Villa Mabel

The location was perfect, and I loved the look of the place. Everyone on staff was polite, cheerful, and ready to help. Everything was great, and I'll definitely come back. I just missed having a good breakfast.

Everything is within an easy walk: the city centre, shops, bars, and restaurants. The villa is a lovely vintage-style Italian place right in the heart of Taormina, with updated air conditioning, a refrigerator in the room, and a large shared balcony with glass-topped tables and a great view across the bay and city. The staff were accommodating, even for a late check-in. If you don't get a room with its own bathroom, there's one shared bathroom on the other side of the villa. It's a long way if you're in a hurry and it's occupied, and the dispenser tears the toilet paper into individual sheets.

The accommodation isn't luxurious, but I loved it anyway and would choose it over anywhere else I've stayed, again and again. It's kept very clean, even the shared bathroom. The high ceilings are beautifully painted, and white curtains frame the balcony view and give the room a wonderful feel. The location was absolutely perfect. The balcony photos speak for themselves.

Being right in the heart of Taormina is a real advantage, close to everything. Still, I probably wouldn't stay here again. If you're mainly exploring and just need somewhere cheap to sleep and leave your things, it could work. But if you'll spend much time in the room, I'd rate it around 1.5-2. Our booking left a bad taste: afterward we found the room much cheaper and were basically told tough luck. Our third-party service eventually got the price matched, but it was frustrating. The room was dated and dark, the pillows in the closet badly needed airing, and the shower leaked all over the bathroom floor, though the bathroom itself was good. We were right next to reception and could hear everything. Given the booking experience, we didn't feel like asking whether anything could be done. The air conditioner is very loud, as other reviews mention, so bring AirPods or good earplugs if you'll run it overnight. Staff weren't especially helpful, and I got the impression they didn't appreciate us asking about the lower price. The service wasn't great, though nothing else was seriously wrong.