Francesco and Liliana live with their little son in a beautiful part of Sicily; and they share that space with a spirit of great generosity. They were wonderful hosts and they are lovely people; kind, welcoming, friendly, communicating well (and both have excellent English). We were in town when a thunderstorm threatened to soak our nearly-dry laundry. Francesco sent me an sms to ask if he should take it in - when we arrived home we found it hung inside on a drying rack. Saved in the nick of time! How thoughtful! They made themselves available to give us great information about the things to do and see (and avoid) in the area. We asked for recommendations for restaurants and they were spot on. We asked for advice about visiting Monte Etna and we are glad we followed that advice.

The apartment has the most spectacular views. To get to those views there is an equally spectacular and steep drive. It was pretty scary the first time, but after that it was fine. So if you are driving, follow Francesco's advice and "use 1st gear", and follow my husband's advice and "gun it". Taormina is built on a series of cliffs, so there's no getting away from steep roads; it's part of the charm of the place. It's also Tourist Central; the main street is wall-to-wall visitors. The big advantage of living at this apartment is that you are away from the hurly-burly and after a day in and around the town it's glorious to return to the peace and quiet of the hill. We drove halfway into town each day and parked the car (Francesco can tell you where it's free to park all day) and then walked. This saved us the climb up the very steep road - but we are in our 60s, so if you're younger you may be fine as a mountain goat!

The apartment itself was spotlessly clean, spacious, comfortable, and very well fitted out with all the things you need for travel. My husband was thrilled to find an iron and ironing board; it's something we've rarely seen. (So he could do the ironing!)

Our visit was towards the end of 18 days in Sicily and 2 months in Europe, so we were a bit travel-weary. This apartment was a real haven for us and our stay with Francesco and Liliana was very special. Indeed, our stay in Taormina was one of the highlights of our journey. We highly recommend that you share the experience!