This hotel is in a lovely position, convenient for the main pedestrianised street and right next door to the beautiful public gardens. The swimming pool is nice and there are some lovely flowers around though there is little shade from trees (but you can sit in upright chairs under the cafe awning). Maria, who is the main receptionist, is really helpful and does really try to help out the guests with information. She planned our trip to Mt Etna and recommended restaurants and was a great help. Generally, the hotel feels very friendly.

However, there are a few areas where the hotel is lacking and that, unfortunately, detracts somewhat from the whole experience. First, having specifically asked for a room on as high a floor as possible, we were given a 'cottage' underneath the main building (although still above the sea and road) with whatever view there was blocked completely by huge trees. We asked to move rooms, and were told we could do this the next day when a room became available, but there was a 'charge' of Euros 30 to move rooms. We queried this and were told it was 'to pay the maid'. We pointed out that the room would have to be cleaned in any event. Eventually, after various discussions with the manager, we were told the cost would be reduced to Euros 25, then to Euros 20 and eventually we were told that they would 'waive' the charge; but it left us with a nasty taste in the mouth and it did seem that the hotel were just trying to make money out of us. Another example of this is their charge for swimming pool towels. Guests are charged Euros 2 per towel per person for every time they change towels and this is not just a deposit. Because of that, guests seemed to keep their towels for the whole stay and dry them in their rooms - not something that we wanted to do and have ever had to do elsewhere. Again, it just left us with the feeling that the hotel were trying to make money out of us when they could.

Secondly, the car park (for which the charge is Euros 12 a day - but that's not unusual) is so small that you have to reverse in and cars have to be moved around to make room for everyone. However, the staff will drive your car in, and park it, and so we got used to this and didn't find it much of a problem apart from on first arrival. But it would help if they warned you before you arrive that you should just let them park the car.

The last area where the hotel could improve is the breakfasts. The breakfasts are taken in a room with no french doors or terrace, giving a stuffy feeling (although there is a small separate terrace with just a couple of tables which were never free and usually occupied by smokers) . Also, there is no fresh fruit salad, just a very boring tinned fruit salad mix which lots of people were complaining about; and there was no fresh cooked breakfast and the whole breakfast was a bit sad.

Our new room was room 57 on the top floor with terrace and a fabulous view of the bay - if only we had been given this room at the beginning, we might have felt better about the hotel.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay there and Trip Advisor reports we read suggest that other hotels in the same town also have various problems. Some of the negatives we mention could easily be remedied by the hotel, which would make it better.

Hotel Villa Belvedere is perfectly situated on one of the quieter streets of Taormina - but only a 5 minute walk from the hustle and bustle of the main pedestrian street of the town and about a 12minute walk in the opposite direction to the bus terminus (contrary to what i had heard i found the bus service in Sicily to be great - there are direct buses from Catania airport to the town) and cable car to the beach below. The rooms that dont face the sea arent great - but they are cheaper. it has a nice pool and nice poolside lunch/snack menu. The breakfast is very good served in a lovely room with the most stunning view and the staff were all extremely helpful. would recommend.

We had a very nice time here. Only criticism was that we paid extra for a sea view which was a tiny window so not really worth paying for. I recommend paying the extra for the sea terrace - which looked much nicer. We were three girls travelling together and we could share one room with lovely beds for everyone so it was great to be all together.

The Villa Belvedere has virtually the same views as hotels costing three or four times more. On the the third floor (at least) the rooms have nice terraces with two chairs and a table. The view of the sea and the coastline are spectacular. The room I stayed in had a queen bed and was of adaquate size, but if it had been any smaller it would have been too small. That is the trade-off here. Great views, good service, good breakfast, warm hospitality, a good location, a very helpful front desk, parking (I paid 12 Euros a day extra for it), clean and cozy -- but the rooms could not be characterized as being large. Overall, I found it to be a very good value for the money, I was happy with my stay there, and I plan to stay there when I return.