The first hotel in Taormina, opened in 1873, the Timeo, alongside its restaurants and cocktail bars, enjoys a splendid panoramic location, close to the Greek Theatre, between Mount Etna and the blue sea.

The story of the Grand Hotel Timeo, A Belmond Hotel, begins in 1863 when Prussian Baron Otto Geleng, who traveled to Taormina to paint, rented a room in the house of Don Francesco La Floresta.

Geleng was captivated by the breathtaking views and depicted them in a series of watercolors that garnered widespread acclaim in Berlin and Paris, leaving his audiences curious about the captivating snow-capped volcano depicted next to the azure sea.

It is nothing more than a landscape, but a landscape where everything that seems made on earth to seduce the eyes, the mind and the imagination is found. (Guy de Maupassant su Taormina)

His admirers and other artists eagerly sought to see Taormina’s marvelous yet unusual landscape firsthand, so much so that Don Francesco transformed his home into a hotel, the city’s first, which he named Timeo after the Greek historian Timaeus, whose father Andromachus founded Taormina (then called Tauromenium) in 358 BC.

Thus, the Timeo became an essential stop on the Grand Tour, the rite of passage that brought wealthy young men and women to the continent to broaden their cultural knowledge, and later, the 6oies Dolce Vita.

In 2010, the hotel became part of the Belmond group collection, which celebrated its 150th anniversary in style in 2023.

Since its founding, what has never changed is the refined atmosphere of an international Grand Hotel and the splendid view, which today can be enjoyed, in particular, from the Michelin-starred Otto Geleng restaurant and the Bar Timeo, one of Taormina’s most glamorous meeting places. The culinary offerings are coordinated by Chef Roberto Toro, who fully embodies the Sicilian soul.

There are 40 rooms, including the Presidential Suite, which features two bedrooms with king-size beds and a large terrace with a jacuzzi offering panoramic views of Mount Etna.

The hotel also offers a shuttle service to the nearby private beach of Villa Sant’Andrea, another Belmond luxury structure on the enchanting Mazzarò Bay, and two Dior treehouses suspended among the trees in the garden, where guests can indulge in wellness rituals.

The beautiful gardens of Timeo were designed by the English naturalist Florence Trevelyan, who lived next door to the hotel with her Italian husband, who was also mayor of Taormina.

The Secret

Many artists have lived for long periods at the Grand Hotel Timeo, including Truman Capote, who stayed there while writing “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” one of the brands that is now part of the collection of the LVMH group, which also owns Belmond.

Useful Info

Grand Hotel Timeo, A Belmond Hotel
Via Teatro Greco 59
98039 Taormina, Messina
Tel. +39 0942 6270200
reservations.ght@belmond.com

Signature cocktails: from €26
Tasting menu: €200, wine pairing €200
Three-course menu and dessert: €165, wine pairing €135
Rooms: from €500 (seasonal rate subject to changes)