Mar-Mar Reviews

When I got to the hostel there was a letter with the key to my room and all the necessary instructions. I went to my room and I was surprised that there was no one in a room for 13 people, it was only me. The room is very big and it has two toilets and shower and kitchen. Very good location in Riomaggiore. But there was nothing in Cinque Terre because of the floods in October, I didn't see anybody, not even the hostel staff. But I would recommend it in summer time!

We loved it. It was simple and did the job. We were also upgraded to a private room for no extra charge :)

I had a badly located room and the shower was a dribble. I went down after the first night and spoke to the man on duty. I told him I didn't want to stay the rest of my time. Impossible he said, you will have to stay. I hadn't paid at that stage and I emailled your company to see my options. He said come and see the owner at 2pm. I broke up my day to do this and she was very helpful, moving me to a quieter room with a good shower. The man, ( I know he is only an employee) was terrible.

Great location right by the train station, fun people were staying there too. Has kitchen if you're on a tight budget, clean and comfortable, awesome balcony.

We enjoyed our stay at Mar Mar, we booked for a dorm style 14 beds and ended up getting a private twin room which was a nice suprise, kitchen facilities are very handy and apartment gets cleaned daily which is also good. Only annoying thing was LOTS of stairs to climb to get to the room which is hard for those of us travelling with suitcases. But was an overall good stay.

Awesome base for the Cinque Terre. The guy running the front desk speaks minimal English, but this made me love the place even more (I studied Italian). He asked me if I was traveling alone, and when I said yes he switched me to my own room. Rooms are quipped with kitchen, stove, utensils, TV,and a fridge. I noted that the fun was low, only because you really come here for the hikes, and they don't provide any common area for guests to mingle. It is more like apartments. Will definitely be back!

Has good cooking facilities and it was really nice to stay in a bed instead of a bunk bed for a change. The rooms are really spacious. Would be nice if they offered breakfast. they are also rather strict about being quite after 10pm, which makes it hard to socialise.

We indicated on our reservation that we would be there by 1pm (they close 1pm-2pm for lunch), and when our train arrived earlier than expected and we arrived to Mar-Mar at 12:15pm, the office was shuttered and no one could be found. When they re-opened after lunch and we checked in, we informed them of the issue and received no apology, just an explanation of why they were closed. The gruff woman who showed us the room acted like she had never seen it before.

Nice, clean, and perfectly located!

Mar-Mar is not one building but several apartments spread across the town. Mine was near the waterfront; just 3 beds (great) with a small balcony and not a bad view. The apartment was the 3-bed room, a 2-bed room, kitchen & bathroom. The kitchen lacked a few basic things (like a decent knife) but for a backpacking lifestyle it was ok. The bed was a bit basic (sinking in the middle) but towels and linen were changed every day. No lockers as noted in other comments but that wasn't a big problem.

Mar Mar appear to be a collection of small units across the little town. There is no common room or place to meet other travellers - you'll only meet people from your little unit. Mine had huge, steep stairs that were a bit annoying to walk up and down all the time.

What was advertised as a '5-bed dorm' was actually a traditional townhouse with a bathroom on the first floor, kitchen on the second, a 2-bed room on the third and a 3-bed room with balcony on the fourth floor. So there's not much of a hostel atmosphere, but it was almost like having a holiday rental home and it was awesome to get a place so fitting with the local character. There's a lot of step-climbing involved to reach the house, but such is the nature of the Cinque Terre.

The lady at the front desk is very grumpy, and staff are not helpful at all. Be warned, there are lots of steps in Cinque Terre, especially getting to the hostel rooms. Great location to explore the area, 2mins walk to train station.

Mar-Mar was great! Riomaggiore was the perfect spot to stay. Not many tourists, but close to check out the other towns. It's very easy to find, just a three minute walk from the train. The only difficulty would be climbing the stairs if you have a lot of luggage, but I'm sure this would be at any place you'd stay in the Cinque Terre. Overall, it was great! A small apartment with four beds. No problems at all!

This place is a gem. Pretty much an apartment with single beds. Loads of space, a balcony, spacious kitchen, clean, locked room, in cinque terra. Fantastic place to stay, I met great people and just loved it.

Thank you. Your hostel was the most diverse and comfortable hostel in our experience (more than thirty). We were a bit noisy but you were so nice about it and just laid back. I'd like to get into your card games sometime, the whole staff was amazing. We partied for three nights with amazing eclectic people and it was amazing. THANK YOU AGAIN. Ciao!

Great location- right in the first town and great place to start the massive walk! Room was clean.. Not much atmosphere at all.. Not really a hostel, more like guesthouse with beds all in one room. Good to have a kitchen too.

The location was a great starting point for the Cinque Terre - the room was plain and simple but served its purpose (booked for 13 bed mixed dorm, but had a private 2 bed room with shared kitchen & bathroom which was a nice surprise). Overall a good choice and value for money.

It was the worst hostel I was ever. I was in dorms. A flat full of beds, 13 exactly, with 2 bathrooms, a kitchen and a terrace. My bed was really really bad, I had a back pain every morning. The bathrooms had mould in the ceilings, and the kitchen... I have pictures but I can't upload them. The best thing it's the price, because Cinque Terre is a really expensive place. I recomend you the place... if you don't have any other option

I couldn't have asked for a better place to stay! The "dorm" is more like a nice apartment, which just a few more beds than you would find in your apartment! There is a full kitchen, two different bathrooms with shower, and you get to meet people from all over the world. Riomaggiore might get looked over by some who choose Vernazza, but I would take Riomaggiore,especially with something like Mar-Mar, anyday over Vernazza - which you can easily visit for the day.