Orient-Express Hotels is to aquire the Grand Hotel Timeo and the Villa Sant’Andrea in Sicily, Italy.Upon acquisition, Orient-Express Hotels will close both hotels, as it does its existing Italian properties over winter, and upgrade key facilities, such as bathrooms and the spa. The hotels will reopen to Orient-Express standard for the 2010 summer season.
Built in 1873, the Grand Hotel Timeo occupies a position in the historical centre of the city. From the hotel’s terrace, guests have views of Mount Etna and the bay of Naxos.
Since the 19th century and the era of the Grand Tour, the hotel has been popular with an elite group of international travellers, who enjoy the hotel’s unique location, swimming pool, wellness centre and the parkland which surrounds it.
Each guest room has its own terrace and the hotel’s ‘Il Dito e la Luna’ restaurant specialises in regional Sicilian cuisine.
Villa Sant’Andrea is located on the Bay of Mazzarò in Taormina’s seaside district. The atmosphere is that of a private villa, furnished with paintings and antiques and set in gardens close to a private beach. Several of the hotel’s suites open onto a private terrace.
The ‘Oliviero’ restaurant, on a panoramic terrace overlooking the Calabrian coast, is known for its fish and seafood specialities.
The Grand Hotel Timeo is adjacent to one of the city’s attractions, the Greek Theatre, dating back to the 2nd century AD. Below, looking out across the waters of the Ionian sea, Villa Sant’Andrea, built in 1830, is on the beach. The two properties are located approximately five kilometers apart and are linked by a private shuttle.
Orient-Express Hotels, president and CEO, Paul White said: “Iconic properties such as the Grand Hotel Timeo rarely become available. Both of these hotels typify Orient-Express Hotels’ core business – established properties with history and personality.”
The successful completion of this transaction at the end of January 2010 would bring the number of Orient-Express properties in Italy to eight. These include Hotel Cipriani and Palazzo Vendramin in Venice, Villa San Michele in Florence, Hotel Splendido and Splendido Mare in Portofino and Hotel Caruso in Ravello.
