We were impressed with our room which had a balcony overlooking the sea and the facilities in the hotel were first class. The staff were friendly and helpful. The only downside was the cost of food and drinks. We ate once in the hotel and weren't impressed. However there are some great restaurants close by and we ate breakfast/ lunch/dinner at those. The best locally was 100yds away - La Barciollo, fabulous sea food. The location is great; the cable car is 100yds away and there are small shops close for water, wine snacks etc. We stayed 7 nights but I think possibly 4 or 5 is long enough for Taormina unless you are going to explore the whole Island from there.

We stayed in the hotel for two nights, we were uprgraded to a suite upon arrival which was nice, our suite did not have sea views as this would have cost extra. Unfortunately the room was very dark with no views at all apart from the massive air conditioning unit for the whole hotel outside our window. We therefore spent very little time in our room.
The service was friendly, food and drink was very expensive compared to Sant Andrea hotel next door and overall far better than the Mazzaro. Our bed was very uncomfortable and we both had bad backs after the first nights sleep.After the first night we complained about the location of the room and we were told it would be looked into. They never came back to us.. Overall the stay was nice but if you stay it is better to pay extra for sea views. They had prior notice that it was my wifes(special) birthday but made no extra effort, which was disappointing.

This is a beautiful hotel in Mazzaro, so at beach level, which means you have to take the cable car (only a few minutes away) up and down the hillside to Taormina (3 euros 50 each) if you want to get to the town. The hotel is situated on a small but busy narrow road with no pavement so quite tricky to walk from. It is beautifully decorated and the staff are excellent. Breakfast is superb and served outside when possible. Many of the rooms have wonderful terraced balconies with sea views but there are also many rooms which face the back of the hotel / air conditioning units and some are nearly underground - so beware and check what you are getting. Upgrade if you can.

I work as an International Travel Director and in July 2009 accompanied a group of 250 travelers to Sicily. Due to the size of the group they were split into two hotels; the Mazzaro Sea Palace and the sister property up the street called Atlantis Bay. I stayed at the Mazzaro Sea Palace and was extremely pleased.

First, I would like to point out a few of my observations about the two hotels for readers who might be considering stays at either hotel. The Atlantis Bay has a larger lobby with a beautiful fish tank and has more guest rooms which are connected through winding hallways which appear to be carved through tunnels. The guest rooms at Atlantis Bay were smaller than at Mazzaro Sea Palace and had tiny balconies. They were decorated in all white and had smaller bathrooms with a single sink as opposed to the double sinks at Mazzaro. Also, due to the location of the Atlantis, noise from the train that runs through town seems to be much louder. I found the service at Atlantis not to be as friendly or organized as it was at Mazzaro but the guests in the group who stayed there enjoyed themselves and had great things to say about the hotel.

My room #109 at Mazzaro was roomy and had the biggest private patio facing the sea that I have had at any room at other hotels in the past. Best part of the room for me was the excellent air conditioning system. The public areas were small and compact and the hotel was easy to navigate and had two elevators. The restaurant was outstanding and the service was above and beyond. The expanded breakfast buffet provided so many excellent choices including Sicilian granita and brioche. Many of the guests hesitated at the thought of having italian ice for breakfast but once they tried it were hooked. Seating at the restaurant is both indoors or on the lovely patio overlooking the sea.

The beach is a pebble beach and the water appeared to be filled with jelly fish. Several of our guests were stung and one stepped on a sea urchin so use caution when swimming in the ocean near the hotel. There was also a small swimming pool which did not appear to be crowded. Some of the suites had private swimming pools on their patios.

The location was terrific, just a short block or two from the cable car which takes guests up to the old town of Taormina. Also, directly across the street from the Mazzaro Sea Palace is a currency exchange outlet and two convienience stores that had just about everything that anyone could need including; water socks, alcohol, toothpaste, gourmet cheeses, ice coolers, etc. The store located on the left has an extremely nice young owner named Tino who does his best to speak english and help guests. Buy your snacks and drinks and bottled water at the store and enjoy it on your patio.

I enjoyed the Mazzaro Sea Palace and wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.