A stay at Belmond Villa Sant’Andrea, Sicily

Staying at a hotel with a stunning sea-view balcony has long been on a lot of my Pinterest boards so I was *veeeeery* happy when I stayed at Belmond Villa Sant’Andrea this summer for part of my honeymoon. It’s not every night we get to stay at a five star hotel so we’d decided quite early on that we were going to book this to celebrate the special occasion and it truly delivered. If you’re looking for accommodation in Taormina, I’d highly recommend adding this to your list.

Belmond Villa Sant’Andrea is a luxury hotel on the coast of Taormina, Sicily. It’s situated directly on the beach in Mazzarò Bay, offering stunning views of the Mediterranean Sea and provides an intimate, seaside retreat with private beach access. Its sister hotel, Belmond Grand Timeo (also in Taormina) is perched on a hill in the heart of Taormina and next to the famous Greek theatre. You get beautiful views of the sea and Mount Etna.

How do you get there?

We travelled from London so we took a flight from London to Catania (approx. 3 hours). From here, you can catch a bus to Taormina - the services are quite frequent but you should check the bus timetable to be sure. We booked our bus via Etnatransporti and it cost less than 10 EUR per person.

From Taormina bus terminal, you can take a local taxi or you can first walk to Belmond Grand Timeo for the hotel’s shuttle service to Villa Sant'Andrea - it’s about 10-15 minutes away.

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A little bit more about Belmond Villa Sant’Andrea…

• The Belmond hotels are luxury 5-star hotels so I’d recommend booking it for a *treat* stay. With the 5-star rating comes access to amazing hotel facilities, incredibly attentive service, a complimentary group boat trip, a very comfortable bed and so much more.

• Some of the rooms have beautiful balconies and views of the sea - we stayed in a Superior Sea View room which was perfect for room-service breakfast in the morning light.

• There is a free hotel shuttle service between the two hotels which means you don’t need to climb lots of steps or pay for taxis whenever you want to travel between the two locations.

• There is a pool that looks over the sea or you can swim in the sea from the hotel’s private beach. There are also different restaurants where you can experience seasonal dishes.

• There are lots of other facilities such as the beautiful gardens with sea views that you can relax in or the newly opened Lido Villeggiatura Beach Club.

Things to do in Taormina, Sicily

There is so much to do in Taormina so here are a few things to add to your Taormina itinerary:

• Visit the Ancient theatre of Taormina - a hilltop theatre with stunning views out to the sea (this is also adjacent to Belmond Grand Timeo so the hotel’s shuttle service drops you right outside it)

• Have delicious granita at Bam Bar

• Book a guided tour to Mount Etna (we sadly didn’t have time to do this but it looked incredible!) - there are options to book half day tours from Taormina to Mount Etna or full day so you can choose depending on how much time you have

• Wander around the streets aimlessly and visit the beautiful gardens called Villa Communale di Taormina

• Dinner or drinks at Al Saraceno - a beautiful restaurant that overlooks the sea and Mount Etna

• Pasta at Osteria da Rita (I’d recommend arriving for when it opens otherwise you could be queuing for longer than an hour like we did!)

• Admire the views from Chiesa Madonna della Rocca

• Enjoy cocktails at Timoleone - a cocktail bar and vegetarian restaurant

• Have pizzas at Villa Zuccaro Pizzeria

Are you planning a trip to Taormina, Sicily? If you’re looking for accommodation in Taormina, add Belmond Villa Sant’Andrea to your list! Book your stay here.

Thanks for reading,

T.

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