The Luxury Hotel in Rapallo
Our choice in Rapallo: Grand Hotel Bristol – a hand-picked 5-star hotel, individually vetted. Through suitespot you also get breakfast for two, a room upgrade subject to availability, hotel credit and VIP service – services worth more than €500.
Your guide to the best luxury hotel in Rapallo
Grand Hotel Bristol Rapallo · San Michele di PaganaFor this guide we reviewed the best hotels in Rapallo and chose one: a luxury hotel of 1908 above the coast road to Portofino – with thirteen of fourteen categories facing the sea. What that means for booking is below.At no extra cost: booking through suitespot costs the same as booking direct with the hotel – the benefits come on top, free of charge.
One luxury hotel in Rapallo – and who it suits
Our choice for Rapallo is the Grand Hotel Bristol Rapallo in San Michele di Pagana, the hamlet between Rapallo and Santa Margherita. In our ranking it stands at 4.2 out of 5, and a night starts at 203 euros. The hotel is independently run and belongs to the R Collection.
Why we recommend it: Because it is the hotel that has shown the Gulf of Tigullio from above since 1908: a Liberty façade with domes over the coast road, 80 rooms and suites, and on the roof the restaurant Le Cupole, from which the bay reaches as far as Portofino. Add the Erre Spa and a pool the hotel gives as open from mid-May to mid-September. The sea is a hundred and fifty metres away, Rapallo one kilometre, Santa Margherita two and a half and Portofino five. Our recommended category is called Deluxe Front Sea View.
Our travel advisors’ insider tip
Thirteen of fourteen categories face the sea – and the recommendation appears in the list the other way round.
The list: 24 square metres in the Prestige Lateral to the sea, 25 in the Prestige to the park, 28 in the Deluxe Sea Front and the Deluxe, both to the sea; then the suites: 37 in the Executive, 40 in the Junior Sea Front and the Panoramic Junior, 42 in two Panoramic Executives, 68 in the Portofino Panoramic, 75 in the Riviera Romantic Sea Front, 90 in the Panoramic 2-Bedroom and 110 in two Portofino Royal suites. All fourteen name a number, ten of them are suites.
What that means: this hotel is built towards the water. Thirteen categories face the sea – nine called Ocean View, three Sea View, one Panoramic Sea View. The single exception is the Prestige at 25 square metres, which faces the park. Anyone booking here need hardly worry about the view – only about the exact name of the category.
And that is where the catch is: our recommendation is called Deluxe Front Sea View, and in the hotel’s list it stands as Deluxe Sea Front – the same category, the same 28 square metres, the words in another order. Anyone booking it gives our travel advisors the number with it, and then it is unambiguous.
The package: breakfast, 50 US dollars credit, upgrade on arrival, early check-in and late check-out and a two-night minimum stay. The two nights apply to every category.
Our advice: Book the suite, not the room. With ten suites among fourteen categories, the step from 28 to 37 square metres is the shortest way into the class this hotel was built for – and the upgrade on arrival leads further from there than it would from the Prestige.
Where to stay in Rapallo: in San Michele di Pagana, above the Gulf of Tigullio
The Grand Hotel Bristol Rapallo stands at Via Aurelia Orientale 369 in San Michele di Pagana – one kilometre from the centre of Rapallo, one and a half from the station, two and a half from Santa Margherita Ligure, five from Portofino, 32 from Genoa airport and 39 from Monterosso in the Cinque Terre.
Our recommendation is therefore for anyone wanting to see Portofino but not to live in it – and for those to whom a roof above the bay matters more than a seat in the front row at the harbour.
What lies within reach: the bay of San Michele di Pagana with the church that holds a van Dyck, a hundred and fifty metres; the promenade of Rapallo with the castle in the water, one kilometre; Santa Margherita Ligure with the harbour and the fishing boats, two and a half.
For orientation: Genoa airport is a good half hour away, Portofino a quarter of an hour by boat or bus, the Cinque Terre an hour by train. The cable car to Montallegro runs from Rapallo to 600 metres. Along the coast one drives; in the bay one walks.
14 categories: the best hotel in Rapallo from the inside
The Grand Hotel Bristol Rapallo offers 14 categories, ten suites among them – thirteen with a view of the sea.
The rooms: 24 square metres in the Prestige Lateral to the sea, 25 in the Prestige to the park, 28 in the Deluxe Sea Front – our recommended category – and in the Deluxe, both to the sea.
The suites: 37 in the Executive Suite, 40 in the Junior Sea Front Suite and the Panoramic Junior Suite, 42 in two Panoramic Executive Suites, 68 in the Portofino Panoramic Suite, 75 in the Riviera Romantic Sea Front Suite, 90 in the Panoramic 2-Bedroom Suite and 110 in two Portofino Royal Suites.
On the view: this hotel’s motif is the Gulf of Tigullio with Portofino at the end of the bay – thirteen categories face the sea, one of them as Panoramic Sea View. A single category, the Prestige at 25, faces the park.
What applies equally to every category: breakfast for two, 50 US dollars credit per stay, the upgrade on arrival subject to availability, early check-in and late check-out subject to availability and a two-night minimum stay.
What a night at the luxury hotel in Rapallo costs
A night at the luxury hotel in Rapallo starts at 203 euros.
The minimum stay is two nights. Included are: breakfast for two, 50 US dollars credit, an upgrade on arrival subject to availability and early check-in and late check-out.
When it is loveliest: from May to September – the hotel gives the pool as open from mid-May to mid-September –, and in April and October, when the coast is mild and Portofino empty.
What belongs to the Riviera: high summer. In July and August Portofino is a bottleneck and the coast road stands still. That is not a warning but the calendar: anyone coming then travels by boat rather than by car – or comes in September.
When to ask early: in July and August, at Easter and in September, when Liguria has its best month.
How long to stay: three nights – Portofino, Santa Margherita and a day in the Cinque Terre.
And whatever the date: you get the suitespot benefits in the quietest week of the year just as you do in the busiest.
A hotel of 1908, a rooftop restaurant and 5-star class on the Riviera
The Riviera di Levante is the eastern half of the Ligurian coast: rock instead of sand, villages in pastel, olive slopes down to the water – and with Portofino the harbour that has counted as Italy’s loveliest since the fifties.
Personal luxury travel adviceOur travel advisors personally accompany your booking – 365 days a year, from the first offer to late check-out. Reach the suitespot VIP service via email or WhatsApp.Phone: +49 30 81452346 · hotel@suitespot.comThree things belong to it. First Portofino: the piazzetta, the church of San Giorgio and the path to the lighthouse, five kilometres. Second the abbey of San Fruttuoso: the Benedictine abbey in a bay without a road, reached only by boat or on foot, half an hour. Third the Cinque Terre: the five villages on the rock, a World Heritage site, an hour by train.
The package at this hotel is breakfast, credit, upgrade, check-in and check-out and a two-night minimum.
What our travel advisors arrange most often: the suite instead of the room, for the reason stated above, the table at Le Cupole on the roof and the boat to Portofino and San Fruttuoso – because in summer the coast road is the slowest connection on the Riviera.
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Frequently asked questions about luxury hotels in Rapallo
How many luxury hotels in Rapallo does suitespot offer?
We reviewed the best hotels in Rapallo and chose one: the Grand Hotel Bristol in San Michele di Pagana, one kilometre from the centre.
How much does a luxury hotel in Rapallo cost per night?
A night starts at 203 euros, with a two-night minimum stay. Since it is our only hotel in the town there is no price range, just this starting point.
How big are the rooms at the luxury hotel in Rapallo?
24 to 28 square metres in the rooms, 37 to 110 in the suites – ten of the fourteen categories are suites. Our recommended category Deluxe Front Sea View has 28.
Which is the best hotel in Rapallo?
The Grand Hotel Bristol. In our ranking it stands at 4.2 out of 5: a hotel of 1908 with a Liberty façade, 80 rooms and suites, the Erre Spa, a pool and the rooftop restaurant Le Cupole above the Gulf of Tigullio.
Which rooms in Rapallo have a sea view?
Thirteen of 14 categories face the sea – nine called Ocean View, three Sea View, one Panoramic Sea View. Only the Prestige at 25 square metres faces the park.
Is there a minimum stay in Rapallo?
Yes, two nights. The package holds breakfast, 50 US dollars credit, the upgrade on arrival subject to availability and early check-in and late check-out.
How far is the hotel in Rapallo from Portofino?
Five kilometres – a quarter of an hour by boat or bus. Santa Margherita is two and a half kilometres away, the centre of Rapallo one, Genoa airport 32.
When is the best time to visit Rapallo?
From May to September; the hotel gives the pool as open from mid-May to mid-September. April and October are mild; in July and August Portofino is full and the hotel booked early.
Can I earn hotel loyalty points in Rapallo?
That depends on your membership: whether a stay here earns points or status nights in your programme, your travel advisor will confirm before you book. The suitespot benefits apply in any case.
