Villa Sant'Andrea, A Belmond Hotel, Taormina Mare

The accommodation impresses with softest beds, two bathrooms, exceptional service, stunning beach location, and brilliant amenities. Guests praise the delicious breakfast and attentive staff.

A great retreat for a beach vacation! Fantastic and beautiful location, excellent service all around, comfortable, and easy access to central Taormina via cable way and hotel shuttle. Excellent cocktails and food options onsite. The clearest water I’ve ever seen. Relaxing and tranquil pool with attendant and bartender.

I recently stayed at Villa Sant’Andrea for one night with my wife and one-year old before moving to the nearby Four Seasons San Domenico Palace for the rest of our stay in Taormina. We initially planned to only stay at the Four Seasons, but we had to be re-accommodated at Villa Sant’Andrea for one night due to a reservation issue at the Four Seasons. We were ultimately glad we had a chance to experience this property, as the beachfront location was beautiful, and it gave us our only beach day on this trip. Additionally, the kind, attentive staff were a standout of part of the experience, and made us all feel so genuinely welcome. However, a very dated guest room and frustrating service encounter related to check-in keep me from giving this hotel a perfect rating. That said, if the rooms are renovated, I’d absolutely return, since this hotel was a Sicilian beachfront paradise. Trip Planning/Pre-Arrival: Our reservation was made with a travel agent in Belmond’s Bellini Club, which enabled us to get free perks. For no extra cost, our reservation included a room upgrade based on availability (which we did not receive), a one-time $90 resort credit, breakfast each morning (which is already included for everyone at this hotel anyway), and priority late checkout. We had a little bit of additional contact with the concierge team before our stay, mostly to book an airport transfer, make a dinner reservation at the hotel, and to note special occasions we were celebrating (our anniversary and our daughter’s first birthday). We also noted that we were traveling with a baby and would appreciate any baby amenities they have. All of this communication received prompt responses, which were always helpful and professional. Arrival: Our flight arrived in Catania around 9:30 am, and we had a very easy time finding the hotel’s driver right outside of baggage claim, who was very friendly and engaging. He was so proud of Sicily and offered a lot of insight about the island on the ride of just under one hour from the airport to the hotel. Upon pulling up to the hotel, we were greeted right away and taken into the lobby to a seated area to enjoy some lemon granita while we checked in. I liked the thoughtful, locally-focused welcome treat. The lobby has clearly been renovated, and has a chic, beachy feel, while still feeling cozy. This whole property has an intimate feel, with only 70 rooms. It was originally built as a private family villa, so despite expansion over time, it retains the feeling of staying in a well-appointed summer home. The beautiful geraniums and petunias throughout the property contribute to the beauty. The staff at check-in were kind and helpful, giving us a tour of the property and taking us down to the beach so we could get changed in changing rooms there and start our beach day. Since it was 10:45 am when we checked in, our room was not yet ready, which was not surprising. However, they were aware of our arrival time in advance and we had