ChrisMare Hotel in Mazzeo

A very basic hotel, with breakfast consisting of just a few croissants, yogurt, toast, and hard-boiled eggs. The staff is friendly, but the welcome isn't particularly warm. Parking must be booked in advance and can only accommodate two cars, as it's simply in the courtyard. For a four-star hotel, it was a disappointing experience. The location is great, right on the seafront and just a short bus ride to Taormina.

The hotel's location is beautiful. Our room with its large balcony was fantastic! Unfortunately, at the start of the season, the terrace wasn't ready yet. It was rather dingy. Dinner isn't possible there either. There's a large construction site on the street at the moment. They're building a promenade, which is supposed to be finished in May. (?!) Breakfast was unremarkable, and if you arrive later than 9:30, there might not even be any bread left. A real shame. But I'm confident that everything will be better during the season.

The ChrisMare is a two-story small hotel in Mazzeo, next to Letojanni and close to Taormina. It is four star rated hotel, but I think it is rather a three-star hotel. It is very close to Mazzeo beach (across the street) where you can choose to use sunbeds or your own beach equipment. The bus station for Taormina is close to the hotel, and you have 10 - 15 minutes' walk to railway station. The hotel is small, so reception desk, lobby and restaurant are all in the same space. The reception desk and front entrance are closed after midnight, so you have to use back door entrance. The hotel stuff is very polite and friendly, and the service is, let's say, Sicilian way. For example, I asked for fix of the balcony door in order that we can lock it. This was on Friday, upon arrival. They said OK, we will fix it tomorrow. When I asked tomorrow, they said it is Saturday, we will fix it on Monday. They never fixed it during our stay. We booked superior sea view double room with HB. The room was large enough for two, and the balcony was great. Apart from the sea view, it was spacious and "L" shaped, so you can find the shade all day. The room was very clean, the girl who made the room did the great job. Breakfast was standard for three-star hotel enabling enough fuel for the beach activities. Dinner was very good; we tried the stars from the Sicilian cuisine. We had an impression that we are in someone's house, with hosts who are trying to prepare us the meal the best they can. The only thing is they start to prepare your meal when you appear in restaurant. So, you have to wait for antipasta (first course) around 20 minutes. But, as a result, your meal is always fresh and hot. This is also Sicilian way of working and living which is rather slow for most of the Europe. Anyway, the waitress should be more agile.