Definitely an amazing place. Even thou I haven't had a chance to meet the host, I've met her relatives when checking in, which was very nice, and check-in was very smooth. The place was really clean and cozy. I've mainly rented place outside Catania as I wanted to stay closer to Etna, so I've also had a car, which is pretty convenient, and you can also park easily. And if you don't have car, the train station is like 5-10 minutes of nice walk, with Lidl nearby if necessary, and the train can easily get you to both Taormina (very close) or Catania (direct) and further.
I'd probably recommend a combination of a car and public transport - with car you can nicely get to Mt. Etna, especially outside hours when it's full of tourists, or when you just want to go down the nice beach (10 minutes ride) and when you want to visit Taormina or other places, you can walk or drive to the station and get on a train.
So if you don't want to be in heart of rushed tourist places, this is really an ideal and great place to be. :)