Grand Hotel Timeo, A Belmond Hotel, Taormina

This location is stunning, with high-quality details at every turn. What truly sets it apart is the exceptional staff and high level of service. We’ve experienced this excellence across five Belmond properties in Italy, consistently meeting our high expectations.

When you find a hotel and location that literally ticks every box and exceeds very high expectations it is something to shout about hence this review. Exceptional service from every single member of the hotel team, stunning views and the attention to detail is incredible, from the luxury products in the room, to the little handbag stools at breakfast and turn down service. Breakfast is just the most wonderful experience, the warm, professional service and attention from the staff is matched by the breathtaking views from the tables. Delicious food choices and we easily spent a couple of hours each day in utter heaven! Taormina itself lies just beyond the hotel entrance with all its ancient history, shops, cafes, the contrast from luxury tranquility to a bustling town makes it even more memorable. We shall return!

This is a lovely hotel. It offers the best of Taormina-I could never tire of sitting on their terrace and watching Etna puff away (it blows smoke rings, who knew?) while drinking one of their excellent cocktails. All of the staff we came across were dedicated and friendly and exactly the right side of hospitable-we were regularly wished a good day, and checked up on, without it being intrusive. Their pool area is small but pleasant and well staffed (in high season it may be perhaps too full, but in Spring it was perfect) and the pool was heated to 28 degrees. The gardens are pretty and have some comfortable shaded seating, the wall behind the seating was covered with lizards sunning themselves which entertained our son. Breakfast offered a good range without being overwhelming- granita and brioche, various eggs, home made pastries, charcuterie etc. You can easily miss lunch. We ate in the restaurant our first night and enjoyed it. Obviously this will not be the cheapest way to eat in Taormina but it is handy when you arrive, but do book in advance. Then, if you feel like it, you can take the cable car down to the sister hotel Sant Andrea and eat on their gorgeous terrace overlooking the sea or relax on their sun loungers (where an equally keen welcome awaits). Finally the rooms-we booked junior deluxe suites, and there was an initial issue whereby the hotel placed us in rooms which did not have the requisite balcony size for this class and were not in the main building as was also indicated for this class. This was slightly annoying when we had been up since 02:00 for our flight and waited a long time for the rooms to be available. However, once we pointed out the mistake (which we think was due to a desire to offer us connecting rooms) the concierge was wonderfully helpful, taking us up to other rooms and ensuring we were okay. Generally we felt a real desire at the hotel to keep guests happy, so if you have a problem during your stay, don’t be afraid to speak up (and check your room description to ensure you receive what you expected). The rooms had high ceilings, were light and bright with floor to ceiling windows opening onto a terrace with sun loungers. The view was partly over the restaurant roof, so if this will bother you, speak to the hotel when booking as there are other rooms without this, but they may be pricier. Also some rooms don’t have a walk in shower which would be an issue for some. The aircon was excellent. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the hotel and I definitely think it’s the place to stay in Taormina. Tip: book the Ape tour. It’s worth every penny. And let the concierge recommend and book restaurants in advance-we used their recommendations every day and ate well.