The view of Mt Etna from Villa Angela. Photo / Supplied
The view of Mt Etna from Villa Angela. Photo / Supplied
Linda Herrick meets Jim Kerr, rock star turned fisherman, at Villa Angela in Sicily.
Where: Villa Angela, Via Leonardo Da Vinci, Taormina, Sicily
Getting there: To say Villa Angela is in Taormina is not quite correct; the hotel sits high on a hillside directly above the small coastal tourist town, via a 10-minute drive carefully negotiated along a cliff-hugging spiral of roads that wouldbe perfect for a James Bond car-chase sequence. Don't look down if you're on the right-hand side going up.
Hey, hey, hey, hey - don't you forget about... the fact that the hotel is owned by Simple Minds' singer Jim Kerr, who cannily bought it in the late 90s.
Check-in experience: The Simple Minds frontman was nowhere to be seen. Manager Charlie, a suave, extremely charming Sicilian, could not have been friendlier or more helpful, as were all of the staff - some of whom had strong Scottish accents. The Kerr kin getting valuable work experience. Charlie later explained that Simple Minds is experiencing a career resurgence - "what can I say?" he shrugged - but technology means they are always in touch with the boss.
Room: 201, on the second floor. Villa Angela has three levels of accommodation, all below the reception area. It takes a wee while to adjust to going down to your room. The room was a generous size, plainly furnished, but with a massive four-poster bed. French doors open to an equally spacious private terrace with sun loungers and a breath-taking view directly across to Mt Etna, which was wreathed in smoke. Below, to the east, is a brilliant view of the Bay of Naxos and the azure Ionian Sea.
Food and drink: The breakfast area, just above the pool and gardens, provided an impressive range of food each morning but I nearly spat out my espresso when I first clapped eyes on the huge ceramic mural just above the salami and cheese platters. It's a whimsy, depicting Kerr as toiler, toting a large fish on his shoulder, in the middle of a Sicilian fishmarket. At the right is his dad, to the rear is Simple Minds guitarist Charlie Burchill. Royalties from The Breakfast Club no doubt helped fund the purchase of VA. Breakfast is consistent, other meals not so much. Lunch is available most days; excellent dinners on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Some nights you can get a limited menu from the bar, like minestrone soup, some nights you can't. Villa Angela encourages guests to enjoy the cuisine of Taormina, which has some dreadful touristy restaurants but some great ones too, if you venture off its main drag, Corso Umberto I, so often clogged by tour groups.
The villa's terrace enjoys spectacular views over to Mt Etna. Photo / Supplied
What's so good? The views, the warm ambience, the lovely peace and quiet which comes with its remote location.
Neighbourhood: Above Villa Angela, perched atop a hilly outcrop, is Castelmola, a medieval village with a church whose bells rang out each quarter hour; at 8pm each night, the bells played a long and lovely tune which was awfully familiar but I couldn't pin it down. Castelmola is well worth a visit in its own right.
Noise: The hillside below Villa Angela is becoming built up with villas, so during weekdays there might be the sound of steady drilling and banging to counteract the trickle of the pool and the trills of the swooping house martins. Otherwise, blissfully quiet aside from the sound of cars and small buses carefully wending their way up and down the winding road.
Decor: Generally tasteful and sophisticated, although you can't miss the presence of its owner, with Simple Minds' heart and hands logos engraved on the doors in the public areas, and SM angel wing sculptures scattered around the place. Fair enough, I suppose, if you like that sort of thing. But Jim Kerr casting himself as peasant fisherman? Pure rock star foolery.
Who goes there? Family groups, elderly tourists, all sorts. I enjoyed the company of two elderly English ladies and their brother who sat on the terrace each night playing cards. The arrival of four Americans the day before I left created a diversion: heavily, but not skilfully, tattooed, they parked up by the pool with cigs and beer and embarked on a loud conversation about someone back home with a "her-oh-in" habit. Very Sons of Anarchy. Mothers gathered their children into their arms and made a hasty la vista, baby.
Villa Angela is owned by Simple Minds frontman Jim Kerr, who is immortalised in a bizarre mural in the hotel. Photo / Linda Herrick
Exercise? Just kidding. A totter from the pool to the bed for an afternoon siesta was pure bliss. Some days, though, I went for long walks around Taormina, followed by a leisurely lunch.
Price: Not bad. A six-night stay, which included (I see from my ricevuta) lunch, telefono, shuttle bus (which goes to and from Taormina every half-hour), bar and cantina, added up to a very reasonable €1284 ($2276). Compared with other places on my wanderings around Sicily, six nights were a luxury. It was so good to slow down and relax, completely.
