got the deposit back. The owner said she was keeping €30 for cleaning and city tax, neither of which had been mentioned in the booking. She also claimed I must have booked through a fake website, which wasn’t true. When I said I would describe what happened in a review, she threatened police action for intimidation. Booking.com customer service wasn’t helpful and just sent me back to the owner. After checking Google reviews, I found many guests describing similar problems with deposits, hidden charges, and hostile communication. The code didn’t work, I was pressured to pay a deposit, the balcony was missing, and there were undisclosed fees and an aggressive owner. Save yourself the hassle and stay somewhere else.

The one good part of the room was the view, though you have to look around the corner to see the sea. The directions were useful, but the room itself was tiny, barely enough space for the bed, and the bathroom was shared on the top floor. It was also extremely noisy. You could hear every step from every floor, and when someone used the bathroom above, it sounded like rain falling straight onto the room. We booked through a website that presented it as a Bed & Breakfast, but breakfast wasn’t included. That was written in very small print at the end. We wanted to cancel, but she said cancellation was allowed only up to 14 days before arrival. Since we had booked just 2 days ahead, she said we could cancel at full cost. At 70€ a night, it was too expensive. There was a no-smoking notice in every room, yet Nicole, or the employee, smoked, and the smell spread through the whole house and into the rooms. Better to find somewhere else.

We paid about 80 euros for the sea view room with a private bathroom, and it felt worth the price. The host answered all our questions quickly. The room was clean, quiet, and cozy, though the toilet flush made a bit of noise. There’s no coffee machine, but a few nice cafes are just a one-minute walk away. The marina and seaside are also within easy walking distance. From the corner of the room, we could see the sea through the window.

Read the host’s detailed arrival instructions, which even include a video, and check-in should be straightforward. We arrived without any trouble. The room is small, but clean and cozy, and it’s less than a minute from the sea, where we watched a beautiful sunset. It’s off the main street, so very quiet and good for sleeping after a hike. There are stairs on the way to the hotel, but that’s common around Cinque Terre if you want a decent view.