Follow in the footsteps of Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren and experience the glamour, romance, and luxe way of life at Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo. Located beside an ancient. Stroll through town to shop for ceramics and visit local artisans, then visit the hotel’s wellness center, set within the verdant park, for a spa treatment made with local flowers and fruit essences. Dinner on the terrace overlooking majestic Mount Etna features tantalizing and Michelin-star awarded Sicilian and Mediterranean cuisine.
Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo is one the most luxurious properties on Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, sitting right off the bottom of the Italian mainland. Rich in history and traditions, Sicily is a place where ancient art, culture, and cuisine intertwine with wonderful natural beauties. Against a backdrop of azure seas, craggy coastline, and active volcanoes, Sicily has seduced travelers with its dazzling diversity of landscapes and cultural treasures since the trials of Odysseus were first sung in Homer’s Odyssey. As Frederick II, King of Sicily, once said: “I don’t envy God’s paradise, because I’m well satisfied to live in Sicily”.
The hotel is located in the spectacular hilltop village of Taormina, the jewel in the crown of Sicily’s east coast. Taormina offers its visitors breathtaking, dramatic, and memorable views over Europe’s most active volcano (Mount Etna) and almost one hundred miles of Mediterranean sea. In the 1800s, after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe praised its beauty in his book Italian Journey, Taormina became a mandatory stop on the Grand Tour – the long journey made in continental Europe by the young European aristocracy of the time to enrich their own culture. Since then many celebrities visited Taormina, and D.H. Lawrence, Truman Capote, Oscar Wilde, and Richard Wagner all spent happy moments here. Today, Taormina is the tourist capital of Sicily.
At the heart of Taormina’s mystique lies Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo, an elegant, classical villa built into Sicily’s craggy coastal cliffs right, affording stupendous views (of Mount Etna and the endless coastline) that rank among the most striking panoramic vistas on earth. They’re the same breathtaking panoramas Goethe enjoyed from the neighboring Greek Theater.
The hotel’s history dates back to 1863 when a Prussian baron first put Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo on the map with Europe’s elite. Otto Geleng had traveled to Taormina to paint, renting a room from one Don Francesco La Floresta at his home, Timeo. Geleng’s work created a stir back in Berlin and Paris and more artists followed, after which the house was developed into a smart hotel. In 1920, D.H. Lawrence set up camp on the hotel’s terrace to write Lady Chatterley’s Lover, the erotic masterpiece that shocked the world. By the 1940s and 50s, the hotel’s guest list read like a Who’s Who of Hollywood, including Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, and Sophia Loren.
The hotel features elegant old-world decor, throwing guests back to the era of Oscar Wilde, and Richard Wagner. The main entrance – located only a few minutes walks from Corso Umberto (Taormina’s main walking street) and right next to the entrance of the magnificent third-century BC Greek amphitheater – leads to an intimate lobby and a maze of corridors, decorated with tapestries, oil paintings, chandeliers, antiques, and polished parquet floors. Next to the lobby is a small, modern and light-filled bar that opens up to the hotel’s most spectacular feature, its expansive brick terrace that affords those amazing views of the Ionian Sea, Taormina town, and the ever-puffing Mount Etna.
Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo offers 70 suites and bedrooms split between the main building and the adjacent Villa Flora. Most come with that amazing view – over the clustered terracotta rooftops of medieval Taormina, past the coves and headlands of the rugged coastline, and across to Mount Etna’s violet slopes and puffing peak. During my visit, I was upgraded to an Exclusive Suite which was located on the rooftop of the historic Timeo building, boasting magnificent views of the Mediterranean Sea and Mount Etna from its private terrace. The suite itself was classically styled and featured twin beds, a separate living area, and a marble bathroom equipped with a tub, shower, and two sinks. Toiletries from Acqua Di Parma were provided and daily replenished.
The location of Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo is fabulous, as it offers the best of both worlds: the bustle of Taormina town closeby (with plenty of shops and restaurants) and the peace and tranquillity of the spacious hotel grounds with landscaped gardens and tropical vegetation. The lush, sub-tropical park dotted with palm trees is spread over five acres and includes a kitchen garden that supplies the hotel’s restaurant. The beautiful terraced gardens are also home to a heated, panoramic swimming pool, which is the perfect place to sit back and relax after exploring the streets of Taormina. The pool is surrounded by dozens of sun loungers and there’s also a poolside bar that is open daily in the summer for drinks, cocktails, and snacks.
Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo offers two excellent restaurants and one bar:
- The property’s signature restaurant is Otto Geleng, an 8-table venue offering a culinary sensation inspired by German painter and Taormina legend, Otto Geleng. Executive Chef Roberto Toro’s Michelin-star menu is a culinary riff on classic Mediterranean fare.
- Timeo Restaurant offers a satisfying blend of Sicilian and Mediterranean cuisine, making the most of local ingredients, such as Pachino cherry tomatoes, Bronte pistachios, Salina capers, Interdonato lemons, and Mozia salt.
- Before dinner, guests can enjoy an aperitivo on the famous Literary Terrace. Its view is one of the reasons why American playwright and author Truman Capote stayed at the hotel for two years. Couple that with an Etna Spritz made with a local specialty drink, Amara Rossa, and the ultimate Taormina experience is complete.
Things to know
- Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo is one of Italy’s grand dame hotels, exuding an old-fashioned atmosphere, albeit complemented by 21st-century amenities and Belmond’s top-notch service. Although that is precisely what most guests are coming for (in addition to the killer views), you need to stay somewhere else if the contemporary decor is an absolute must for you.
- The 70 rooms and suites are divided between the main hotel building and the nearby, less atmospheric Villa Flora (just a 50 m or 160 ft walk away). The latter houses the entry room category rooms, but IMHO, it’s worth splurging on one of the rooms in the main building, since the latter all have sea and volcano views, plus private terraces or balconies; in addition, you’ll be closer to the property’s main facilities and delightful gardens.
- The hotel’s two restaurants, including one Michelin star venue, are very popular and fully booked most evenings (which shouldn’t come as a surprise given the terrific cuisine and heart-stopping views). I recommend making a table reservation weeks in advance to avoid disappointment during your stay.
- Taormina is a popular destination for tourists. Despite the proliferation of tourist shops, the city’s picturesque alleys retain a real and authentic charm. During summer though, the small village with its 11,000 residents, is overrun with visitors from all over the world. I recommend visiting Taormina in either late spring or early autumn to avoid the worst of the crowds.
- Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo is a seasonal property and closes from November to March.
