We spent 7 nights at the property, and had a very relaxing and enjoyable time. The apartment itself is lovely - there were 3 of us (including our 7 year old son) and so having a room for him was great and it was the perfect size for the 3 of us. Fully equipped - the beds were really comfortable (and the master was large) with air conditioning/heating in the main living area and the master bedroom. The shower was amazing - nice and powerful and hot. Lots of windows to allow natural light and air into the property. Wifi suitable for use with Netflix and other streaming services =D
Location wise it was perfect - right next to the main pedestrian street in Taromina off which are all of the bars, cafes and shops. We were slightly concerned that being next to the main street and also right next to the church could have regular bell ringing and noise - but actually it was very quiet, and the church only occasionally rang its bells (ie not hourly). So that was great!
We think we were one of the first to be in the apartment after the winter season, so it was a little stuffy and felt damp when we arrived. But we opened all the windows letting lots of air and sunlight into the property, and at night could use the aircon/de-humidifier or left the windows open when warm enough etc and this solved that problem.
We didn't have a car, and the owner helped to organize a taxi to pick us up from the airport and take us to the apartment. This worked really well. The sun terrace is lovely - private space which we used every day for eating outside. Really lovely views.
Without a car, we made use of the bus services - initially the City-By-See www.citybysee.com open bus tour and then the public busses to go and visit the nearby beaches and attractions. We also went on a 4x4 tour of Mount Etna with the company Go-Etna (https://www.go-etna.com/) which we highly recommend. It was an excellent half day trip that we all enjoyed.
Food wise - the restaurants in Taromina are expensive, and we had mixed success with restaurants. Some were pretty poor, but others were nice. We did end up cooking in the apartment several nights which we really enjoyed - as we could eat outside and enjoy private views! The supermarket was only a few mins walk from apartment. We did find C&G Cioccolato E Gelato just a few minutes walk from the apartment which was EXCELLENT for cakes and ice creams. And also very reasonably priced. Highly recommend!
Great, relaxing holiday. Thank you!