Cottage on the Beach

Spacious apartment with brilliant view of the sea and comfortable beds. Very friendly and kind host.

We told Booking.com we needed three beds. We were promised a sofa bed but it was just a sofa and my daughter rolled off and hit her head on the floor.

Amazing location and the owner was so attentive, informative and responsive.

Nothing.

Good location and nice view, that’s all. You can find much better in Taormina.

My score is entirely based on the owner of the property, if you want a relaxing and stress free holiday, then don’t stay here. I will start by describing what was wrong in the property which is an apartment and the pictures on the website really don’t show the actual state of the flat. You can see my pictures below. The living room sofa is covered in stains all over. The owner said was the previous guest dropping a cup of coffee, but that’s not true, the stains clearly have been there for long and if was actually coffee, it wouldn’t be just a cup but half litre. The sofa in the poorly maintained“garden” is totally ripped and dirty. No shampoos or shower in any of the bathrooms, only 2 bottles of hand soap and one was almost empty. 2 toilet rolls for 4 people for 5 nights. Their Wi-Fi doesn’t work, they have all the login details for the Wi-Fi however when you check in you will see it doesn’t work so she tells you to login to a public unsecured network which is very slow. We stayed 2 days without any internet. However, we could still go on with all that issues as we were there to enjoy a good time in Taormina, but the nightmare starts 2h prior to check in when you start receiving WhatsApp messages from the owner with all property rules. The tone and threatening words are unbelievable for someone who runs a business like this. If you leave rubbish is 75€ fee, another 75€ if you don’t brush the toilets when you use them (yes she orders you to brush the toilet) more fees if you don’t take the rubbish or leave dirty plates as also 75€ if you leave sand in the house. Parking is 20€ per day. After checking in she messages to see if everything is fine and I mentioned that the internet was not working and she sends a voice messages in a very rude tone as if we are all stupids and explains to connect to the public network. We did it and again, that would be fine for us if her attitude was different.

This is a great apartment really near the beach in Taormina. It has a beautiful style of interior design with two balconies and a garden in the back. The host was very nice and easily reachable via WhatsApp.

Unfortunately, the apartment wasn't as clean as we hoped it would be given a prior mention of a 75€ penalty if left dirty at departure, including non very clean showers, dishes and cushions on the balcony. Moreover, while the tiles in the bathrooms are beautiful, the shower facilities themselves really need renewal, as there was not much water pressure in one of the bathrooms. Furthermore, there is a terrace door right next to the front door that had no way of closing- it was provisionally fixed the next day after informing the host but still it seemed uncomfortable to know that there was no way of locking it and that without our notice, it would've just been left open. Lastly, while there is an elevator to the third floor, there is quite a long staircase that leads up to the elevator itself, which wasn't too easy to handle for one of my elderly family members but it was manageable.

The location is perfect. Easy to walk to several local beaches as well as great restaurants. Also easy (although expensive!) to access the town of Taormina by cable car where there was lots more to explore. The apartment has balconies at the front with great views out over the sea and a garden at the back with a hammock, for when it gets too hot.

It would have been good to have information about how to access the property sent to us before we arrived. Also perhaps some information in the accommodation about the local area, amenities, recycling etc.

I loved everything about the property but mostly I loved the host GIO shes An amazing Host. From the first second she made myself my wife and my children feel at home. Gave us the local info we needed and even told the locals to look after us. I have never felt more at home then the way GIO made us feel. We highly recommend this place and we will back next year.

The whole place had a Venice California type of vibe !!

These hosts shouldn't be hosts. Very unemphatic and don't try to provide comfort to their guest. Example, the property doesn't have even basic hand soap. The couch in the living room doesn't have a foam. It has springs only , whatever left after many decades of exploitation. But the most horrible part is that the hosts started calling me after a week post our check out, and demanding more cash. We stayed there for 3 days and paid 20 euros per day and left in cash on the dresser as I was instructed. A week later she calls me to say they didn't see any and that they will report me to booking and take money from our deposit. What a ridiculous way to scam people. Greed of this host is over the roof.

The property was excellently located, this was its main selling point as it allowed for ease of travel from the main bus depot in town and is a stones throw away from the beach front. The property had two really comfortable bedrooms with two ensuites and a large balcony where you could bask in the morning sunrise and watch the sunset. Really lovely!

The only constructive feedback I could give would be that the kitchen could be better stocked to make cooking at home more inviting and complimentary bathroom essentials would have been nice instead of having to purchase some during a short stay.