19/04/2025: Incredible hosts! I don't write reviews unless something is beyond exceptional and I felt The Grand Hotel Portovenere was one of my best hotel experiences (and I have stayed at over 200 hotels) and deserved to be acknowledged!
My friend booked the hotel for three nights and we shared a room. The price of the hotel was more than I would usually pay and even though the room was not very big, it was simple, elegant and comfortable. However, The service from ALL staff was beyond anything I have every experienced (even at the Four Seasons hotels). From the front desk staff to the restaurant manager and severs, house keeping and maintenance, and general manager, EVERY SINGLE one of them went out of their way to create a magical experience where we felt taken care of. It was more than people doing their job and "trying" to be good hosts. It was the very nature of the individuals, so kind and genuinely excited to be of service.
Small examples: At dinner, the waiter suggested wine and when we hesitated, he brought out 4 different bottles for us to taste before deciding and was delighted to do it.
We had a small issue with noise from a storm our first night (not the hotel's fault) but the restaurant manager must have been informed because we were treated to a drink and dessert.
That night the wind was still insane and the hotel manager worried we would have another sleepless night offered us another room just to sleep in (away from the rattling wind)! He said he knew what a hassle it would be to pack up to change rooms mid stay and so we just took our phones and slept soundly. We didn't ask, he just offered truly wanting the best for our stay.
The breakfast (included in the price of the room) was absolutely of the highest quality but again, the staff was remarkable and would remember our order from the day before and ask if we wanted it again and before we realized we needed something, they would just be there, making sure we had everything and more. I have never seen anything like it. Smiles and joy and great energy from every staff we encountered.
This hotel should be up for a service award in the industry. Things often go wrong when you travel (bad weather, catching a cold, injury) but when you have a team that wants the best for you it makes everything better! P.S We used the spa and gym and had a massage, again a fantastic experience and facilities.
16/02/2025: The hotel's location is perfect, you can reach the center of Porto Venere with a 10-minute walk. Room facing the sea with a large panoramic window and a balcony with chairs and a table. Unfortunately, however, the curtains on the windows were thin and at dawn we woke up with the sun inside the room, impossible to continue resting. They put earplugs among the gadgets in the room but not the mask... a questionable choice given that the curtains are almost useless. Then in the room there was an unpleasant smell that came up from the toilet and drains. Let's get to breakfast: abundant but not adequate for a 4-star hotel, but really annoying, we started at 9.30, the time when breakfast was served was by 10, at 10.05 they started to take away the buffet while we were still eating... I'll start by saying that, being February, we were 2 couples in the whole room, so not exactly a crowd. After having removed everything, probably having noticed our disappointment, the waiter came to the table to tell us that, since breakfast time had ended a good 5 minutes before and they had to clear the table, after having actually already taken away the entire buffet, he asked us "do you still want
something before I take it
away?"... It seemed like a joke. Too bad because the night before they had been kind enough to serve us a glass of wine at the bar even though we had arrived shortly after the official closing time.
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