Courtesy of Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo
Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo
The Cut· research-verified, not yet visited
Taormina's grande dame. Right next to the Greek Theatre, and still the cliffside view: Etna on the horizon, Ionian below, the literary terrace where Oscar Wilde and Tennessee Williams used to write.
Grown out of Don Francesco La Floresta's house, where he began renting rooms in 1850; he and his son Giuseppe expanded the place over the decades that followed, the German painter Otto Geleng's romantic Taormina canvases helped bring the early grand-tour guests. The Belmond restoration kept the bones intact: 19th-century antique furnishings, painted ceilings, and the Literary Terrace where D. H. Lawrence wrote Lady Chatterley's Lover (Capote, Oscar Wilde and Tennessee Williams all later stayed too). Rooms and suites split between the historic building and the Villa Flora annex, most with private terraces facing Etna. Sister property to Villa Sant'Andrea on the beach below, with free shuttle and beach privileges. Otto Geleng restaurant on-site (1 Michelin star) is the dinner you book before arrival.
- Best for — couples
- Neighborhood — Taormina · beside the Greek Theatre · 70 rooms & suites
- Rooms — 70
- Price — €1,100–3,200/night
- 70 rooms & suites
- Michelin-starred Otto Geleng
From the HALA guide, reviewed August 2026.
No member reviews yet — the first name on the record gets to set the tone.