The stay at Maria's place was awesome, it is extremely close to a beach that's rockier and about 10 mins away from the sandy beaches. Close to the apartment there are bars and markets so everything is very close. They provided us with umbrella and beach chairs. One thing that would make it even better would be wifi availability, then the place would be perfect. Very close to taormina(20 bucks with cab) and isola bella (15 mins by bus)