We stayed in an Airbnb apartment in the village of San Lorenzo della Costa, which is just up the hill from Santa Margherita di Ligure, and it was fantastic. Santa Margherita is much more of a liveable town than Portofino, which is very beautiful but tiny and crowded. We took the bus down into Santa Margherita daily, which was super easy and fast. (Parking is impossible.)
Also it is very easy to get to Cinque Terre from Santa Margherita by train, which we did. We went to Manarola, had lunch at a great little restaurant called Cappun Magru (get the anchovies!), and hiked straight up and over the hill to Riomaggiore - which was totally exhausting and definitely not for everyone, but I found amazing.
There’s a good thread here: Cinque Terre and Portofino, Italy recs