We booked this hotel as part of our honeymoon, and following a family recommendation. Whilst the hotel benefits from a great location in Taormina, our overall feeling has to be one of disappointment in view of the 5 star rating.

Starting with the positives -

1. The hotel is in an ideal location slightly outside the main street but, as detailed below, this comes at a price.

2. Excellent breakfast with a wide selection.

3. The maid service is exceptional (twice daily).

Now for the negatives -

1. Everything (and I mean everything) comes at a price! Don't even bother booking a standard room unless you fancy staying in a noisy and dark environment with no view whatsoever. We made this mistake and had to pay an additional 50 euros per night for the pleasure of a balcony - this is in spite of the fact that the hotel was almost completely empty such that a goodwill upgrade for a honeymoon couple would not have gone unappreciated. However, we were clearly not alone as we heard the same "upgrade" jargon being fed to our future neighbours - hardly the personal touch one comes to expect of a 5 star hotel.

2. This hotel takes the adage "don't ask, don't get" to new extremes! If you require anything at all from toast at breakfast to additional shampoo, you are made to feel like a burdensome guest. The staff, whilst pleasant enough, just don't seem to have any enthusiasm for their guests.

3. The hotel is ludicrously expensive. Expect to pay 18 euros for a cocktail by the pool served in a plastic cup. It is a real shame that the cost of food and drink in the hotel is so high as I'm sure that guests would be encouraged to spend more time there - as it stands, we felt obliged to go to the far more reasonable local establishments offering the same services.

4. There is no extractor fan in the bathrooms and no lighting on the balconies. As above, asking for candles only served to prompt audible sighs from the staff.

5. The free wifi service drove us to distraction. The pass code apparently changes everyday, but I. Reality the code changes pretty much every hour!

Perhaps this all seems a little harsh, but expectations should be high for a 5 star hotel at 5 star prices. Unfortunately, Grand Hotel San Pietro falls short of the mark.