Villa Carlotta

Villa Carlotta

Villa Carlotta occupies five floors on Via Pirandello, a kilometre's walk from central Taormina and close enough to Spisone Beach, the Cathedral of Calabria and Aragonese Castle to reach on foot. Twenty-three rooms make it one of the smaller addresses in the Small Luxury Hotels of the World collection, and that scale shows in details larger hotels skip: the Garden Suite, reached by forty steps, has a private terrace over the garden and a Carrara marble bathroom with a rock-carved mosaic tub and a starry-sky ceiling. The Tower Suite runs across two levels, its arabesque windows framing open sea, and works for families with children ten and older; the Mini Suite Deluxe suits a quieter pair, with a private sea-view terrace, sun loungers and a shaded parasol. Breakfast and dinner both happen at Euphoria, the rooftop restaurant and bar, with a second bar by the seasonal outdoor pool and alfresco tables in the garden. A gym, a diving club, a library and a solarium fill the hours between meals, and a doctor is on call. Staff cover seven languages, from Japanese to Russian, and will arrange an airport transfer for 120 euros one way or point you toward the on-site parking if you arrive by car. Pets are welcome throughout. An extra bed runs 70 euros a night, and a cleaning tax is payable separately at the hotel; a gala dinner fee may also apply, so it pays to ask ahead. The result reads like a private house with a Design hotel label and an SLH membership rather than a resort, better suited to travellers who already know Taormina's beaches than to those wanting non-stop company. Villa Carlotta packs twenty-three rooms into a five-floor house a kilometre from central Taormina, with a Carrara marble bathroom under a starry-sky ceiling and a Tower Suite framing the sea in arabesque windows. It suits travellers who already know the town and want a private terrace, not first-timers.