San Domenico Palace stands on the edge of Taormina, high above the Ionian Sea, with Mount Etna across the bay. Its oldest part was a Dominican convent, left to the friars by a local baron in the fifteenth century, and the cloister, the vaulted corridors and the old cells still set the rhythm of the place. In 1896 the family of the princes of Cerami opened it as a grand hotel and added a wing in the Liberty style. Writers and aristocrats came first, actors later. The building was hit by Allied bombs in 1943, rebuilt after the war, and in 2017 it hosted the G7 summit.
Four Seasons reopened it in 2021 after a full restoration, with 111 rooms and suites, some of them in the monks' former cells. The gardens fall away in flowering terraces towards an infinity pool that looks straight at Etna, and there is a spa with its own indoor pool. Principe Cerami, the gastronomic restaurant, carries the family name; Rosso is the simpler choice. Many guests now know the hotel from the second season of The White Lotus, which was shot here, and the bar has taken the show's name.
Corso Umberto, the town's main street, begins a short walk from the door.
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Sicily, Italy.
Taormina sits on a ledge of rock about 200 metres above the sea on the east coast of Sicily, between Messina and Catania. Its pedestrian main street, Corso Umberto, runs between two old town gates, past churches, small palazzi and squares that open onto the view. At the far end is the Greek theatre, built in the third century BC and rebuilt by the Romans, where the stage frames the coast and the volcano; summer concerts are still staged there.
Below the town, a cable car runs down to the beaches of Mazzarò and to Isola Bella, a small island joined to the shore by a strip of pebbles and now a nature reserve. Castelmola, a village higher up the mountain, is a short drive or a steep walk away. Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe, can be explored with a guide from the Rifugio Sapienza on its southern side. Catania Fontanarossa Airport is about an hour away by car.
What guests say.
From guest reviews, checked October 2026.Guests describe a former monastery where gardens, cloisters and art set the tone, with an infinity pool that looks over the sea to Mount Etna. Breakfast on the terrace, live music in the evenings and attentive pool service come up again and again, and many praise a concierge team that arranges cooking classes, wine tastings and Vespa rides. The location, a short walk from the old town, is another favourite. The honest drawback is popularity: since the hotel appeared in The White Lotus it draws crowds, security is tight and non-guests are often turned away from the bar.
Read on Google“The restaurants are fantastic, but the beautiful garden completely stole my heart. In the evenings, with wonderful live music, the atmosphere is simply magical.”
Read on Google“The concierge team helped plan the most magical week, full of cooking classes, Vespa rides, and wine tastings.”
Read on Google“Drinks were always full, sunscreen, hats, constant fresh towels, whatever you asked for appeared in a matter of minutes.”
Through other eyes.
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