Cettina's apartment is in a perfect location: the hillside is behind you, the seview is in front of you (the terraces and balconies provide superb views!), the bus stop is just two minutes, to reach the cable car up to Taormina is 10 minutes on foot, the beach is within 100 meters and the staircase up to Taormina is right the on the corner of of the house wall (it's a red lined tourist road and I definitely recommend to try it!).
Since this is Mazzaro and not Taormina, the neighborhood is calmer (of course relatively because this whole area is full with tourists) and the Sirene Bay (where the beach is) is less frequented than the Isola Bella Bay. We didn't hire a car, solved everything by public transport and on foot.
Small (and expensive) grocery shops are on the way to the cable car and up in Taormina there is a Coop (bigger groceries). We never had struggles to find and get what we needed. The Cherry Bar is at the bus stop 2 minutes from the house, you can get nice coffee there. Restaurants are everywhere on the way to the cable car.
The apartment is very well equipped, the kitchen is full with items so you can even cook a nice Italien dinner for yourself. Everything works, the only one problem was that the big double bad is way too soft for my taste but my husband liked it.
The garden is beautiful, romantic and shady.
Cettina herself is kind and helpful and flexible, a perfect host!
Overall, we would definitely return!