Hotel 5 Terre in Monterosso al Mare

My parents come to this hotel regularly and spoke only lovely things.

I am on my honeymoon with my husband and we were excited for our 3 nights at Cinque Terre.

This hotel is extremely close to the beach and train station. The moment we stepped into the hotel the overview aesthetic is very dated. Felt like something from the 70’s or 80’s. Think of the movie Dirty Dancing…

The room was very dated and the bed was not great. Wifi was also pretty bad. We ended up just using data. Only one person knows how to speak English. The only positive I would say, is that it’s very clean.

Sadly, we decided to leave 2 days early because we could hear the people next to us (we think it was one of the employee’s) having sex. The walls are VERY thin. We assume this, because we saw this employee leave that room many times throughout the day in street clothes and returning to change into his uniform.

When my husband informed this employee in the morning we are leaving, he asked why and dismissed us as soon as we paid. Didn’t even look at us, just took the cash and said “have a nice day”.

We are both very disappointed. My suggestion is to really update this hotel. It has so much potential and could really be something nice, and if you want a “fun night” this is not the place to do it…unless you want everyone to hear you.

If you don’t really care about how hotels look, I would suggest booking. It’s clean but very dated.

I strongly advise against this place.
Their offer says they have their own parking, but when you arrive, they want you to hand over your car keys. The keys are kept out in the open, with no supervision. The owners on-site assure you that the parking belongs to them, is safe, fenced, locked, and that only their staff parks the cars. On the day of check-out, I discovered that my car had been damaged—someone had driven into it. I received no explanation, they didn’t even try to investigate what had happened. The staff hid from me, and the owners brazenly told me they won’t identify the person responsible because they “don’t know who parks there,” the parking “doesn’t belong to them,” and they “won’t cover the damage” because the parking is not insured.

It’s shocking that on the day of check-in they assure you everything is safe, watched over by them, and that only their employee moves the cars—and when a problem arises, they deny all responsibility. Think about it: they keep the keys completely unsecured, try to convince you that nothing will happen, and if your car gets stolen or damaged, they’ll deny everything—just like they did in my case.

The hotel itself feels like it’s stuck in the 90s, with plastic furniture and fake fruit everywhere. In front of the hotel, there’s a large area filled with plastic furniture in direct sunlight, where no one wants to sit. There’s no air conditioning in the dining area—windows are opened in the morning, and eating breakfast in such heat and stuffiness is very unpleasant. The breakfast is not worth the price: you get cheese-like products, one type of cold cut, overboiled hard eggs, store-bought croissants, and bread. The coffee is terrible.

The hotel staff are unfriendly. From as early as 7 AM, they gather in the hallway for loud chats, and they enter your room unexpectedly—even before you’ve left for breakfast. After their “cleaning,” it’s hard to tell if they’ve done anything at all. The water in the bathroom is not warm—usually lukewarm, and in the afternoon, cold. They only speak Italian and don’t care if you don’t understand. Throughout your stay, you feel like you are there for their hotel, not the other way around.

That’s why I sincerely do not recommend this place. I’ve never experienced anything like this at any hotel before. The most shocking part is how the owners looked me straight in the eye, guaranteeing everything was safe and monitored, and then, after my car was damaged, tried to hide it and refused to take any responsibility, claiming they didn’t know what goes on in their own parking area.

I’m very upset—I drove 1800 km to get there with a new car, and not only did their employee most likely damage it, but they didn’t even attempt to help me—not even a simple apology. Don’t be fooled by the hotel’s location. There are many other places nearby on Google Maps, and I deeply regret not choosing a different one.