Hotel Isola Bella

The hotel doesn't match the photos on the website (see the state of the pool), it's very poorly soundproofed (you can hear the street, the other rooms, and the hallway even when you're in a room with a sea view), the showers are old and poorly maintained, the bathrooms are tiny (your head is practically against the wall when you're sitting down), the breakfast is decent, there's no parking... the only good thing is the friendliness of one of the receptionists 🤷🏻‍♂️ but that doesn't justify the €1000 half-board week!!

We stayed here for six days at the end of September. The receptionist (wearing glasses) was incredibly nice and welcoming, though I didn't remember his name. He quickly checked us into a room with a window and a gorgeous view of Isola Bella, rather than a balcony (as we'd booked). The room had everything we needed: a safe, a refrigerator, and the bathroom was stocked with essential shampoos and shower gels. I've been to many hotels and showers, and this one ranks among the smallest and most tiniest! Another downside was the incredibly hard mattress; you'd have to look hard to find one like that! There's almost constant traffic passing by the window, so on the way to the beach, you'll have to be careful to avoid getting hit by cars or scooters. The breakfast was good, with hot dishes (omelettes, sausages, and bacon), decent coffee, and a terrifying fruit drink, clearly made from concentrate. Croissants (excellent), pastries, bread, various jams, fruit, cheese, and cold meats are also available. You can have breakfast on the terrace with a stunning view, which is exactly what we did. There's a bus stop next to the hotel, with connections to Taormina (for example) every half hour. Overall, I recommend the hotel; the price was reasonable for Taormina, but be sure to bring a portable shower and a soft mattress.

Noisy rooms. Disturbed early in the morning by the incessant ringing of the room service phone. Severe lack of parking. You have to walk 500 meters along a very busy road with no sidewalk, where Sicilians, like everywhere else on their island, have no respect or consideration for pedestrians who find themselves in danger.