Our plane was delayed by 5 hours and we did not have a SIM card to communicate with the host. When we obtained wifi, the host found us within the city so that we could check in. This extremely nice gesture was marred by her constant complaining that it was past her bedtime, but her partner, who was also with her, was great and very accommodating.

We rented a car and driving in Taormina, or Italy in general, is tough. We opted to leave our car in the Lumbi parking garage, which is located at the base of Taormina. We attempted to coordinate with the host prior to arrival to store our car in her garage. Due to the language barrier, this was never clearly worked out.

When we arrived, we were informed that we could park our car in her garage. We informed her that we would decide whether we wanted to use the garage, as we did not want to drive through Taormina if possible. She represented to us that her price, 10 euro a day, was cheaper than the garage.

After investigating the price of leaving our car in the garage, we discovered that it was cheaper to leave it in Lumbi. Additionally, the parking spot in front of the garage (who knows why that makes sense) was taken throughout the trip, so there was no way to pull into the garage. Needless to say, we felt that the host was attempting to deceive us into believing that the parking in Lumbi was more expensive because she wanted the money. This could have been a miscommunication, but, based on the circumstances, it is reasonable to believe that it was not.

As a note, the host presents her guests with a contract, written in Italian, at the time of arrival. Who knows what the contract says, as it is presented to guests only in Italian. As an attorney with extensive experience in international contracts, I found the entire experience very strange.

Despite our frustrations with the host, Taormina is nice and the villa is centrally located. I only wish that the host would have been more accommodating instead of just wanting our money.