Albergo Barbara Vernazza

My annual home away from home...

The dates are misleading. I actually stayed there in October for several years and look forward to returning next year (family matters have kept me away for two years). Giuseppe and Patricia are absolutely wonderful innkeepers. I confess that I book WAY early in the year in order to secure Room No. 9, one of the two large rooms with incredible views of the main piazza below and the sea and mountains beyond. The room is spacious and always clean and, in my many nights there, I have never had a conflict over the shared bathroom with the other people staying on the same floor. I've even gotten used to all the stairs and what a great way to work off the fresh pasta and pesto!! There is absolutely nothing like the sound of the sea crashing over the breakwater in the early morning. I LOVE this place!!

Hold out for a better place

Albergo Barbara is good if you want the assurance of a basic room. We paid 60euro for a double bed, no view, no ac, no breakfast. Once we got to Vernazza, however, we noticed that there are tons of rooms (camera, zimmer) for rent all over town, especially available of you arrive in town early in the day or on a weekday. Albergo Barbara is right on the harbor, but Vernazza is such a small town that any room in the village is no more than a ten minute walk from the harbor. Rooms facing the harbor may come with a great view, but remember there can also be noise from the plaza right on the harbor. You might consider staying in one of the other towns of the italian riviera. If you want to get away from the tourism feel at Vernazza, and want a quieter, mellow town, consider Manarola.

Great View!

Try for one of the two rooms on the 4th floor. They have spectacular views of the Vernazza harbor. We were in the attic on the 5th floor, where most of the rooms are located. We had one of three rooms that had a small window with a beautiful view of the harbor. All 7 of the rooms on that floor share two small bathrooms, but that was never a problem. Each room had a sink and a bidet. Climbing the 83 stairs to get to the top floor was difficult for some in our party. There was no A/C, but there were fans in each room. Guiseppe kept the place very clean. He also made it clear that he did not want us to do any laundry in the room.

When we needed to rent a car because of a rail strike, Guiseppe and his wife were extremely helpful, making calls for us to car rental agencies in La Spezia.

The restauant that was on the square, right outside of the entrance to the hotel was one of our favorites in all of Italy. Order a half liter of the house white wine. It is not on the menu, you have to ask for it! It was great!

Enjoyed stying here

Nicely situated on the main square, clean and friendly owners.

Great Location and Deal

We had a friend recommend Albergo Barbara. We called on the train ride to Vernazza, about an hour before we arrived. They had a room availble, but we were going to have to switch rooms for our third night. The first room we stayed in was on the top floor, shared bath, with a small window that looked out at the water (a beautiful view!). It had a double bed. This room was simple but nice. Very clean. The shared bathrooms (there are 2 upstairs) were always very clean. We had a sink and bidet in our bedroom as well. It cost 48 Euro a night. Our second room had twin beds with a small window that didn't really look out to anything. I cost 45 Euro a night. The only thing about this room was there was a very musty smell in it. I would definitely recommend requesting the front room upstairs with the window, the view was great and it didn't have the musty smell.

The owners were very nice and helpful. Out of all the towns in Cinque Terre, Vernazza was definitely our favorite. This was a great place to stay.

Great Place in Great Town

Great place to stay in a great town. Owner was super nice and there most of the time, but if he was gone you could call him. Rooms were very clean and on the 5th floor of the the red building in the photo. Our friend had a room without a private bath in the attic and the room was smaller but cheaper and just as nice. I would stay there again and really enjoyed the Cinque Terre.

Basic but clean

My husband and I stayed here with my sister & brother-in-law and in early October 2004, we occupied 2 of the very tippy top 5 rooms. The accommodations were sparse and small but clean. The staff was friendly and actually helped carry my sister's bag up which was nice as the hotel in located on the top floor of a 4 story building with no elevator. So the view is great but you'll get a workout each day to see it. Enjoy. Ciao

Very Basic Accomodations, Very Clean, Good Value

My husband and I stayed in Vernazza for three nights at this hotel. It had a wonderful view over the Ligurian Sea, and we could hear the waves crashing against the rocks if we slept with the porthole window open! The location was good, the room was very basic (bed, sink, bidet, closet) but clean, and the bathrooms were also very clean. (I had never stayed anywhere where you needed to share the bathroom, but it worked out completely fine). There are A LOT of stairs that are narrow, and twisty and windy, so if you don't like stairs this is not the place for you. We never really saw the staff (except when checking in and out). There is a small table and a couple of chairs in a sort of "lobby" where you can sit and play cards or read if you like. We found the restaurant that is recommended in all the guidebooks as the "best" in Vernazza, located just outside of this hotel, to be overrated, overpriced and snobby. On the plus side, there is an amazing restaurant just beside the post office. For breakfast they serve AMAZING pastries, and although we never went for lunch or dinner, it looked really good too! For the price, this was a very good value hotel, and would stay here again.

Cheap, but very basic as a result.

We stayed at Albergo Barbara Oct. of 2004. We found the hotel to be a great bargain, but it showed. Super basic, small rooms, small beds - the bathrooms that were shared were always wet (no bath mats, extra towels were given to clean up with). However, if you are just looking for a cheap place and the right location this might work for you. It is perfectly situated on the harbor of Vernazza. All the best restaurants are right out the front door. Note: the rooms are up 80+ stairs (yes we counted)!

p.s. If you stay only one night make it a priority to eat at Al Gambero. If you're facing the harbor it is on the left. The shrimp risotto was excellent so was the panna cotta. If you stay two nights do Il Capitain the second night and get the shrimp gnocchi. Yum!

Clean, economic, friendly and reliable

Albergo Barbara, situated on the piazza at the harbour of Vernazza, which is considered by most visitors to be the most attractive of the five villages. Run by husband and wife team who are both very friendly, speak several languages fluently and are very dedicated to keeping a clean hotel.

I rang on the day we arrived but unfortunately they did not have availability until the next day. So we booked the room immediately for the following 2 days. It was very economic, our room was Euro 48 per night for 2 people (Sep04). There are two floors with approximately 5 rooms on each and 2 bathrooms, which are very modern and clean. It appeared that each room had its on sink and most of the rooms have stunning views over the piazza and the harbour.

The church bell does ring half-hourly from 7am to 7pm but other than that we found the room to be very peaceful and the sound of the waves to be very relaxing. I would recommend booking in advance during the summer season. The hotel is closed in December and January.