Villa Ducale Hotel

Taormina is such a charming place that any nice hotel would do fine, however the Villa Ducale was fabulous. The staff ARE amazing, the food is very good and the view magnificent! Mount Enta is great! The stairs could become a problem if you have smaller children and must go back and forth to the town center unless you are leaving in the morning when there is a bus. Taxi's are expensive for the short trip (12 euro) but necessary when your legs won't work anymore. If you are simply there for the view and the beach it would be fine, excursions and rental cars are easily arranged too. We just liked other hotels for their central location - better for convenience and they were facing Isola Bella near the cable cars. Still, this is quite a find!

We stayed in Villa Ducale in late Sept 2004. It has the most breath taking views of Taormina, the coast line and Mt Etna, as it is perched high above Toarmina. This means you need to have good legs to walk up and down to the township on many flights of stairs. Relying on public transport, unless you use a taxi, makes it somewhat inflexible. Make sure you ask for a view over Taormina as they have other accomodation across the road which looks towards the Italian mainland. Whist very good as well, the main game is overlooking the front. The breakfasts are to die for, both in food and views, and you will from overeating if you have an extended stay. The staff are very helpful and the quality of the rooms is outstanding. Villa Ducale is a very expensive place (we paid 375 Euros for a suite pn) but for that special occassion or just to spoil yourself you will be left with fond memories. The only criticism is that at the price it should have a pool. The weather is usually hot and whilst arrangements are in place for transport to the local beach, the beach does not rate a second mention (at least in comparison to Australian beaches and watch out for stinging jelly fish) and it can be costly to hire lounges/umbrellas. Whilst l would stay again at Villa Ducale for that special experience, l would also first look at comparable alternatives with a pool.

In a word....Breath-taking The ambiance, the service, the food, everything. If you are looking for the perfect spot, away from all of the crowds with spectacular views of the sea and Mount Etna, Hotel Villa Ducale is for you. The service is excellent and family-like, you will not be disappointed. Highly recommended!

After an arduous summer working long hours a few days at Villa Ducale were just the tonic we needed. The staff were very friendly and put on a great lunch upon our arrival to really settle us into the holiday mode...and the views, the views from the hotel are just stunning looking towards Mt Etna. Some Sicilian friends warned us that the hotel was high above the town, but if anything we saw this as a benefit. It was only 10 minutes down the steps to the main streets and was a very peaceful setting. We would definately go back again.

This Villa is the most charming and in all of Taormina. Our clean, A/C room was below the reception area, yet you would never hear noise. Our view was spectacular with Mt. Etna to the right, and the Naxos harbor/beaches to the left, with beautiful Sicilia panoramic views of little towns and hills in between. The owner and staff is 5-Star: friendly, professional, attentive, knowledgable on all aspects of food, wine, suggested itineraries, and hospitality. The breakfast, truly Sicialiani and memorable. A must stay in Taormina.

Villa Ducale was the most perfect spot for our honeymoon. The hotel is so romantic, the staff was so friendly, the breakfast was superb, and the views were unbelievable. I will definitely recommend this hotel to all my friends and family. My husband and I can't wait to go back!

Stayed here for 2 days in July 2004. Our room was in the new addition across the street from the main resort, so our view was of Castelmola and along the coast to the northeast. Beautiful, but not quite as stunning as Etna and Gardini Naxos (which you see from the breakfast area). We had 3 in our party, and our room had a loft reached by a spiral staircase! The furniture, amenities and room finishings (bathroom tiling, etc) are top notch and very classy. When you walk into town, take the stairs/path from Santuario Madonna dell Rocca instead of the ones located right next to the resort; the ones from the church are much more scenic and impressive (take a taxi or the bus back; it's quite a huike back up). Corso Umbetrto and the various sidestreets are amazing; one of the best shopping areas in Italy IMHO. Make sure you check out Piazza IX Aprile; ridiculously beautiful. Found a very good wine in the room minibar: Donnafugata Anthilia.

Just returned from a 4 day stay at the Villa Ducale and can't say enough about it. I think this is the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in, in Italy. Everyone was so warm and helpful. Loved the fresh flowers in the suite everyday, and the bowl of lemons, picked from their own trees. Breakfast was delicious, served on a gorgeous terrace, overlooking Mt. Etna and the Bay of Naxos. Just Paradise. Hope to get back there again soon.

We absolutely loved Villa Ducale and its entire staff!! We felt completely at home and with family, amongst the stunning views, warm and radiant ambiance, and caring staff. The breakfasts were all homemade and offered delicious and different treats every day. Staying at this charming and beautiful hotel certainly helped us fall in love with Taormina. We look very forward to returning soon. Fondly, dalia & leor zahavi

This is our second trip to the Villa Ducale. We love the hotel, it's staff and the location (the view makes it worth the cost of the taxi ride). I believe you can tell how a staff is treated by the way they treat the clients. This is a family run hotel and everyone is so friendly (even the maids) that I believe Andrea (the owner) must treat his staff very kindly. Sebastian has gone out of his way to make sure that we have a pleasant stay. Last year we stayed in the main hotel area with the view of Taormina, this year we stayed across the road in the building of the suites with the view toward Messina. We were in suite 5, which has the balcony and the view of Messina. This room would be perfect for a family as it is a very large room, a canopied king bed in an alcove room and a large jacuzzi bath. My disappointment with this room was that the windows were so high that in order to see the great view, you had to stand up next to the windows or be on the deck. We also saw suite 3 and suite 6, which I actually preferred. Suite 3 is smaller (probably not big enough for a family) but suite 6 is large enough and it has a sitting area that has large windows, so you can sit there and see the view (which is nice especially if the weather is too cold to be on the deck). Suite 5 is the only one with a jacuzzi tub, but I would trade that for the view out of suite 6 and suite 3. If it is just a couple, I would stay back in the main hotel area, only because I prefer the view of Taormina, especially at night. The breakfasts are great, because they are so different. Not just the usual, but really different and tasty things, like fresh sliced tomates with bits of onion and olive oil, and wonderful hot pastry dishes. As one of the other reviewers said, one does not need to go back down to Taormina for dinner. We ate at al Saraceno (within close walking distance) twice (it was unbelievably good) and at Al Castello once (it was also very good, but not quite as good as al Saraceno. If you have a car, I would drive up to Castelmola and try dinner. We ate lunch twice at Il Baccanale in downtown Taormina both last year and this year. It is more off the main road, so therefore not near as touristy. The food there was so good. I miss it just thinking of it. Sebastian can arrange a day trip to Mt. Etna, which was so worth it. Taormina is a wonderful place. Two days is not enough and a week is not too much.