Belmond Villa Sant'Andrea Named Best Hotel in Italy by Condé Nast Traveller Readers

Belmond Villa Sant'Andrea took first place as Best Hotel in Italy in the US edition of Condé Nast Traveller's 2025 Readers' Choice Awards, and placed 48th among the Best Hotels in the World on the same list, genuinely rare company for a boutique beachfront property in Taormina Mare. The hotel followed that up with inclusion in La Liste's World's Best Hotels 2026, an authoritative Paris-based ranking that carries real weight across the international hospitality industry.

For 2026, Villa Sant'Andrea will host the second winner of Belmond's Photographic Residency prize, Indian photographer Tara L. C. Sood, who takes up residence at the hotel in spring 2026. The program gives the winning photographer time and space to work directly from one of Belmond's properties, and hosting it reflects how much the hotel has leaned into cultural programming alongside its more traditional beach-resort identity.

Set right on the water in Taormina Mare, separate from its sister property Grand Hotel Timeo up on the hillside, Villa Sant'Andrea has built its reputation on a more intimate, beach-club feel than some of Sicily's grander resort hotels. The back-to-back 2025 and 2026 recognition suggests that positioning continues to resonate with discerning travelers looking for something quieter than Taormina's more famous clifftop addresses.

Staying at Belmond Villa Sant'Andrea? Book your stay with me for preferred-partner perks.