We'd read fabulous reviews for Hotel El Jebel on TripAdvisor and other travel sites. Unfortunately, while some parts of the stay were very strong, others were hugely lacking for the price tag and 5 star rating the hotel has. We were told the hotel had just opened for the season the day we arrived to check in for our honeymoon, which may have explained some of the issues. - Staff: Extremely friendly. Happy to make reservations for us, print directions for us and change rooms immediately for us when we had room issues. Very polite and friendly every time we saw them. - Breakfast: The breakfast was excellent. A homemade omelet everyday to our liking, fresh croissants (plain, sesame seed, chocolate), whole wheat and white bread, lots of jam flavors and butter, fresh whole fruits, cereal and tarts. Homemade cappuccinos topped with chocolate and breakfast tea were also always on our menu. Everything was displayed nicely and with care, especially considering we were usually the only ones eating. - Rooms: The rooms were large and nicely decorated. Easily the largest I've ever stayed in in Europe. The beds were king sized and comfortable. Unfortunately, towels had some brown residue on them and smelled of cigarette smoke, wifi barely worked in the room as advertised, unless sitting in one area near the bathroom and the shower was very hard to get a temperature we liked. And this was all after the third time we were given a room change and to their nicest suite in the hotel! When we'd initially checked in, we had a nice suite (already an upgrade from what we first booked), and we were given champagne complimentary for our honeymoon. The room had a dark feel but beautiful views of the sea (as did our final room). However, the heat was not working and the weather was in the 50s and rainy for most of our stay. The heat was particularly not working well in the bathroom, so we requested it to be fixed or to have our room switched. We switched rooms to an equally-sized room that was much brighter but had no views of the sea. It still felt chillier than it should, and, unfortunately, the shower water would be hot for one minute and then cold for about two. It made showering comfortably near impossible. Thus, we were finally upgraded to the final suite I first mentioned. All of this was less than ideal for a 5 star hotel. To their credit, they did work on fixing the heat problem while we were there. - Spa: We booked this in advance when we booked our room and got a deal on the massage. The spa itself was pretty with a nice hot tub in the middle, and perhaps they have a full-time spa staff during high season, but our massage was not great. The masseuse did not back off when it was clear I didn't like something, and even rubbed oil on my face and all within my hair. It was a squirmy hour for me and certainly not relaxing. When we left the spa, we saw the two masseuses saying bye at the front desk, and it was clear they were either outside masseuses called in for our massage, or just two people they randomly found to give massages. The hotel was very pretty, and I imagine bustling during high season. It's well-located on Taormina's main street, though away from heavy pedestrian traffic. I'd likely rate it a 2.5, but given how much the room shaped our experience, I feel the need to round down to a 2. read more