Belmond Villa Sant'Andrea

Stunning location, amazing staff. Didn't give it 5 because the bathroom was small and no separate shower, just one over the bath.

Having stayed at several Belmond hotels, we can say that Sant'Andrea offers a beautiful setting and a stunning view for dining. The service is impeccable—the staff is attentive and very professional. The breakfast was okay (lack of fruits and diversity of cheese/meat selection) and the weather perfect. That said, the rooms feel like they need a renovation to look more modern, and the indoor restaurant area could be more refined. For an expensive hotel, these details matter. Nevertheless, it was a very pleasant stay overall.

We visited Sant’Andrea on a touring trip to Sicily following receipt of a gift voucher to cover one night’s stay. The gift voucher experience was complicated and misleading and felt that it might not be accepted to cover accommodation. Luckily we had taken a screen grab of the Belmond gift page which showed that accommodation was covered because the page was changed to remove this almost immediately after we checked to make sure it was OK. The staff here are, almost universally, wonderful. Welcoming, friendly and attentive and always eager to please. Our deluxe seafront room had a lovely balcony with views across the bay. The room wasn’t huge but had everything one might need. Unfortunately we had two slightly negative experiences in our short time here. Firstly there were two, very drunk, English women sprawling on couches at the terrace bar at late afternoon. They were talking very loudly, swearing, bursting into tears and repeating the same things over and over again. There was a young child nearby who should not really have to have seen this. Luckily she was Italian and would not, hopefully, have heard the swearing. A difficult situation for the staff of course, but it made the atmosphere on the terrace quite unpleasant. Our second poor experience was during dinner at the main restaurant. Whilst our waiter was friendly and welcoming, he was not at all attentive. Any time our glasses were empty we had to stand and walk to the ice bucket to retrieve a wine or water bottle and pour our own drinks. There was another couple near us who appeared to work for Belmond group and it seemed they were getting all the attention. The dining room was not busy and, at a hotel like this, we would have expected far better service. Having said this, we did enjoy our overall experience, just a few niggling things that should not really be present at a hotel of this style and class.

This hotel is by far the best experience we have ever had. The staff made you feel like you were part of the family! The hotel and grounds were impeccable and the location is absolutely stunning, Highly recommend this hotel and I will be back!

The Villa San Andrea is a beautiful hotel located on a private beach with a fantastic sea view. The staff is excellent, especially the concierge. The lavish buffet breakfast was spectacular, served in the restaurant with again a fabulous view. The room was lovely with comfortable bedding, great shower and amenities. The hotel is located a very short distance from the funicular which takes you to the town of Taormina (minimal fee). They offer a free shuttle to take you there as well. It takes quite a bit longer than the funicular (at least 15 minutes depending on traffic). The shuttle drops you off at their sister hotel, Grand Timeo, which is also fabulous. It’s a hard choice to make, beach hotel or in the town. I would say you can’t go wrong with either, it just depends on your interests. Wonderful experience, highly recommend!