Sicily, specifically Etna

[DrSeuss]

My not quite five year old is newly obsessed with volcanoes (!) and so I was wondering about taking him to Sicily this coming year. I'll have another one by then, aged about three months, so it'll be me, DH, DS and DS/DD. Can anyone recommend a child-friendly hotel on Sicily, preferably all-inclusive? We've taken DS to Italy before and so know that the Italians adore children, so the child friendly would be more in terms of facilities. Ideally there would be a sandy beach, there would have to be a pool. A playground or kids club would be good. It should be near enough to Etna to enable a visit and ideally there should be something interesting eg cathedrals, churches, amphitheatres, for Mummy to look at. Markets are a plus as are interesting shops rather than ones that just sell tourist tat. Any thoughts? Thanks.

We stayed in Sorrento a few years ago, nice beaches and restaurants. In the town was a train station and we travelled from there to Pompei and Etna. We also travelled from Sorrento to Capri on the ferry. I remember climbing Etna and it was quite a hike, also very breathless at the top, view was a disappointment as the clouds came out just as we reached the summit. Would recommend a more central place like Sorrento with good rail links for travel, depends on what other places you might like to see though obviously.

Taormina is a great place to stay near etna. There's a beach, lovely old town centre etc. You get great views of etna smouldering away! You could try for a hotel room with a view of it, lots do. Don't have special suggestion for hotel I'm afraid but can really recommend long travel, who specialise in family run hotels and agritourism in southern Italy. Lots of the agrtourism places have pools and are great for kids. also worth searching on trip advisor. You won.t find the long travel places online yourself as they change the names for their website, presumably to prevent us using them for research and booking independently. We absolutely loved Sicily and really want toreturn now we have kids. Hope that helps.
Esor, isn't it Vesuvius near Pompeii and sorrento?

Just reread your post. There's a beautiful ancient theatre overlooking the sea at Taormina that you must see! Also take a day trip to Syracuse.

We stayed in Taormina as well and it is lovely. There is a very good view of Etna from one side of the town. Also the restaurants are excellent. It is high up a cliff and the views all round are fantastic.
We also did a day trip to Argenta which has lots of greek temples and another to Etna.
I think there My vw all inclusive child friendly places at Giardini Naxos which is at the bottom of the cliff.
Also the beaches tend to be owned by the hotels so you may need to pay for the use of the beach if you stay in a hotel without one, in that respect Giardini Naxos is better for you.