Best Western Regina Elena 

This is a lovely, relaxed hotel in Santa Margherita Ligure, located on the edge of town towards Portofino. It’s a great location with good facilities and friendly, helpful staff. Before we arrived, we had seen some reviews mentioning that the beds were firm, and we found the staff were happy to provide a topper, which did indeed make the bed more comfortable. We had a small side–sea view room on the second floor, which was quiet and comfortable. It had a balcony with a great view towards the SML harbour. Breakfast was ample with good coffee, and the bar was a pleasant place to sit and enjoy an evening drink. The private beach has plenty of sunbeds and umbrellas. The rooftop pool and jacuzzi are very well appointed, and you can even order poolside service via WhatsApp straight to your sunbed. Although there isn’t as much shade as at the beach. We stayed for 9 nights and found the resort a fantastic base—either for relaxing around the hotel and enjoying the bars, excellent restaurants, and shops in town, or for exploring the delights of Liguria. The train station, about a 20-minute walk away (or reachable by the buses passing the hotel on route to Portofino), provided easy access to many places. Some areas of the Cinque Terre were very busy and crowded, but still worth seeing. You can also easily catch the regular bus service to Portofino from right outside the hotel, though these buses can get busy at peak times. The local boat services are also easy to reach from the harbour and are a great way to explore the coast. A highlight for us was visiting Camogli—a lovely, lively town that we reached quickly by train from Santa Margherita. From there, we worked our way back along the coast, stopping for a wonderful lunch in San Frutosa along the way.