Hotel Villa Ducale

We enjoyed the room and the daily cleaning with nightly turndown service. Views from the dining area were also exceptional including a view of Mt. Edna. However, we were not impressed with other parts of our stay. Breakfast was basically the same everyday and service was generally lacking during our meal. Dirty plates were rarely removed from our table and seldom were we asked if we needed anything or if we enjoyed our meal. Noise from two sources were a daily issue. When we weren’t hearing dogs barking, we were often hearing the staff loudly talking as they cleaned the premise. While we enjoyed our stay, the overall experience was not exceptional. We loved our room but otherwise weren’t impressed with the rest of the experience. There was noting extraordinary about the experience to cause us to return or recommend it to others. Lots of money - light on service.

We spent our honeymoon week here and the hotel, food and service was just impeccable, with a special mention to Max Sallo our waiter. We loved the parmigiana and canollis at breakfast. A great base to explore Taormina and the wider region. Can’t wait for our next visit.

Great hotel with stunning views of the coast and mount Etna. The staff we met were all very friendly and helpful. The food in the restaurant was delicious and very nicely presented and the views and atmosphere made every meal special. This was a trip to celebrate our wedding anniversary and we had a lovely time. The shuttle service to and from the main town was excellent.

My husband and I love the Hotel Ducale! Our room was A-mazing; the view: one of the best we've ever had. What really made our stay was the incredible staff: Giulana, Santina, Giulano, Massimo, Daniel, and Francesco! They always greeted us with a smile and were always happy to assist with directions, restaurant reservations, etc. The restaurant served a terrific breakfast with an awesome view. Both of the dinners we had at Ristorante @ Villa Ducale were delicious! If ever we're back toTaormina, we'd definitely stay there again.

I Love Sicily, I Love Taormina! I visited friends that were staying at other "Luxury" hotels by the Beaches of Taormina, but I was unsure when we booked Hotel Villa Ducale because of it's location, but THANK GOD we stayed at Hotel Villa Ducale. Like heaven in the clouds, high up on a mountain top, the view is a million dollar view of ALL Taormina. It's like a million miles away from all that is not as attractive of Taormina, crowds, tourists, hawkers and gawkers. The BEST value in Taormina, the BEST service, The BEST Location, nice people, so helpful. Your BEST bet in Taormina! We made Taormina are last stop in Sicily before we came back to Chicago. Palermo, Agrigento, Taormina and then Palermo then home. The Hotel Villa Ducale is heavenly, the view is like looking down from heaven, away from the riff raff. My wife and I were traveling with my 28 year old son, who accompanied us through Sicily, meeting him in Palermo that he rented for 3 weeks, from a friend and we toured 12 days through Sicily then back to the Palermo Condo and back to the States. The check in was quick and efficient, and very nice people around the clock, becomes especially important when having some business back in the States that won't take a vacation. The room was a spacious, with a separate room with a king size bed, and a living room with a pull out bed my son slept on. Great room, KILLER View toward the Italian Coast from the bedroom, with a small balcony to sit and smoke a cigar. Lovely, view, lovely room set up, Bathroom, tv, etc., everything you could expect from a fine establishment. Very nice cleaning people very helpful, there for 3 days. The restaurant is signature, not only for the Food, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, but the view is Scenic, picturesque, If you don't stay there, make a dinner reservation near sunset, and it will be the most Romantic dinner you will have in Sicily. The Volcano was erupting the night we had a romantic sunset dinner there. We did a walking tour up to the Volcano the next day with stops at Vineyards down the mountain, great time. They have a lovely pool, just the right size and perfect in the August heat, to relax after a trip to the Volcano, trip to the beach, trip to fighting the crowds on the Streets of Taormina. Lovely, relaxing. I must say it was hot, but thank god for the beaches, and easy access from the hotel, you pick the beach you want to go to and BOOM they set it up and you have pick up and delivery, and it's all white glove all the way back and forth. Very organized, very organized at the beach itself, when you arrive. Suggest do two different beaches if you get the chance, each in a little different location, lovely either way. As I mentioned easy pick up and delivery on any tours you book, Volcano, Churches, beaches, and wine tours. It's not easy traveling, I had a serious business closing sale for a client and it was going on day #2 into staying in Hotel Villa Ducale, of course everything is with time change of Plus 7 hours makes things difficult, I had my computer, etc., but there were certain things I needed printed out and even in this world of electronic signatures, some things with title transfers and documents, needed to be printed out and signed by me and sent back. It's 8:00 PM there and the people at the desk, I wish I could remember her name, could not have been more helpful. The back and forth, sending her an email to print out for me about 10 pages, then picking it up, reviewing it and signing it and having her send it back via fax, must of been an hour and a half, she was very helpful. I can't tell you how much it meant to me that even with a language challenge, everything went great. The next day, I met the owner when we were coming in for lunch, and I was telling the manager how thoughtful and dutiful the women was the night before, and he introduced me to the owner, a very nice guy, and he told me it was were he was born and raised, what a lucky guy. Great people working for him, that really appreciated helping visitors, and making sure they were provided with first rate service, it starts from the top, good management, good employees, good service, right down to the cleaning people. The food in the restaurant was of course 5 Star Quality for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but more so the wait staff, some of the people worked all shifts and even though I don't speak Italian, the warmth of the greetings we got, even my son mentioned when he ate without my wife and I was sincere and honest. It was a whirlwind tour of Sicily, I am sorry now that I writing this review in October, but from the moment I stepped off the plane, my life has been an express train with no stops. I can't tell you how much fun we had, my Father served under General George S. Patton, and unfortunately experienced Sicily with people shooting at him, I mentioned it to our guide of the Volcano trip and we stopped at the last remaining concrete machine gun bunkers and entry gates from the Volcano into the Taormina area, left from the War. My wife, a little short on history, thought the Italians were on are side, and I told her eventually they were. It says something that I carried the Hotel Villa Ducale business card in my wallet all this time, because at some point wanted to make a review, and I glad I had the time to do it. Travel is fun, it's not cheap, and when I do spend money, I want to have the experiences that money can't buy, friends, family, but I do not want to have a bad memorable trip because I tried to cut corners on habitation. It's hard from America and looking at all the options that are thrown at you, via travel agent, travel web sites, take my advice in Taormina, Sicily, make Hotel Villa Ducale the start of some of the most memorable experiences with friends and family that you will ever have, and you will never remember the cost, but the warm welcoming you get when you return to relax, and look down from a heavenly perch. Robert