Villa Zagara Taormina

The hot tub never worked properly from our first day. It drained almost to the bottom each night and wouldn’t heat up. Worse, my fiancé was electrically shocked while we were using it. We were travelling with our 2-year-old, who thankfully wasn’t shocked, but could have been. Staff said this usually happened when it rained or water got into the many cracks, which makes it seem they knew about the problem and hadn’t fixed it. Emmanuel, the contact person who checked us in, didn’t reply for two days after I told him, and never came to see us or offered anything, even though the private hot tub feature had turned out to be dangerous. Instead, he told staff to refill it each day, only for it to drain again. Nothing was done after we raised the incident. I’ve been trying to get a refund through Expedia, and lately the hotel hasn’t been responding to them. I don’t recommend staying here. I feel the room with its private hot tub was falsely advertised, and that they just care about getting their money.

Emmanuel was a fantastic host, always close by and ready with tips for places to see, beaches, and restaurants. The view was superb, and the accommodation was extraordinary. They cleaned the pool every day, and the room stayed spotless, with fresh sheets and towels every two days. We’d gladly come back.

Don’t book this villa, it’s a scam! The room was filthy and infested with bugs, and nobody came to clean. We even ran out of body wash.

The view was the one good part, though you can find one in 99% of places in Taormina. For 150 euros a night, this was a miserable stay, especially in winter, and I strongly advise against it. The property is run down and clearly hasn’t been maintained, and it wasn’t ready for winter guests. At night the whole place was freezing. Heating only came on for a few daytime hours, mostly when we were out, and our daughter developed a severe cough. The beds were basically a mattress on a rock, and none of us slept well. We were moved between rooms several times. The first room’s door wouldn’t close properly, so they gave us a worse one. After our first night there, we found the hot water wasn’t working and had to leave for the day without a shower. They said it had been repaired, but it still didn’t work that evening. After many complaints, we got another room that wasn’t what we’d paid for. Its door handle came off the first time we closed it. That was fixed, but the shower kept switching between hot and freezing water, so we couldn’t shower properly. Ants covered the floor, and the kitchen utensils had a thick layer of dirt. Cooking there was disgusting, so we ended up having breakfast outside. Over four nights, three people got only two tiny pouches of shower gel. It’s clear they don’t care about providing even basic amenities. The advertised parking is just street parking in front of the house, and when Taormina is busy, finding a space is anyone’s guess. The area was poorly lit at night, and our daughter fell while entering the property. The owner, Massimo, was grumpy and unhelpful, and took no responsibility for the property’s condition. Other Google reviews seem to show him blaming guests for problems, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he did the same here. Booking.com reviews don’t reflect reality, while Google reviews give a much closer picture. For this price and level of discomfort, you can find somewhere much better in Taormina where you’ll be treated properly. Save yourself the stress and money.