Belmond Grand Timeo and Villa Sant’Andrea, Sicily

What is it? “It” is more accurately “they”: two ultra-luxurious five-star sister hotels in Taormina, in east Sicily, the island at the toe of Italy’s boot. The properties are 5km apart, a journey that can be taken by cable car or, if you’re a guest, complimentary shuttle. One hotel has a huge Greek/Roman amphitheatre (below) in its back garden, the other the most glamorous beach on the Med.

Tell us about the Grand Timeo’s quirkiest characters As well as an in-house “maestro” of the pig-bristle and cutthroat razor, the neoclassical 1873 property boasts the best resident pianist on the island. Franco plays everything from The Godfather theme (naturally) to Liszt, Dave Brubeck, The Beatles and John Denver. His signature tune is Annie’s Song, with a Sicilian twist, and the setting of his stage – it’s in the Literary Terrace and Bar, overlooking the bays of Naxos and Mazzaro with Calabria beyond and Mount Etna to the side – inspires an endless chorus of “Molto belle” and “Bellissimo”.

What’s nearby? The old town. To see it you catch a bee, or an ape; capish? The Ape (“ap-pay”, Italian for “bee”) was launched by scooter company Piaggio in 1948. Feeling like a celebrity – or a bit of a twit – you can buzz around the hilltop (top) in one of the hotel’s iconic soft-topped, three-wheel 1960 Ape Calessinos, touring places such as the teatro antico, which still stages concerts. Here, there are caves in which lions were once caged before they went out a-mauling. Other attractions include a Saracen castle, Castelmola, where an almond wine in the Churchill-themed Caffe Bar San Giorgio (with paintings of Winston everywhere) is compulsory. Thirst piqued, you could do worse than head down Corso Umberto – Taormina’s main drag – for a quick one in the Wunderbar, where Tennessee Williams often drank too much while writing A Streetcar Named Desire. He described the town as “stupendously and overwhelmingly beautiful”.