Grand Timeo Hotel

The Grand Hotel Timeo is a very elegantly appointed hotel in extensive grounds at one end of the beautiful town of Taormina. The front entrance is directly at the end of a bustling street navigable, very carefully, by taxi (there is another approach, car park and entrance at the rear of the hotel grounds which avoids driving on any of the mostly pedestrianised narrow town centre streets). We arrived at this front entrance and were ushered into the cool reception area. This and the public rooms are furnished with antique furniture. The public rooms are quiet and peaceful places to read a newspaper or plan a trip.
Staff were courteous and our room was nicely appointed in traditional style. The only disappointment was that the balcony of the “room with balcony” was very tiny, little more than a guard rail to the French windows. The views of Mount Etna and the sea were sufficient compensation. All the appointments you would expect of a hotel of this standard were present in the room and bathroom. Of particular note were the frequently changed fresh flowers in the bathroom.
The hotel has a very good (upmarket) restaurant and we dined very well and in some style on the terrace overlooking the grounds and the Sicilian coast. The gardens are extensive and accommodate a good swimming pool, pool bar and nearby an excellent little outside eating area perfect for lazy lunches.
Breakfast, buffet with eggs cooked to order, was to a high standard and served on the same terrace used for the evening restaurant. The hotel is next to the Greco-Romano amphitheatre, perhaps the main tourist site in Taormina. The hotel provided us with complimentary tickets to a concert one night and a magical evening followed. The lofty night view of the twinkling lights on the coast, stretching away far below provided a perfect backdrop to the performance. The evening ended with the most impressive (and noisy) firework display we had ever seen.
Late one evening when we had returned from eating out in town there was a knock at our door. It was room service. After some confusion because we had not ordered anything, a sumptuous chocolate cake and bottle of sparkling wine were wheeled. The hotel had figured out that it was my birthday – presumably from my passport at check-in. We found this a charming, generous and slightly overwhelming gesture which simply crowned what we regarded as an altogether fine week in a superb hotel.