I'd take Villa Sant'Andrea every time.

Let me start by saying GT is a beautiful property. Hard product is impeccable. Grounds are gorgeous. Service is very Italian...slow slow slow. Wouldn't give soft product high marks. Wasn't obsessed with the food there (paying 25 euro for an Aperol Spritz kind of sucked, too).

The reason I'd go with Villa is because it's on the water. It really, really sucks to be staying in the center of things and have to trek to the beach. Then, after a day of sun, you have to sit in line to get back on the lift to get to your in-town hotel. You're probably in a wet bathing suit and all you want is to be back at your place. Then you have to walk from the lift to the hotel.

With Villa, you're already at the beach...and when you trek into town, it's because you want to go to town. I'd rather be at the beach and trek to town at will, then be in town and trek to the beach. Make sense?

So, if you're in Taormina and the beach is your focus, Villa wins every time. If you want to be in town, I'd rather stay at Hotel el Jebel than GT. (ps, HeJ has its own private beach, which is arguably nicer than Villa's beach...just know it's a 15-20 minute car ride down and 15-20 minutes up)

Full disclosure: I didn't sleep in either. That said, I took property tours of both, and ate at both.

The award for one of the prettiest hotels on earth goes to......