Just Back From: Four Seasons Sicily

For this Just Back From, I spoke with a recent guest of the Four Seasons Taormina (of HBO’s The White Lotus fame). She was traveling with her two young adult daughters who are currently studying abroad in Barcelona and Madrid. Initially, the group was supposed to visit Portugal, but they decided to switch last minute due to the weather. Making the change was easy—that’s the beauty of Europe!

While they had been to Italy several times previously, this was their first time in Sicily. This trip took place in mid-April, preceding the major tourist season in the area.

What was your first impression of the Four Seasons?

It was beautiful–the vibe was great, and the property was very pretty. The service was unbelievable. Within a minute, the staff knew our names.  

What kind of room were you in?

The hotel has roughly fourteen room categories, and booking is tricky: it is difficult to tell which junior suite will come with what features, as there doesn’t seem to be much consistency. The hotel is an old convent, so its layout is quirky. 

We booked a junior suite initially but were upgraded to a junior suite with a view. All the rooms were on the small side, and that junior suite had very high ceilings, a plunge pool, and a terrace. It had a tiny bathroom, though, and no additional space that you would want for three people. Because of this, I toured several other rooms, searching for something more spacious with a view of the water. We ended up paying more to move to an executive suite. This room had a bathtub, extra space, and a huge double-decker terrace on a corner, so it overlooked both the town and the water. 

Tip – Every room has different nooks and crannies. I advise potential guests to ask questions about the room they are booking and its size.

What was the decor like in the rooms?

I would say neutral with pops of color. They were new but not ultramodern. You walk in, and everything is nice, clean, and new–but you wouldn’t say it is the nicest room you’ve ever seen. 

What about the common spaces?

The common spaces are gorgeous. The pool is beautiful, and you walk through a pretty garden to reach it.  There is the famous bar area where parts of The White Lotus were filmed, and there is a very cool room off the bar that serves drinks and coffee. There were so many gorgeous places to sit with a book and drink and take it all in. 

How was the location? 

Great. It was the perfect blend of being close to town while also having some privacy. We were a five-minute walk from the main shopping street. Some people say that The Belmond, the other nice hotel in that area, is more central. I thought the location of the Four Seasons was great, though. 

Did you eat at the hotel’s restaurants? 

On our first night, we ate at the more casual restaurant in the hotel, as we didn’t feel like going anywhere. It was a little makeshift, as the real restaurant down by the pool was closed this early in the season. It was essentially the breakfast space turned into a casual restaurant. The food was good, but service was a bit slow. 

On our last night, we went to Principe Cerami, their Michelin 2024 restaurant. The food was great, the service was amazing. It was a great experience. Definitely book a reservation in advance, as it is not a very big restaurant. Something I appreciated was that the menu wasn’t so ‘out there’ that you couldn’t find anything to eat. It was a lot of good fish and good pasta. One of my daughters got lamb chops.  

What restaurants did you go to off-property?

One night, we ate at La Napoletana, which served the most unbelievable pizza and salads. We almost went back another night, as it was just that good. When we walked around the town, we found all these hole-in-the-wall restaurants, like that one, with such a great ambiance. Guests were dining outside with so many other people. I would recommend eating at one of these places rather than something more fancy in town. Have your sophisticated dining experience at the Four Seasons, where the food will be better anyway. That way, you get two different experiences.

Tip — the best gelato we ate was at Gelatomania. Try the mint chocolate chip!

What kind of activities did you do?

The main highlight is hiking Mt Etna. You can choose your own level of difficulty: easy, medium, hard. If you are an avid hiker, you can hike to the top in eight hours, depending on the time of year. Sometimes there is snow, which you have to consider. We were probably in the middle of the road, difficulty-wise. Our hike was three hours, and our guide was great. We left the hotel at nine, drove an hour there, saw the lava, and did the hike. Afterward, we went to a Tenuta di Fessina, a vineyard, for wine tasting and lunch, which the concierge organized. The vineyard was adorable, and it felt like being in someone’s home. The food was delicious. We really liked the wine, as there are some interesting characteristics of the wine grown at Etna. We got back to the hotel at four. The other option was an olive oil tasting, but the girls wanted to do the wine tasting. The olive oil at Tenuta di Fessina was great anyway. 
On another day, we explored the town. It has a lot of Greek influence, and we saw the Teatro Antico di Taormina, an outdoor theater with amazing views. We took a tour, walked around, and then took the funicular to the beach. 

How was the beach? 

In The White Lotus, it seems like they are on a beautiful sand beach. The beach the funicular brings you to, however, is incredibly rocky. There were a million people there, and it wasn’t pretty. I’m not sure where the nice beaches are in the area.

How would you advise a guest to organize activities over the course of their stay?

I would say you could set aside a day for Etna, a day for exploring the town, and a day for relaxing at the hotel and enjoying the pool–it is just that beautiful. If the weather is warm, you could also do a boat day and go swimming.  To me, you only need three days, and you could pair your stay with a few nights in Palermo and the areas where the nicer beaches are. 

Was there a spa at the Four Seasons? What about a gym? 

They don’t really have a spa, but they have treatments. My daughter had a treatment, and she said it was just average. The gym was really nice and spacious. It didn’t have a view, but it was nice. 

What stood out to you about your stay? 

We’ve visited Italy a few times, and Sicily feels different, which is why we wanted to go there. You really see the Greek influence. Regarding the hotel, the service was what really stuck out to me. The hotel and its vibe are just so great.