Portofino (all 500 metres of it!) has charmed royals and Hollywood stars since the 1950s – and the famous Eight Hotel charms just as many today! Set inside a renovated Ligurian townhouse on a sleepy side street, the boutique hideaway is a lovely alternative to the grand dames on the water: small, quiet and just a couple of minutes' stroll from the harbour's colourful chaos. Breakfast happens under the chestnut trees in the private garden, there's a heated jacuzzi on the deck for aperitivo hour, and a complimentary shuttle will whisk you down to the emerald cove of Paraggi when the beach calls.
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This Ligurian townhouse has been given a real contemporary polish. Dark, moody tones run through the lounge and bar, while brighter colours take over in the guest rooms. The genuine star, though is the stepped private garden built into the hillside at the back of the property and shaded by mature chestnut trees and kitted out with hammocks, sun loungers and a heated jacuzzi. A compact spa offers a sauna and steam room and a small menu of treatments, while a light lunch menu means you don't need to change out of your swimwear to eat.
Room categories start at the comfortable Superior Doubles and Junior Suites and go up to the Deluxe Rooms and the top-tier Eight Suite. Most are a pretty melee of warm wood floors and Mediterranean fabrics, while the revamped Deluxe rooms come with rather luxurious black marble bathrooms with dual sinks, heated floors, the works. Suites have an additional jacuzzi tub and private lounge area, too. Dyson hairdryers, Marvis toothpaste and butler service on request round off a thoughtfully curated amenity list.
Get to know your surroundings with a wander past the pastel-painted waterfront to the quirky shops and cafés of the Piazzetta, before hiking through the olive groves to Castello Brown and onwards to the lighthouse. For a little beach time, there's a shuttle that drops you at Paraggi's emerald bay. Further afield, catch a boat to San Fruttuoso to see the 10th-century abbey and the Christ of the Abyss underwater statue, or do as the Ligurians do and hop on the ferry to Santa Margherita, Camogli or the five villages of the Cinque Terre.
On a peninsula with every square metre spoken for, a private enclave of chestnut trees, hammocks and a heated jacuzzi feels like a miracle!
Set an alarm and take your espresso in the Piazzetta before 9am, before the day-trippers arrive. It's the Portofino of fisherman and locals drinking coffee that you see in the postcards.
There's no formal restaurant on-site, though plenty of great eating spots are a five-minute walk away. The beach shuttle runs to Paraggi, but the sunbeds and loungers down there come at an additional cost.
A tiny harbour village where Riviera glamour meets impossibly pretty scenery.
