Hotel Metropole Taormina

The Hotel Metropole Taormina occupies a building overlooking Corso Umberto, at number 154, in the heart of the old centre and a few steps from the Duomo: a position that lets you step out of the door and find yourself straight away in the pedestrian drawing room of the city, without ever taking the car.

The house is a maison d'hotes of small size, furnished with the restrained taste one expects from a contemporary Sicilian five-star. The rooms and suites look onto the sea or the roofs of the town, the panoramic restaurant and the bar open onto the bay, and the service is the tailored kind found in properties where the staff know guests by name. The concierge arranges excursions, private transfers from airports and stations, beach passes and a shuttle to reach the beaches below the crag.

The spa area and the swimming pool

The spa is a small private oasis reserved for guests of the house, open from 11:00 to 19:30. Anyone looking for dry heat should be warned: there is no sauna here. There is instead the hammam, the traditional Turkish bath with its steam, a whirlpool tub, an emotional shower that alternates jets, lights and scents, and a relaxation area where you can stop after the circuit. The massages and treatments are tailored and are agreed with the therapists.

The swimming pool is the real signature of the property: an outdoor infinity pool in blue mosaic, with a wooden deck and floating flowers, suspended above the Ionian Sea with Etna in the background. It is a panoramic pool for sunsets, not a pool for sports swimming.

The Metropole is the right choice for a couple who want Taormina on foot, quiet in the hotel and a hammam at their disposal; anyone who insists on a sauna, a gym or an indoor pool usable in winter should look elsewhere.