Pros:
+ location cannot be beat - dead center of Taormina and easy access to beach / main attractions
+ views from the balcony - beautiful view of the sea from one side and of the lively corso (street) on the other side
+ decor - a bit dated but authentically Sicilian which makes it feel special / different than a hotel
Cons:
+ cleanliness - could use a serious deep clean, especially the common space (couches), bathroom, and kitchenware
+ noisy - you can hear the garbage trucks at 5am on the corso side despite having closed doors so not great for light sleepers (sea side has a popular lounge bar underneath but can’t really hear that)
+ low vaulted ceilings over bed - there’s not enough space to stand up in the lofted area where the bed is and we hit our head many times and had to crouch so it was a bit uncomfortable (I’m the shortest and I’m 5’6”)
+ hot - there are 2 ACs but as they are lower than the lofted sleeping area, it gets very cold in the common area but still remains hot and stuffy at the top (there is a fan to help ameliorate the heat)
+ check in experience - not the easiest / nicest check-in process with the local assistant (host of home does not check you in, it’s someone else) - we had travel issues getting in and the host was unwilling to refund us one night, and the check in person gave us attitude and totally ignored our new ETA so we waited an hour in the piazza for her to arrive
Overall, we loved our stay in Taormina but felt the price was a bit high for 2 people (the space realistically only sleeps 2) given the cons above, and the bad arrival/check in process is never a great experience.
If you want to save money and won’t be spending much time in the house to enjoy the balconies (or care about cleanliness/noise), this Airbnb is probably a skip; otherwise it’s an excellent location for centralized access to everything in Taormina with lots of space in the home and great views.