24 Hours at Eight Hotel, Paraggi
- I stayed at Eight Hotel Paraggi in September 2020 during the pandemic. -
After a few days in Tuscany including one cultural stop in Florence and one on the seaside in Versilia, my last stop on this short Italian road trip brought me to Portofino. I have to admit that it was one of the most beautiful days of my life. First, I was wakened up with breakfast on the terrace overlooking the Mediterranean sea, then opening the roof of the convertible while driving to the Cinque Terre – a place I always wanted to see and one that definitely should be on top of your travel bucket list. Needless to say that I took certain precautions. This included driving our own car, hopping around Cinque Terre by private boat (which is about 300 euros for an hour) instead of the packed trains, visiting Florence's museums with pre-scheduled tickets and having dinner outside whenever possible. This way, I have had a great time without any problems. At around noon, the private boat trip was finished, and my colleague and I were heading towards Portofino, to finally check-in at a hotel I always wanted to stay.
When we first realized the high amount of traffic between Rapallo and Portofino (which also comes due to the high number of day tourists and swimmers in Portofino bays), we started to wonder if we can drive to the hotel at all. However, the policemen waved us through without any problems. After passing the small traffic queue, we had the most breathtaking drive along Santa Margarita Ligure and the many picturesque bays before reaching Paraggi, a small suburb of the actual Portofino. Right in the centre on the street sits the Eight Hotel Paraggi. We stopped the car in front of the entrance and were genuinely welcomed by a lovely lady and young bellmen taking care of our luggage. A quick whisk later, we were already doing the paperwork – us with a face mask and the front desk attendant in rubber gloves and face mask of course. Minutes later, we were shown the way to the elevator. I find it a bit sad that not all five-star-hotels accompany you to the room, maybe they didn't do it due to corona (however other hotels on the trip still went to the room with us despite the corona regulations).
Our room can be described as an unpleasant surprise, it definitely had Paris standards in terms of size but is situated on the seaside. Well, I guess that's the thing about Portofino: prices are incredibly steep, and space is limited, so you better accept the fact of being in one of Italy's most famous spots. To be honest, both, my colleague and me who have both seen quite a few things when it comes to hotel rooms – were a bit speechless when we first saw the room. There wasn't any armchair or a writing desk, and if we had travelled with bigger Rimowa suitcases, there would actually be a significant issue since there isn't any space to put the suitcase! Since we were only staying for a night and the hotel was fully booked, we didn't see any issue. I wouldn't consider spending the week in this room since I need a bit of space to breath when vacationing. A lovely note and a great welcome drink made up for the small disappointment after inspecting the room.
Another highlight of the room was the lovely and unique Diptyque toiletries and the properly working marble shower. I loved the plush towels and vast range of guest amenities, including toothpaste by Italian producer Marvis. Housekeeping was excellent, and we felt the room was spotless upon arrival and when we came back in the evening. Our main goal of this stay was to head to the beach club and visit Portofino rather than to stay a lot indoors. Right after (kind of) unpacking, I headed to the hotel's own beach club, a separate area between a small public beach and another beach club. Paraggi is one of Italy's prettiest beaches, one cannot expect to find a deserted beach Aman style. At this point, I have to highlight the exceptionally great service at the beach: we were offered another complimentary drink and refreshing towels. Later that day we ordered a club sandwich which was very tasty and for the price offered had a great size.
Speaking about the perfect service, I absolutely loved their complimentary on-demand shuttle service to Portofino. It's an excellent opportunity to dress up and show off in Italy's most picturesque fishing town before heading back to Paraggi for dinner at the coast's must-eat Langosteria. So there were we in the heart of the Piazza – where despite a worldwide pandemic – life seemed to be the regular Dolce Vita of the 70s with live music playing, yachts mooring and Negronis pouring. After two of what can be described as Italy's national drink, we enjoyed a picture-perfect sunset on the Med in a town that just gets prettier the more orange the sun gets. When you sit there, in one of the most expensive places in the world, sipping your Negroni in your Loro Piana linen and start looking at Million-dollar yachts – you realize that you're still just one of the actual one per cent.
Overcoming the fear of missing out soon vanishes when you enter Langosteria where basically the entire Italian Riviera jet set meets for dinner. Grouped on tables for 10 to 15 people, you get the real Italian feeling where the whole family – including the young ones – get to enjoy the best of the best from the Mediterranean sea. Luckily our place to stay is just next door, so chances are high we had another wine from Portofino. There is almost no traffic between Rapallo and Portofino at night, so our street-facing room was absolutely fine during the night. A few hours later, the sun rays on the turquoise Mediterranean sea welcomed us for an Italian breakfast. In general, the buffet was of great size considering the small number of rooms and the quality was definitely top-notch. Overall, the stay was really great; however, I have to refer to the high rates of around 800-900 euros per room and night which is simply too much. Considering the room's small size and the limited range of amenities (there is no spa or gym on-site) - I wouldn't pay more than 400 euros for a room at the Eight Paraggi. Aside of that, the design and location with Portofino's only hotel beach, Eight Paraggi is definitely unique and worth a visit!
We were guests of the Eight Hotel Paraggi, however all above written expresses our own opinion and hasn’t been influenced.
