Taormina is where that imaginary version of Sicily actually exists. And Grand Hotel Timeo is where you stay when you want to be right in the middle of it. The hotel opened in 1873 as the first hotel in Taormina, built a few steps from the Greek Theatre, one of the best-preserved ancient amphitheatres in the world. That proximity is not incidental. From the hotel gardens you look directly at columns that are 2,300 years old, with Mount Etna smoking quietly behind them. On summer evenings the theatre still hosts opera and music performances. You can hear it from your terrace with a glass of something cold in hand, which is a very particular kind of evening. The 70 rooms and suites are dressed in warm neutrals, marble bathrooms and Sicilian fabrics, with balconies or terraces pointing toward the bay, the city, or Etna depending on your room. The panoramic pool sits in terraced gardens full of bougainvillea and citrus, and feels like the kind of place where afternoons simply disappear.

Food

Ristorante Timeo is the main dining room, with a terrace that frames the Ionian Sea and the Greek Theatre simultaneously. The cooking is rooted in Sicilian tradition: fresh pasta, local seafood, the island’s extraordinary produce treated with respect. The Literary Terrace bar is named for the writers and artists who made Taormina their adopted home and is one of the better spots on the island for an aperitivo at golden hour. The headline act is Otto Geleng, the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant named after the 19th-century painter who first put Taormina on the European map. Creative, ingredient-driven and very good.

Spa

Currently closed for renovation with new facilities on the way. Massage treatments and a fitness centre are available in the meantime. Check the Belmond website for the reopening date if spa is a priority for you.

Environment

The hotel sits on Via Teatro Greco, the pedestrian street running through the heart of the old town. Everything is walkable: the best restaurants, the cable car down to the beach at Isola Bella, the Greek Theatre itself. Taormina gets busy in high season but the hotel’s walled gardens and elevated position give you a genuine sense of remove from the crowds below.

Average Review Score

9.6 / 10 (U.S. News Travel, based on 462 reviews) | 4 / 5 (TripAdvisor, based on 1,661 reviews)