Giovanni was an excellent host. Everyone has mentioned the stairs but you get used to them!
The apartment is really nice and the location is great. The terrace is a fantastic spot and you overlook the main square.
This is a personal thing probably but we found the bed quite hard. Outside of that it was really good. Close to all amenities.
Catania though has some issues. The main square and shopping street are the main attraction. When you stray from that the level of litter and graffiti is much more than any other city we have stayed in and really has a negative impact.
Trips by local bus are easy and we did both Taormina and Siracusa from the main bus terminal.