Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
filet oven-cooked with potatoes and the region's famous Taggiasche olives (unpit-
ted, though, which is irritating) is a mere
€
8.
Hotels & Hostels in Manarola & Volastra
€
The Cinque Terre's only official
youth hostel
is in Manarola:
Albergo della
Gioventù Ostello
(Via Riccobaldi, 21;
%
0187-920215; www.cinqueterre.net/
ostello).
Clean and functional, it's in a good location (a short stroll from the train
station and harbor), and offers same-sex, six-bed dorms with shared bathrooms,
as well as family rooms (all with bunk beds) with private bathrooms. Prices range
from
€
18 to
€
22. There are a number of auxiliary services, from Internet facili-
ties to hiking and snorkeling gear for rent, and it's not as impersonal as a large city
hostel. But lockout (10am-5pm) and the late-night curfew have me longing for
Mar Mar's more relaxed and informal dorms in Riomaggiore (see above).
€€
Manarola has only three designated hotels, of which the charming
Ca' D'Andrean
(Via Discovolo, 10;
%
0187-920040; www.cadandrean.it),
located
in the heart of the old village in an old winery, offers the best service. Comfortable
double rooms, some with terraces, go for
€
75 to
€
88; breakfast is an additional
€
6 per person.
(Via Birolli, 120;
%
0187-920103;
www.hotelmarinapiccola.com)
enjoys a better location, with some rooms over-
looking the sea—request a sea view and/or terrace or balcony; room 10 is a par-
ticularly good choice. Doubles go for
€
85 to
€
105. Marina Piccola is also the
best restaurant in the village, with tables right on the harbor; average
primo
is
5
Closer to the harbor,
Marina Piccola
€€
8;
coperto
is
€
2.50. (Budget hunters may want to investigate the en suite room with
private entrance just a little farther up from the Piccola's restaurant—you'll get the
same sea view for only
€
60; contact Nella Capellini—who speaks limited
English—at
%
0187-920135 or 3201-964550.)
€
€€
-
€€€
Located higher up, with great village and sea views, is Manarola's
most popular B&B,
La Toretta
(Via Rollandi, 58;
%
0187-920327; www.
torrettas.com).
Run by the affable Gabriele Baldini as efficiently as a hotel (a great
breakfast on the terrace in the morning; wine tastings in the evening), all rooms
(
€
50-
€
120 double) open onto the requisite small terrace with sea views. He also
has a student room that has two single beds and a private bathroom for
55
€
30 per
person, as well as apartments.
€€
But for the best views in the entire Cinque Terre, head up to
Volastra
(buses
connect the two towns almost every hour, from 7am to 9:30pm), where the
Luna
Di Marzo
(Via Montello, 387;
%
0187-920530; www.albergolunadi
marzo.com),
from its top-floor corner room with large terrace, has the best view in
the park. A new custom-built hotel, Luna Di Marzo enjoys an extraordinary posi-
tion on the edge of the village, with distant views of tiny Manarola and Corneglia,
and a horizon so big it curves at the edges. The rooms, which are outfitted with the
usual bland, mass-produced furniture and fittings, are the most spacious in the
region, and cost
55
90 (if it's available don't think twice before spending the extra
€
10 required for room 8 and plan to have at least one romantic candle-lit picnic
€
