We were two couples. Everything went as planned. Emanuele met us at the property to give us the keys. We got there late but he waited for us. Tip: make sure you have his cell phone number and know how to dial the number while in Italy. We had our North American phones and had a little trouble getting all the number prefixes right. If you get there late at night and cannot reach Emanuele, there will be no way to get into your apartment!
The location is excellent. Be aware going up/down from Taormina by car can be a little unnerving. Roads wind up the mountain, are tight and cars travel fast. The property is absolutely stunning and very well maintained. So handy to have a locked indoor parking for the car. Getting around Taormina is easy by foot. A market is within walking distance or you can drive to nearby Giardini Naxos. Lots of great restaurants of varying prices.
The pool is unheated but well maintained and has an amazing view.
The condo itself can use a good paint job. It is clean and bed were very comfortable. Mattresses were on the hard side but typical of Italy. We did have an insect issue one day and unfortunately no one took care of it immediately. There were silver fish under the refrigerator and kitchen stove. These insects like heat. They do not come because of dirt, they are typical of southern areas. In fact you also find them in North America in furnace rooms. We spoke to Emanuele's brother, the lifeguard, on the second day and he came into the apartment. Luckily we found some insecticide and we did not see any more silver fish after two applications.
The negatives: kitchen area could use an extra scrubbing, buy some new utensils, a decent butcher knife and a dryer would be amazing.
We would definitely rent again from Emanuele. He was kind and honest.
Another tip: get the GPS locations from Emanuele for the apartment garage.