Featured Auctions: Grand Hotel Timeo, Hotel Caruso, Villa San Michele

Grand Hotel Timeo

Taormina, Sicily

Three nights in an Junior Suite Executive
Retail value: $5,570
Starting bid: $3,340

"Spectacular 1873 resort hotel with views to the Mediterranean and Mount Etna, set in terraced gardens filled with jasmine, vines, citrus trees, cypresses and urns of scarlet geraniums. The property reopened in 2010 following a three-year renovation, but retains the alluringly genteel atmosphere of a stop on the Victorian Grand Tour. The 70 accommodations are divided between the main hotel and a villa. Deluxe Sea View Suites come with oak parquet floors, vaulted whitewashed ceilings and handsome Sicilian oil paintings. Spacious sitting rooms are exquisitely furnished; one featured a powder-blue damask sofa and several ormolu-accented stone-topped intarsio (inlaid wood) bureaus. Fine indoor/outdoor restaurant, veranda piano bar, small swimming pool and fitness center."  

Hotel Caruso

Ravello, Italy

Two nights in a Junior Suite
Retail value: $4,140
Starting bid: $2,780

"This enchanting property is a beguiling amalgam of buildings (including an 11th-century palazzo) overlooking the Gulf of Salerno 1,000 feet below. Vaulted ceilings, whitewashed walls and handpainted tiles distinguish the 50 rooms and suites, all of which come with handsome and spacious modern baths. At the elegant Belvedere Restaurant, most guests dress for dinner and vie for tables on the lovely terrace. The informal Pool Restaurant serves pizzas, pasta and salads. The principal amenity is a sublime horizon pool and wellness center; tennis is available nearby. Impossibly romantic terraced gardens offer panoramic views."  

Villa San Michele

Florence, Italy

Two nights in an Junior Suite Executive
Retail value: $5,000
Starting bid: $2,990

"Sumptuously restored hilltop hotel (15 minutes by shuttle from city center) housed by a 15th-century Franciscan monastery commanding a glorious panoramic view of Florence. Its façade was designed by Michelangelo and is preserved as a National Trust Monument. Forty-six lodgings feature massive timbered doors, period furnishings and lavish modern baths. Most Deluxe Rooms have canopy beds, stone fireplaces and Jacuzzi tubs. Wonderful loggia for cocktails and alfresco dining; also two atmospheric dining rooms. Terraced gardens contain an 82-foot heated pool, plus a bar/restaurant. The hotel offers a small gymnasium, in-room massages and cooking classes."