Taormina's premier hotel - set opposite the suggestive Greek theatre - was built in 1873 by Francesco La Floresta. It is named after the son of Andromaca, who was the founder of Taormina. It wasn't long before the hotel was serving lunch to Oscar Wilde and preparing its suite for the arrival of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany. In short, the cultural elite of Europe - including Miss Florence Trevelyan, Anatole France, D.H. Lawrence, Guy de Maupassant, Sciascia, Luigi Pirandello, Guglielmo Marconi and Christian Dior to name but a few - rapidly found its way to the terrace with one of the most amazing views on the continent.
Surrounded by a 25.000 m2 park filled with cypress, olive, palm, magnolia, almond, mulberry, citrus and bougainvillea trees, this historic hotel is famous for its literary terrace, which has always been a preferred meeting place for illustrious guests: from here you can admire the snow-covered Mount Etna, the sea and the splendour of the Greek theatre. The reception rooms, with their large windows looking out onto the terrace, are the ideal place in which to do a little reading and they also provide an intimate, elegant and striking setting when in the evening the notes of the piano gently resound. The hotel is located in the centre of town, next to the Greek theatre. It is 500 m from the cable car to Taormina Mare, 15 minutes from the railway station, 20 minutes from the port of Giardini Naxos and 60 km from Catania Fontanarossa Airport. It can be easily reached via the A18 (Messina-Catania) motorway - the “Taormina” exit is just 5 km from the hotel.