Mar-Mar

A nice hostel in central Cinque Terre! The location cannot be beat. It’s a 3 minute walk to the local marina and beach, with cafes and restaurants dotting the nearby street, so you are never too far from the action. There is a good amount of nightlife for a costal town - my best friend and I ended up joining a party in the nearby square on our first night! We danced until 12am and it was wonderful. The hostel is simple and offers a slow life for a few days. As said in the description, it is a dorm-style hostel. The bedroom is a large room with 7 bunk beds, and a small room attached with 3/4? more bunk beds. This was fine for us! Everyone in the room was respectful and quiet - the beds do creak a bit, but most metal bunk beds do. Also, they offer towels with no added charge and there are plug sockets, as well as lights, above every bed. The kitchen is simple, as well as the living room, but this is nice and makes it easy to use. The two bathrooms are also comfortable and offer two showers, two toilets and there are four sinks in the apartment. I noticed the shower drains tend to get clogged up quickly, but I’m sure that’s an easy fix with some bleach! Our host was incredibly sweet and kind. Our train got delayed and we ended up arriving past 6pm, but they were very understanding of this issue, and we had no issues receiving the keys for the hostel. The hostel is a bit difficult to find as it is a 1st-story flat hidden from the main street. You need to walk up the steps next to the bar that you collect the keys from, find the correct green door, and walk up to the first floor. The bar workers are very considerate though, and they will walk you to the door if you ask. I do think a sign is needed - it would really benefit those visiting, and would prevent the bar staff from having to escort new guests. The balcony, as most reviews have stated, is lovely. You can see the sea, a local square, and a view of other colourful homes. It is attached to the main bedroom and is a great area to sit with other hostel guests, or by yourself. There is also a drying line, which we used to dry our clothes during the day. There is only one large industrial fan for the bedroom and no AC. This wasn’t an issue for us, the room was relatively cool at night, and our bed was next to the fan; however, this may not be compatible for others who are unaccustomed to the intense heat of Italy. Overall, we loved our stay. It was great fun and I slept well.

We've been staying four nights, due to Corona all alone, in the big dorm, which opens itself to a large terrace, has big windows, and loads of light. It's been very easy and nice, arranging the stay not too much in advance via phone call with Mario, and he's the perfect Italian host. You'll be staying in the very heart of Riomaggiore, the first of the Cinque Terre, coming from La Spezia, and everything will be close to reach, his bar downstairs, the perfect breakfast, lunch wine and aperitivo place. And if you don't feel like spending big money on food in one of the restaurants, the kitchen will make it easy to cook and dine "at home" too. Recommending this place to everyone, thanks to a great owner and location and atmosphere.

The location couldn't be better - right next to the train station, and at a great starting sport to hike around and visit Cinque Terre. The room was quite spacious. Thankfully there was a fan, as there is no AC. Plenty of towels were provided, and so was shampoo - but for things like handsoap you'd have to bring your own (we always do anyways). We didn't bother trying to work the coffee machine as the bars were quite cheap anyways. But the location is LOUD. It is above 3-4 restaurants/bars, and our room was accessible via a stone stairway passage (very echo-y). And recycling trucks come collect the 100 recycling bins full of glass every morning at 7. So between those trucks in the morning, the music/staff/restaurant buzz in the evening, and loud passers the rest of the night... On top of the fan to keep cool... it's definitely not for the noise-sensitive. We did struggle with that.