Anapo Valley

This hotel is situated just on the edge of the main city on an unbelievably beautiful cliff in Taormina overlooking the beaches and bays below. Really breathtaking views - highly recommend splurging for the balcony. The pool was also very pretty, though we did not end up eating or drinking poolside. The bedrooms/bathrooms were pretty basic, but clean. Breakfast was not included, but at 22 euro, we did not partake. ***The one thing to note - the entrance to the hotel is at the bottom of an incredibly steep, roughly 250 foot-long hill. I'm talking 30-40 degree incline. There are stairs in the center of the road, but it's a hike. Like, we were out of breath every time we left the hotel. I couldn't recommend this hotel to anybody with mobility issues that is not planning on being driven from the hotel entrance every time they travel.*** But the views are unbeatable.

The staff was amazing and very helpful. They moved our room after our first night because the people in the room above us were so loud we could hear everything. The rooms are nice but have some drawbacks: in order to have your windows open to get fresh air at night, the room is flooded with all the uplighting surrounding the hotel. The windows have wooden shutters inside which means in order to block out the light, you must close the windows and then close the wooden shutters. Either turn off the floodlights at night or provide some curtains. The walls are also very thin and you can hear everything in the room next to you. We couldn’t get any of the TV apps to work so only had access to Italian TV. Did a fun (but very long) cooking class. The pool area is interesting but not inviting. It’s in a corner in the main area of the courtyard and faces 2 walls so there is no view. Also not very private. There is no lobby bar or any soft seating to relax anywhere. There is also not a set restaurant at the hotel - you have to do a cooking class or a private chef cooking for you (which would be nice but it’s in the cooking class/breakfast room so you have to experience it while a class is going on beside you). It’s a very pretty hotel but not really designed for the best experience for guests.