Five-star Two MICHELIN Keys Taormina, Taormina
Grand Hotel Timeo, A Belmond Hotel
Taormina's first hotel, opened in 1873 against the walls of the Greek theatre, with terraced gardens and Etna in view across the bay.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- MICHELIN
- Two Keys, 2026
- Opened
- 1873, the first hotel in Taormina
- Forbes Travel Guide
- Four stars, 2026
- From the airport
- About an hour from Catania
The hotel
Next door to the Greek theatre.
The La Floresta family opened the Timeo in 1873, the first hotel in Taormina, built for travellers on the Grand Tour. It stands against the Greek theatre, and the guest list soon took in Oscar Wilde, Guy de Maupassant, Kaiser Wilhelm II and D.H. Lawrence. In 1929 Francesco La Floresta married Clementina Famà, whose family owned the villa next door, and the two houses joined.
A full renovation in 1998 restored the public rooms and added the pool and a gym. Belmond now runs it. Villa Timeo, redesigned by the Paris decorator Laura Gonzalez, reopened in May 2026 with 21 rooms and suites, its own infinity pool and a bar named after Clementina. The restaurant takes its name from Otto Geleng, a painter of the Grand Tour years.
- Otto Geleng Mediterranean and Sicilian cooking, with one MICHELIN star in the 2026 Italian guide.
- Bar Timeo The terrace bar where D.H. Lawrence, Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote took their drinks.
- Pool and Dior Spa A heated pool in tiered gardens of about six acres, and a permanent Dior Spa.
Rooms & suites
A balcony or a terrace in every room.
Rooms in the main building look over the town, the gardens or the sea; the Villa Timeo rooms sit next door with their own pool.
- Rooms Deluxe Sea View Room 25 to 35 square metres, with a furnished balcony or terrace facing the sea.
- Suite Greek Theatre Suite 60 square metres, looking over the Bay of Taormina and the Greek theatre.
- Signature Trevelyan Suite 71 square metres, with a private garden, a plunge pool and a terrace of 105 square metres.
- Largest La Floresta Suite 95 square metres and a terrace of 300 square metres with an outdoor spa bath, facing Castelmola, Etna and the theatre.
Dining
Dinner with Etna in view.
Venues as listed by the hotel; the star is from the MICHELIN Guide Italia 2026. Shown for information.
- Otto Geleng One Michelin star Mediterranean, Sicilian Named after the Grand Tour painter
- Bar Timeo Aperitivo The terrace bar of the hotel
- Bar Clementina Bar In Villa Timeo
Recognition
Ratings.
- Two MICHELIN Keys 2026
- Forbes Travel Guide Four stars, 2026
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in from 3 pm, check-out by noon.
- Children All ages welcome. Under-fours stay free in a cot, on request.
- Pets Accepted on request, with a supplement.
- Beach A shuttle runs down to the beach of Villa Sant'Andrea, the sister hotel in Mazzarò bay.
Getting there
Flying to Taormina.
Catania Fontanarossa is the airport for scheduled flights and private jets, about 65 kilometres south. The drive up the coast takes fifty minutes to an hour, and the hotel keeps parking in the lower part of its gardens, to be booked ahead.
- Rome 1 h 00
- Milan 1 h 40
- Geneva 1 h 55
- Paris 2 h 30
- London 2 h 55
Questions
What guests ask first.
- How many MICHELIN Keys does Grand Hotel Timeo have?
- Two, in the 2026 selection for Italy.
- Is the Timeo next to the Greek theatre?
- Yes. The hotel stands on Via Teatro Greco, against the walls of the ancient theatre.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Taormina?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Taormina, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Taormina
Other hotels worth the trip.
- San Domenico Palace, A Four Seasons Hotel A fourteenth-century Dominican convent, where some rooms are the monks' former cells and the gardens hold an infinity pool.
- Villa Sant'Andrea, A Belmond Hotel An English family's seaside villa of 1919, down on the water, with its own beach club.
- The Ashbee Hotel Twenty-four rooms in a villa drawn in 1907 by the Arts and Crafts architect C.R. Ashbee, a few steps from the theatre.
Staying at Grand Hotel Timeo, A Belmond Hotel?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Taormina, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.