We checked in late, and we were greeted with a big smile, help with our luggage and a personal walk through the adjoining restaurant to get a late-night snack. Very nice start. It is a beautiful location and nice hotel. Our room was overlooking the sea. Couldn't have been nicer. Cinque Terre was a relatively short drive away, although it seems like taking the train through would have been the better option. The wife and I also stopped in Forte de Marmi for one night for dinner, where our friends who had been to this part of Italy had recommended, but we liked Lerici much better. The only minus of this hotel is that the beach right in front is private, and everyone rents the beach chairs (one umbrella and two lounges) for the summer. You can get a rental for 37 Euro, but it took some pushing with the fellas running things to get a decent spot. The hotel staff was not very helpful as concerned our beach visit (different person than when we checked in), and in hindsight we would have walked up a bit to one of the public beaches, which looked crowded because people start staking out spots early but weren't so bad.