La Spiaggia Hotel, Simple But Clean | Reader Review

We (my husband, myself, our two sons aged 14 and 18, and the oldest girlfriend) were planning a four-day holiday for the Ascension weekend. [a 3 day holiday in Switzerland]. Out of all the places we could have gone to, I settled on Cinque Terre. Your home page was my starting point, and after having printed it off, it became my bible.

Now that we’re back, I just want to thank you for your help. By setting up your homepage, you had given me all the information I could have ever asked for. It made planning the trip so easy after that.

I just wanted to let you know that we had a wonderful time. The weather was not all that co-operative, but it was okay. We stayed at La Spiaggia hotel. The rooms in the hotel are very simple, but nice and clean. We ate supper each night in the hotel (it was a package deal we were offered – supper and the room for one price). Choices for supper each night were difficult. It all sounded so good, and true to how it sounded, the meals were SO tasty. I have come away with a new appreciation for pesto, which is so much better than the “Americanized pesto” I know. All three of the kids loved trying new foods they would have never tried any other time.

We hiked from Monterosso to Vernazza the first day with intentions of continuing – however, at lunch in Vernazza my youngest son had an allergic reaction to something he ate in the restaurant (we think it was the type of nut that the Trattoria used in their pesto, as the reaction was immediate, and that’s all he had eaten). So that meant some frantic interpretation with a pizza vendor and the town’s one and only pharmacist. Luckily, a couple from Seattle happened along, and they had some medicine in their backpack, which they gave us! But he was still quite ill for some time, so we just took the train back to our hotel room. Maybe one day, we will go back and finish the hike. The scenery coming into Vernazza is unsurpassed in my estimation.

The next day, we went to Pisa for the day, and saw the leaning tower and the Cathedral. What a touristy town! I didn’t realize it was so touristy! But at least now I can say I’ve seen it, and I don’t need to spend time out of a future trip to Florence to go see it. I think though in hindsight, we should have skipped the trip to Pisa and spent the second day continuing on our hike. We had a two hour wait in La Spezia when we changed trains, so we walked around that town for a bit. Nothing much to see there, is there?

Well, I should close. Thanks for making me feel comfortable about planning my journey. As I said, your page laid it all out so simply and clearly, it was truly-idiot proof! We had a wonderful time, and would heartily recommend the trip to anyone!

Pat MacDonald