As there are no reviews so far for 2008, I thought it appropriate to say that Villa Sonia proved to be the delight we had hoped for.
The Superior Etna View rooms were well worth the money. Although dated, in a wonderfully Italian way, the whole hotel makes a great change from the current "Hip Hotel" style.
Breakfast was well served, and with a good choice. Lunch on the terrace could be anything from a small snack to a large meal. We only ate "in" once but the menu was well priced and with a nice choice of traditional items. The menu changes daily, and with several choices at each course, I can see why some people pick the half board option.
Castelmola village has a nice choice of small bars and restaurants and is cheaper than Taormina itself and less touristy.
Parking at the hotel is always available (although a jigsaw!) and the shuttle bus/local bus route down into Taormina is much better than trying to drive in. The hotel will arrange trips and Etna should not be missed.
The best thing about Villa Sonia is the staff. Problems at Catania airport meant that we had to fly to Palermo (about 3.5 to 4 hours drive). This meant a 4.30am departure from the hotel. All made bearable by the hotel staff moving all the cars in the car park so that ours could get out eaily and then having it ready, outside the hotel for us at 4.30 on the dot after dead on time alarm calls and piping hot coffee. We will be back!

villa sonia is situated in a quiet village called castelmola, further up passing taormina. it a 5-10 min drive, so if you have a car you will be ok (despite the fact that parking in taormina is not that easy). decor is more dated than classic, but the hotel is really clean. A good breakfast is served in its restaurant that overlooks the mountains of the region. Room with a good king size bed and aircon working just fine, but bathroom could use some improvement. Water doesn't go down the drain in the shower, which really sucks but is not a privilege of villa sonia; many hotels in sicily and other regions of italy have the same draining issue. Villa Sonia is a nice choice if you're up to staying in Castelmola and saving a few bucks by not staying in pricey Taormina.

Fantastic all round experience at Hotel Villa Sonia, towering over Taormina. The hotel service and quality is superb in accommodation, food and personal attention. The views from the Etna facing rooms, balconies and large terraces are breathtaking whilst the pool and its deck area are delightful. Avoid the hassle of the town and access to the hotels around by climbing to the top! You will be rewarded with easy parking, a frequent, cheap bus service to Taormina from the front door which takes fifteen minutes or a complimentary shuttle bus. The village of Castelmola sits two flights of stairs above the hotel and has a more intimate, relaxed atmosphere than the town with a reasonable selection of reasonably priced ristorante and pizzeria frequented by tourists and locals alike. This is the location and accommodation if you want to get the best of Taormina.

We had a standard room Mount Etna View and it was beautiful to wake up to that view every morning was wonderful. The hotel was typical Italian with some fabulous antiques and the rooms were very clean. The staff were very helpful and spoke very good English. The food was good with a varied choice and the service was excellent and of course the wine was superb with a vast range.

We booked through Holiday Options and what they said in their brochure was spot on. We chose the "Bon Apetite" option 4 nights in the hotel and the other 3 we ate out .Our favourite was the "Gallo Cedrone" bar pizzeria In Castelmola. The owners Riccardo & Roberto were lovely and their mama couldnt speak English but was so welcoming and the food was super.

Hotel Villa Sonia was in a pieceful location with fantastic views, fab pool and the bar/pool tender Jay was absolutely brilliant, but so were all the staff.

We will go again!