10/10 Excellent
Lisa, North York
Travelled with family
15 July 2023
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
This hotel offers all the benefits of a private villa yet the perks of a five-star hotel. It will soon have a Relais et Chateau boutique rating we are sure! Its location near Taormina yet higher up in the mountains means that you are very near many of the must sees of Sicily and learn a lot about the unique geology and history of the area. We enjoyed tours of Mount Etna, and the Etna Donatella winery, hiked down to the Alcantara Gorge & enjoyed dining in many of the nearby towns. We stayed for a week at the hotel with our extended family & didn't know what to expect. Everything surpassed our expectations. We enjoyed relaxing by the private pool, walking through its immaculate gardens, dining in the restaurant, andsitting on its many terraces with its mountain top vistas. Each day we hiked behind the hotel on a volcanic rock trail that is fragrant with emerging Etna brooms (small shrubs & trees) that smell like jasmine. The hotel food is outstanding & their cooking class - where we learned to make pasta, Sicilian arancini balls & ricotta fruit tarts was truly fantastic & unforgettable. The hotel is a special place with its wonderful food, some of which they even bottle & sell. We brought home Santoro pistachio pesto and crema, made at a nearby factory on the property & were sad to leave behind their chocolate hazelnut cream & many olive & tomato sauces only because we couldn't lift our suitcases! We would like to go back! The hotel has a personal touch that cannot be matched.
Lisa
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2023