Eight Hotel Portofino

It’s seemingly impossible to travel twenty miles in any direction within Italy without passing through one picturesque destination or another. Even against this backdrop, though, the seaside village of Portofino stands out; it’s one of the most spectacular places on the Mediterranean, and its rocky cliffside geography has precluded the sort of over-development that plagues some of Europe’s other classic destinations.

And whether your tastes run to the old-fashioned or the up-to-date, it’s hard to do much better than the Eight Hotel Portofino — here the building’s Ligurian architecture has been preserved, the interiors renovated in a style that’s clean and contemporary, yet harmonizes with the local flavor, blending soft seaside colors and traditional materials like slate with modern furnishings and state-of-the-art amenities.

Guest rooms are sophisticated, with hardwood floors and minimal color schemes of white and yellow. LCD satellite televisions are standard, as is high-speed internet access, by no means universal throughout Italy’s small hotels. Suites add sitting rooms and, in some cases, Turkish baths.

Room service features a light menu available 24 hours per day, and the hotel’s bar is open around the clock as well. There’s no restaurant, but the Eight’s location just off Portofino’s central piazzetta means a wealth of options are at your feet. Here it’s possible to escape not just from the everyday, but from the crowds that descend upon many of the coast’s bigger resort towns — reminders of Portofino’s heritage as an ancient seafaring village still remain at every turn.

Please note: Eight Hotel Portofino is open seasonally, April thru October.

How to get there:
Eight Hotel Portofino is approximately 3 miles (4.5 kilometers) from Santa Margherita Ligure train station and 28 miles (45.5 kilometers) from Genoa Cristoforo Colombo airport.