A letter from Jim Kerr
I was led to Taormina in much the same way that many others are persuaded to consider going on a blind date. I had been told that it was the most romantic place, that it was magical, that it belonged to another world altogether. Above all I was told that it was absolutely for me and that I would fall in love at first sight.
Gladly it struck me as being all of this and more, resultantly indeed I was smitten from the off.
That was back in July 1982, of course, but the overwhelming view that met me as I stared out for the first time from Madonna Della Rocca – where Hotel Villa Angela is now situated – still manages to leave me grasping for words albeit four decades later.
If you had told me then that I would one day have the fortune to call this place my home from home, I would have said that either you were mad or that I was dreaming. Well, the chances are that indeed I was dreaming and that I am still. But I predict that you also will find yourself believing that you are in a whole other reality that is unique to Sicily and “The Pearl Of the Ionian”, otherwise known as Taormina, should you choose, as I and many distinguished travellers before me did, to make your way to where we are in this paradise that sits above the most southern part of Italy.
That Hotel Villa Angela has been great to me and undoubtedly become a huge part of my life is well known. The rest and relaxation that I have experienced is of course what our place is mostly about. I not only leave easily reenergised, but more than often I also find a surge of inspiration while I am there. How come? Well that is not easy to explain but let’s just say that, as well as the surrounding array of colours and perfumes, there is just something in the air that makes me feel that I am in a place that I always wanted to be.
The friendliness of the people whom I have met there, as well as the courteous and always obliging staff, add to this feeling greatly. It in turn makes it very difficult to leave when inevitably duty calls. But it is in those moments that I console myself in recognising that I will return time and time again, as in fact so many of our established guests do, and there is after all no higher compliment than that.
I am a traveller myself, have been for most of my life. There are so many places in this world I have been fortunate enough to set my eyes on and could recommend that you in turn experience for yourself. But it’s with hand firmly on heart that I tell you that Taormina would always be somewhere at the top of my list and, if you decide to take me up on that, we and all our staff would be delighted to have you spend at least some time with us at Hotel Villa Angela!
