Having stayed in many excellent hotels on the five continents, we give first place to Hotel Villa Ducale. Having stayed there for over two weeks, it is truly a special place. Beautiful views, food and wine but what makes this an exceptional hotel is the staff who are second to none ! Attention to detail and the fact that no request is too much bother are the hallmarks of the service. We look forward to our next visit .

We stayed at the Villa Ducale in two different rooms for a total of 5 days (four days in Room No. 10 and one day in No. 22), and if you plan to stay in Taormina this is the ideal choice to stay if you look for a small and elegant hotel. Originally an old aristocratic Sicilian villa the entire building has been renovated, and quite beautiful are the results. Nothing looks dated or worn-out, in fact I know some 5* hotels which can really learn a lesson or two here. The air conditioning is really good (which is important if you stay in Sicily during summer time) and quiet, and the bathrooms are wonderfully equipped and look marvellous. During our stay in Munich, Germany we stayed at the Kempinski 5* hotel, and to be honest their bathroom looked more like what you are expecting from a 4* hotel, whereas the one in the Villa Ducale will even please the most critical guest.
For the first four nights we were given room No. 10 (w/ sea view), and without knowing the other 'classic' type rooms I don't think there will be a better one, it's just fabulous as it has a very large terrace overlooking Mount Etna, PLUS a (small) balcony. The rooms next to us on the right just had the same type of balcony. This was especially rewarding at night, when you had a wonderful view of the lava flowing down Mt. Etna.On our last night we were given room No. 22 which was next to the terrace where breakfast was taken, and there it was a bit noisy at times as the kitchen was right next to our room. This was kind of a letdown compared to the quiet and more spacious No. 10.
The breakfast had a lot of variety to offer, something which I learned can't be taken for granted in Sicily. I advise to go for the very tasty and creamy Cappucino instead of the 'American Coffee' variant.
They have public free Internet access in a room next to the terrace where breakfast and lunch are served. Villa Ducale also offers a free bus shuttle to the centre of Taormina and a nearby beach. If you manage to survive the drive through the town centre and up to the hotel this is something you really do appreciate, because driving in Sicily can be quite..err...interesting at times.
They have a small but very delicate A la Carte menu from which you can choose up to 11pm (I can recommend "Gnocchi al pesto" which tastes excellent). But since Taormina has so much to offer most people try their luck in one of the numerous restaurants instead.
The staff was outstanding, very competent and fulfilled every little wish you might have. If one day we decide to spend our holiday in Sicily there can only be one...Villa Ducale.

Positively loved the place and I will recommend it to all my friends. The suite was exquisite, the view amazing, the food while limited was very good and above all the personnel was both friendly and efficient. the only drawback was that there is no pool but it was very much compensated by the jacuzzi and by the access to onaother pool and to the beach. 2 thumbs up would have said Siskel and Ebert.it deserves more then 3 1/2 stars for sure.

We stayed for 4 nights at the Villa Ducale in Taormina at the end of June 2008.
The hotel itself, the rooms, the food and location are truly exceptional but the hotel's real asset are the people working there! They are so friendly, thoughtful and helpful, they are all truly exceptional!!!

We would recommend this hotel warmly to everyone, it was an amazing and exceptional experience to stay there! We were also welcomed with some wine and freshly made orange juice on the first day and then enjoyed drinks and free snacks on the terrace later in the evening, overlooking the sea and the Etna. The hotel offers some meals which were also very delicious and the breakfast offered on the terrace every morning was as well very rich and more than delicious.

The only disadvantage was that this was our second hotel in Sicily and although the other hotels we booked on the following nights were as well pleasant, Villa Ducale was clearly our highlight and all the other hotels were poor compared to Villa Ducale!
We will definitely come back!!!