Review of Grand Hotel Miramare, Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy

Finally we had the chance to go to the lovely Ligurian seaside. We had our reservations to go to Italy again (after one not too good experience in Tuscany) because often Italian hotels cost a lot and offer not much in return. But we were quite happy here with the Miramare. Not only is the vicinity really great (Portofino by foot,

Cinque Terre by train, Camogli by boat a.s.o.) but also the hotel is very nice.

We had a double room with sea view and balcony for my husband and me and a single room with garden view for our teen. Our son’s room was freshly renovated and very cosy with a large bathroom (with window), ours was refurbished not a long time ago, had an adequate size for the two of us, a nice firm king size bed and a spacious bathroom (with window as well).

When you have sea view you must be aware that there is a road between hotel and beach with quite heavy traffic during daytime in summer but we had never problems with sleeping during night (good air conditioning) although I am very sensitive in this regard.

Breakfast was quite alright comparing with the ones you usually get in Italy and when it took place outside it was a gorgeous setting! We were on half board, the food was good (very Italian), but the portions were really huge (don’t eat everything otherwise you will gain weight in any case …) and they have very sumptuous desserts.

As far as the hotel’s facilities are concerned they have a private beach where hotel guests are tolerated but not more (there are mostly Italian families renting a space). After the first day at the beach we preferred to go to the nice pool (unfortunately filled with sea water) where we felt more comfortable. But don’t spend the whole day there because there is so much to see in the area (see above).

There is a spa we never visited but no gym what I regretted a little bit (but we hiked a lot). Don’t miss the backside of the hotel, in the nicely set garden there is a path to the hill where you have a spectacular view to the surrounding area. The service level in general was very good, the old Italian style but likable (not arrogant as in other comparable Italian places). 

All in all, I can strongly recommend the Miramare for exploring the scenic attractions of the Ligurian seaside.

Date of stay: Juli 2008