Residence sul Borgo is a true holiday treat: There are 14 attractive apartments housed in a residence dating from the 1600's with a swimming pool, and it is just 150 metres away from Finalborgo's charming medieval town centre. Also, the sandy beach, the promenade and the train station in Finale Ligure are only approx. 1 ½ miles away.
- The medieval town of Finalborgo has long been included in the prestigious list I borghi più belli d'Italia. A path leads directly to the old town from the residence and within a five minutes' walk you will find yourself in the midst of a historic pedestrian environment with a dozen restaurants and pizzerias to choose from. The first part of the trail is private and ends at a small plateau where families can safely leave pushchairs. At this point there is an electronic gate allowing access for guests only(guests are supplied with a code), and then approx. 18 steps followed by 100 m of easier sloping path without steps. The last approx. 30 m before reaching the gate are without pavements.
Read more about Residence sul Borgo
It is very remarkable to have access to a swimming pool and be right next door to a historic downtown. You can relax at the pool where you will find sun loungers, parasols, a Jacuzzi corner, showers and plenty of space on the sun terraces. Other useful amenities include a common laundry with a dryer (for a fee), table tennis, two communal barbeques and parking. Parking is public but it is a dead end street and there is usually space for everyone. The site also provides free bicycles and a bicycle workshop for guests. Remember however, that free rental bikes are often of a poor quality.
All apartments have satellite TV, air conditioning and a private outdoor area, which can be either a balcony, terrace, garden, porch or pergola - each with a view of Finalborgo. The apartments have either a kitchen or kitchenette, all with a fridge / freezer, oven and four ring gas hob. As the property is historic, the outdoor areas vary in size and style. There is Wi-Fi in all the apartments and in some public areas. Note that the classification of 3 ½ suns is primarily based on the swimming pool, terraces and the location right next to the Finalborgos old town - whereas the apartments alone are quite average.
Read about the apartments at Residence sul Borgo
Really good location within a short walk from the lovely charming Finalborgo with several good restaurants, cafes, shops as well as a lovely square. Around 20 min. walk to the sea front in Finale Ligure. Nice selection of places to eat, shops and opportunities for renting a sunbed, etc :))
The 4 stars are for the location. We had apartment 8, which had a lovely terrace with a nice view of the Mediterranean and the town of Finalborgo. The apartment is worth 3 stars.
Friendly and kind owner, as well as staff, nice location, nice garden and a good pool. Nice castle city (Finale Borgo). The apartments interior was OK, not luxurious.
We arrived 2 adults and 2 teenagers aged 15 on a Saturday afternoon in fantastic weather - was welcomed by Gian Luca and Alessandro - fantastic and sweet people, who showed us to our (super lovely) apartments and instructed us about the place's facilities and services. As the week went on, we borrowed (new, super) bikes, had our clothes cleaned, bathed in the super lovely, clean and warm pool, relaxed and saw Finalborgo, which with a cosy medieval mood, gives us a lot of options on where to eat, with a wide selection of lovely restaurants and bars. The beach in Finale Ligure is mostly gravel and big rocks- but with lovely, clear and warm water. There is mostly (expensive) private beaches, which you need to pay for, so called "Bagni's", but every once in a while, you can get to the water via a public piece of beach. We could see that, the area was well visited by mountain bikers and hikers - so there is probably plenty of opportunity to do these things in the Finale Ligure area. From Residence sul Borgo and down to the town is a very fine, new stairway, along with a pretty steep path - it gives a good morning-workout, when you are going down to get morning bread - a total of 139 steps in total, if you live in apartment 8 on the top. Some days, you would've wished that it was possible to pre-order morning bread the day before - and have it delivered by the gate in the morning... Maybe (the only) point of improvement for Gian Luca and team.. We can warmly recommend Sul Borgo, but Fianle Ligure (by the beach area) less so, because it is quickly "over with" with the attractions and beauty - Final borgo was on the other hand, pretty nice. All in all was a week fitting for us, since we didn't go hiking or biking.
Our first impression of the apartment was a bit boring... The living room is a kitchen with a round table with room for 4.. a tiny television, which couldn't show anything but Italian channels, a tiny couch you sat extremely uncomfortably in, we really needed a room that was a bit more.. Living room like.. But a few extra pillows and some blankets from the owner and it got a bit better. We did, on the other hand, have 2 amazing, big bedrooms... We also used quite a bit of time on the terrace, a wonderful corner.. where there was a lovely shadow for the most of the day - we were unfortunately overrun by ants because it had just rained. BUT they were quickly dealt with, and we didn't see any ants since :) The double bed was extremely hard, the two single beds were lovely and soft, but a bit too short for my oldest son, who is 190 cm tall...
There was air conditioning in each room, very comfortable, net was accessible, but very swingy and unstable. The owner was very kind and helped me get on his own private net, which helped a bit. Final Lingurien isn't a town which we liked, but we found a beach just before the dock, Finale di Porto, which was very lovely and free - with a shower :), and a beautiful view from above. Bus 40 also stops close to our home from Finale Borgo.. Direct line :), Final Borgo was completely as expected, the most charming and enjoyable town, which we used every day and it had everything we would want from a vacation in Italy :)
Our outdoor area was a lovely, big terrace, with a large table, unfortunately it was just by the main entrance, where people entered to get to their apartments or offices, so it wasn't completely private, but it wasn't super bothersome... Maybe a big pot of flowers on the inner pillar could help cover it up a bit, even though people were considerate, and didn't stay long.. So it did feel private for the most part. And the view they described was a lovely view out towards the mountains, and the charming town of Finale Borgo's roofs and church tower.. So I enjoyed my coffee. Besides that, there was an area with a wonderful view you could use. There was very quiet and peaceful, the area hummed of lovely calm.. Despite there being multiple families with children..
The pool area was lovely, there were good facilities and it was clean.
There was a filter on the sink in the kitchen, so we could drink the tap water directly, and it was delicious. The staff contributed a lot with their grand end kind service, and only deserve 5 stars. They did their up most to help. The owner helped us with info about everything we needed. He even called around and checked for possible trips for us and how to get there and arranging taxis, etc..One time, when i was on my way home with 2 large shopping bags, he even stopped to help when he drove by, and gave us a lift :) He also drove us to the docs in his own private car. We even stopped in a kiosk on the way to get some bus tickets we needed for the next day. He also drive us to the train station on the day of our departure, because it was impossible to a hold of any taxis. I've never experienced such hospitality and help from a landlord and staff.. So much kindness.. I fell for the town, the place's staff and the area's mood... And I would without a doubt live here again, if I was to visit this area again. It needs to be said that, it is hard to get info. Tickets, for example, has to be bought at tobacco kiosks or bars, and not in the bus. The buses often depart from Final borgo.. The rides were a bit hard to find info about.. Especially since the tourist office in Borgo was closed, and the other one in Liguri was open for a very limited amount of time..
The beaches weren't exactly what we had imagined, but with pool and Final borgo we didn't need any. The town was big enough for exploration, and had everything you could wish for :)
I did miss other food than just Pizza, pasta and pies, since finding vegetarian friendly food was hard.. But a few places had vegan food :)
Was it not for the few things I've mentioned, this place would have gotten 5 starts, but a "living room" would have been nice, when you have kids who like being inside..
If you want the owner to help you find trips or bikes, etc... Just write what you wish to do before you arrive, then he will help find what you want and ordering for you, etc... And I would recommend doing that.
Thank you for a lovely holiday, and thanks Italy. See you again sometime :)
Anita Behrndtz
We had a fantastic holiday in Finale Ligure. Amazing apartment. It would've been nice with some sunbeds to go along with the huge terrace belonging to the apartment - apart from that there is nothing to criticize.
