The best thing about Le Grand Bleu was the location! It was a few steps off the main walking street, right in the heart of all the action. Maria Novella was a charming hostess. She was there to greet us upon our arrival and provided lovely pastries as well as fruit, juice, milk, coffee, tea, and a well stocked pantry with herbs, etc. She obviously takes a great pride in her home as was evident in the charming décor. The only problem we had was with the very musty smell, suggestive of mold in the apartment. It was so bad that it triggered an asthma attack for one of us. When she woke up, she had a great deal of difficulty breathing and was unable to spend any length of time on the first or second floor. The other small problem was with the sofa bed. It was very short, narrow and quite hard. It was not really appropriate for an adult but might be OK for a child. Overall, I would recommend Le Grand Bleu as long as you do not have any respiratory issues and you are not counting on using the hideabed. It's a cute and funky home that gives you a very authentic feeling of how people live in the old town of Taormina.