We stayed at the Jonic Hotel Mazzaro for 2 nights 18-20 October. I simply cannot find fault with this property--my husband and I loved it. I struggled for days with the decision to stay actually in Taormina proper or choose one of the areas with immediate beach access (read that as "good views, close to the water"), and I am happy that I chose well for us!
We arrived after dark, unfortunately, but the hotel was still very easy to find. While not late into the evening (it was only about 7:30pm), we blame the arrival (about 1.5 hours later than we anticipated) on our GPS, which INSISTED on sending us directly through the center of every small town within 50km on the way to Mazzaro/Taormina. Had to re-program the thing, so that was our own fault.
Signora Mariella greeted us on check-in and was kind, cheerful, friendly, and professional. Throughout our stay she gave us local information, advice on taking a boat tour of the Bay of Taormina, and was just a sweetheart all the way around. She also let us know that we had been upgraded from our reserved balcony room to a terrace room on the 4th floor.
The room was spacious with plenty of storage and a comfortable bed, the bathroom probably the largest of any we have enjoyed anywhere in Italy (with excellent water pressure and even temperature in the shower, plenty of storage space, a hair dryer and a magnifying mirror for shaving, etc.). The terrace (maybe 10 x 10) was awesome with a small table and chairs, plus 2 additional chairs for sunning yourself. Although this was a streetfront room we had exceedingly little traffic noise--probably the result of being on the 4th floor and the combination of the glass door plus the wooden shutters closing off the terrace. And the drapes/door/shutters combination also kept the room dark and made it very easy to sleep well past sunrise.
The hotel's location right on the beachside road makes beach access quite easy, and it is maybe a 1-2 minute walk to the funicular to take you up the hill into Taormina proper. Even at this late date in October, some souls heartier than I am were enjoying the beach--umbrellas and chairs were still available for rent and people were in the water. If we were beach-resort, summer vacation types, I would love to stay here in the summer time and enjoy the beaches, but alas, we pretty much refuse to deal with summertime heat and peak season pricing.
Of course, we couldn't fully appreciate the terrace and the views until the next morning, but suffice it to say they were more than we hoped for. We had a lovely view of Isola Bella, as well as Mazzaro Beach itself, and mainland Italy in the distance. Since views were a priority for us on this, our first trip to Sicily, we were extremely pleased. We used that terrace for breakfast and the afternoon riposo (siesta) and enjoyed every minute of it!
Speaking of breafast: my husband inquired about room service for breakfast on our terrace to enjoy the lovely views and within 15 minutes it was brought up to us. Room service breakfast was typically Italian: croissants, rolls, butter & jam, coffee, juice. The next morning we decided to take breakfast in the breakfast room just for a change of pace and enjoyed the croissants and breads, along with boiled eggs, salami, and cakes. Very nice!
Would definitely, gladly stay here again!
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
