Villaggio Alkantara

The pool looked nice, but it was ringed by plastic loungers with no cushions, so we didn’t use it. The place is in the middle of nowhere, with no facilities. There’s no nearby beach, and the only place to eat was a scruffy bar/cafe with horrible food that was closed more often than open. The nearest shop took a 40-minute walk along a pothole-ridden road with no path. We were booked for seven nights, but only managed two before moving to a hotel elsewhere. This was the worst place I’ve ever stayed. Do not under any circumstances book it. Worst experience ever!

The staff were very kind, and the location is excellent, close to both Taormina and Etna volcano. If Etna is erupting, you’re guaranteed a show. The apartment was comfortable, with two rooms, a dining room, and a small kitchen. The village has a good swimming pool and a tennis court that was recently converted to a padel court. Alkantara village has an arrangement with a nearby beach establishment, where you can rent an umbrella and sun loungers at a reduced price, with a free shuttle.

It’s fine for a few days if you want to see Taormina and Sicily without spending a fortune. There are some useful things nearby, including a supermarket and the “city by see hop-on hop-off” bus, which was more punctual and went to all the good places. The regular buses were awful, so expect to walk or wait a long time. Bring strong mosquito repellent. The apartments were nice and had everything we needed, including a kitchen. Fresh towels came every three days, and I liked that it seemed to be mostly teens or families staying here. The mattresses were quite uncomfortable, though, and the shower head was pretty nasty. Meals were mostly white bread, with pasta and two choices, meat/fish and two choices, then dessert, so it’s worth getting some fiber-rich food from the nearby supermarket. The nearby beaches are cobblestone, even in Taormina, so I’d strongly recommend shoes for rocky beaches. There are only a few sandy areas, and the umbrellas there cost about 25€. The hotel has a pool with a pool bar, and there’s another pool bar on the way to the nearest beach.

The location was really nice, the room was clean, and fresh towels arrived every two days. The beach is very close. But our house was right by the pool, and the music there was ridiculously loud all day. We ate at the restaurant once. The waitress was absolutely unfriendly, didn’t come to take our order, and we had to ask after 20 minutes. He didn’t speak any language besides Italian, and we waited 45 minutes for our meal. My garlic pizza was inedible. We booked a room with air conditioning, but it was so loud we had to turn it off at night. It also didn’t work properly, so the room stayed very hot.