We were very pleased with our stay; the location was good, and the rooms were modern and spacious and they we had fridge in the room, so you can buy breakfast supplies from the store, or pick up a panini and cappuccino and have a breakfast outside. The staff was helpful as well. We would stay there again!

I am not a picky person, and I have stayed in some pretty bad places, but at least they were cheap. This place was the worst, and expensive to boot.

Where to begin? As another guest mentioned, you have to voice all complaints within 15 minutes of entering the premises. I wish I had known that ahead of time, although I doubt 15 minutes would have been enough to point out all the crappy stuff about the room. The individual in charge rushes you along to go back to the office to pay - not sure if this an actual ploy to get you to pay without actually inspecting the room (I wouldn't be surprised).

The place was COVERED in mold. And super damp and moist. Everything smelled musky, even my own clothing after about 5 minutes. I felt like "Bootstrap Bill Turner" from Pirates of the Carribean - at any moment barnacles and other interesting sea life were going to sprout from my body. On the bright side, if you are bored at night, you can try to make out interesting shapes in the mold growing on the wall (Look, it's an elephant! That one looks like a stupid tourist!)

The air conditioner didn't work. I didn't complain because the air conditioner would only serve to make the place moldier, if that was possible. But it would have been nice to get a discount for it. (Oh an important note - there is no lobby and no reception area. The hotel is run from an office on the main street - however, good luck trying to find anyone in there. Once you check in, you will never see the person in charge again).

My favorite part was when there were no fresh towels the next day. That pretty much sucks, because if you used your towel, there is no way that thing is going to dry in that musky room. I was pretty pissed off. I have stayed in places where they don't give you towels, but at least they don't sodomize you with the room rate.

Oh, no soap, no shampoo. I lucked out I had some extra stuff from the other decently run hotels who didn't sodomize me where I stayed before this one.

I am not a big fan of cooking, so this kitchen was perfect for me, since you couldn't cook squat in it due to the lack of oil, the crappy electric burner, and other such nonsense. My husband enjoys cooking and he was excited about the possibility of cooking while staying there. Sad to say he was very disappointed with the condition of the kitchen.

I strongly recommend not staying at this place.

We had read reviews of La Casa di Venere, and so were not expecting too much, and were aware of having to visit the office in the main street of Riomaggiore to book in, and not go direct to the accommodation. All in all the 2 night stay went smoothly. The office is just a short walk from the wharf and train station - right in the main street. Although it was closed for lunch when we arrived, it soon opened and after paying by credit card the woman in the office showed us to the room (a short walk along some quaint back streets and convenient to everything), and folded away the additional bed that we did not require and gave us tuition on how to open the door (which we practiced a number of times given that she informed us the office would be closed as it was Easter). The room itself was fairly clean but basically decorated/furnished, with it's own bathroom and was of a reasonable size. The beds were quite comfortable, but there were no additional pillows, and the air conditioning was not turned on, but thankfully we did not really require it. There appeared to be maybe 5-6 rooms in the building we were in, and there was noise from the hall as people came/went, and from the surrounding buildings - but it didn't disturb us too much... just probably more than what we had experienced staying at other hotels around Italy. As far as recommending it to others - probably explore other options and compare reviews etc.. Riomaggiore was a reasonable place to stay, although Vernazza was in our opinion a nicer option with a piazza looking over the little harbour, and some good seafood restaurants. A few of the cinque terre walks were closed due to landslides, but we took an early ferry to Monterosso, and walked to Vernazza. The track was quite good, and required a bit of stamina, and worth the views coming into Vernazza. We ate seafood at both Vernazza for lunch and Riomaggiore for dinner and it was reasonably priced.

Now we are not choosy travellers. We travelled on a budget and as such were realistic with what our money would buy. However, this place definitely was not worth the money we paid. Basically, we stayed in what could be best described as someone's attic that was quickly furnished in order to make a quick buck out of the thriving tourism business in Cinque Terre.

First thing to note is that you have to make a complaint within fifteen minutes of entering the apartment or otherwise you are basically S.O.L. You get the picture. At first glance, the place seemed fine, which is when the person who brough us up to the place quickly booked out of the apartment. Perhaps she knew what was in store for us and did not want to stay? Anyway, the first thing I noticed when the lady left was a dehumidifier. (See picture) Why in the world would you need that in an apartment? As soon as I switched it off, I knew why... there was a strong mold smell in the apartment. Now, I am allergic to mold, so I knew I would be in for a ride... The kitchen had no light, so cooking would have to be done in the semi-darkness. There was one outlet in the kitchen (see picture) but it was so flimsy that I was afraid that we would get electrocuted if we used it. So we used the portable little cooking range that was in the kitchen and stuck in on the floor so that we could cook. Hey, who does not like a camping experience in a Cinque Terre apartment? The bathroom was interesting as well. There was mold in the shower, which was to be expected given the smell, but more interestingly, there was a mystery door with a lock on it in the bathroom. I don't think I even want to know what the deal was with that. There was no airconditioning in the entire unit, which may not seem like a big deal, but anyone who has been to Cinque Terre in the middle of July will tell you that that is pretty much a nightmare. Oh well, we opened up the windows instead. Two days we stuck it out until the mosquito bites from sleeping with the window open and my allergies could not take it anymore. Now, I am not saying this place was the worst place on Earth or anything, but I am saying that you need to take Casa di Venere's advertisement of its properties with a grain of salt... or maybe even a boulder of salt. A nice touch was the complimentary Cinque Terre calendar, which I shall forever cherish as a memento of those lovely two nights in Riomaggiore :-)