I’m the concierge at the real White Lotus hotel – this is how our guests really spend their time and money

The rich and famous have been coming here for years, but what is it really like to holiday at the San Domenico Palace in Taormina, Sicily? Laura Coffey talks to the ultimate insider

Aubrey Plaza starring as Harper Spiller in ‘The White Lotus’ (HBO)

The San Domenico Palace in Taormina is one of the most famous hotels in the world. Instantly recognisable from season two of The White Lotus, it’s even more stylish in real life.

Perched on a clifftop above the soft blue Ionian sea, with an iconic infinity pool, Michelin-starred dining in 14th-century cloisters, beautiful gardens, and the most opulent room I’ve ever stayed in, this is the most storied hotel in the ritziest town, in all of Sicily.

The rich and famous have been coming here for years. Originally a monastery, it was converted into a hotel in the 19th century and has always attracted a starry crowd, counting Oscar Wilde and Audrey Hepburn among its guests. More recently, Sharon Stone, Francis Ford Coppola and Michael Jordan have all stayed here. Guests demand nothing but the best. And that’s where Olga Miano comes in.

Named after her Sicilian grandmother, the Taormina-raised Olga is an expert concierge, supervising a team of eight at the hotel. She advises guests on how to spend their time (and money) and will organise anything they can dream of without batting an eyelid or breaking a sweat.

Entranced by the celestial skies above Mount Etna? Olga will find an astrophysicist to tell you about the constellations on a private stargazing safari. Working up the courage to propose? Olga will arrange a helicopter to whisk you and your beloved over the volcano at sunset, landing amongst the vines at Cottanera, one of the most outstanding wineries in the region, for a romantic dinner. Want to get married in the ancient cloisters but want a grand piano that’s too big to get through the old doorways? Fear not. “Everything is possible at the San Dominico palace, we always find a way,” she says.

I asked Olga to leave the elegant orange-scented lobby (Four Seasons, naturally, has its own bespoke perfume), and show me all the places she recommends to the guests of the palace.

“Most of them want something traditional and authentic,” said Olga, “they tell me, ‘I want to have dinner where you go with your family.’” That sounded ideal to me, and we set out into the bright Sicilian sunlight to find all her favourite spots in Taormina.

When guests grow tired of tasting menus and nibbling on miniature portions of caviar artfully arranged on sculptural ceramic plates, Olga suggests they come to Rosticceria Da Cristina, an unassuming little cafe that specialises in Sicilian street food. This is the kind of place you’d easily pass by unless you knew to stop.

I tried a slice of scacciata alla norma, a type of pie made with very thin dough, stuffed with ricotta, tomatoes and aubergine. The cheese oozed, the aubergine was the small round type you can’t find in the UK, and the whole thing tasted like the kind of mythical Italian food you long for but rarely find. We were off to a good start.

The rich and famous have been visiting hotel since the 19th century (Getty)

Sicilians have a thing about ceramic heads that are ubiquitous in these parts, and palace guests often want to take some home with them. Olga said the best selection can be found at New Art Taormina so we headed there next. Francesco, the owner, explained the story behind them. A girl was dating a boy but she found out he was secretly married. So she cut off his head, and used it to grow basil.

This girl was obviously some kind of early influencer, because suddenly everyone in Sicily wanted ceramic heads for plant pots, and the tradition continues today. We stopped by Giammona Tre’s house down the road on Via Giardinazzo to see them in situ: luxuriant plants and vines cascading from the heads like hair, some reaching from the balcony all the way down onto the street, gothic and extraordinary.

Corso Umberto, the famous marble shopping street is full of stunning architecture and lined with designer shops, like Dior and Louis Vuitton, where guests can peruse the latest collections. Olga can, of course, arrange for a tailor to come to the hotel if alterations are required.

The hotel and its extravagant ground appear on season two of ‘The White Lotus’ (HBO)

But the town can be busy and crowded so to relax and watch the world go by, Olga suggests her guests pause for coffee at Wunderbar, which offers shady tables and a stunning view of Etna and Taormina Bay. I asked about the pressures of the job, surely it’s difficult to manage expectations when everything has to be perfect all the time?

She conceded that on an island, logistics can be a little challenging at times – particularly when Etna occasionally erupts and guests need to be rerouted to another airport. But by this point, I had the strong impression that Olga was not the kind of person who’d let a mere volcanic eruption get in the way of her guests’ enjoyment; I kind of wanted her to organise my whole life.

Olga Miano shows off the wares at New Art Taormina (Laura Coffey)

Nearby, La Torinese, a quirky delicatessen, is where Olga tells guests to come if they want to bring back local produce. The shelves were full of Sicilian delights: capers, olive oil, and the almonds and pistachios that the island is famous for, but we were in search of something else: cioccolato di Modica. Introduced to Sicily by the Spanish who ruled the island in the 16th century, it’s still made to the original recipe today – and has a crumbly, slightly grainy texture, very different from modern chocolate.

The minibar in the hotel is stocked with three varieties of Modica chocolate, and my room also came with a chocolate sculpture of the ancient Greek amphitheatre, as finely detailed as an architectural model, and almost too good to eat.

Next, we went to Pasticceria Minotauro, just off the main drag, near the Santa Catarina church. As I walked in my eye was caught by the impossibly pretty painted marzipan in the shape of fruit and vegetables. Olga ordered the classic pasti de mandola (almond pastry) and some biscotti alla carruba. Carbos grow locally and she explained they have a “sweet but delicate taste”. It was a new flavour to me and this biscotti swiftly went to the top of my favourite Sicilian treats.

Living the ‘White Lotus’ life couldn’t be easier with a trip to Taormina (HBO)

I asked Olga how to live the White Lotus life: where were the swankiest bars and restaurants? The cloister bar at the hotel is open to non-guests (reservations are required) and she likes Palazzo Vecchio’s rooftop bar for aperitivo because of its beautiful view of the Duomo. I can also recommend spending an afternoon tasting fine wines at the Pietradolce winery where the artwork felt like it should be in the Tate Modern, and the cellar looked like it was from a James Bond film.

For a literal taste of the high life, dinner at Principe Cerami is something special. I sat on the sea view terrace looking out over the inky sea swooning over the food created by Massimo Mantarro, the hotel’s Etna-born chef. A highlight was an extraordinary crudo di gamberi dish with yoghurt, passionfruit, cherry, hazelnut and basil that I still can’t stop thinking about.

But our time was over, Olga needed to return to the hotel and I needed to return to reality. Having had her as my personal guide to the best places in town, and having spent a few days staying at the San Domenico Palace, it’s not hard to understand the spell it casts over the rich and famous to keep them returning year after year.

Enchanted Islands: Travels through Myth & Magic, Love & Loss’ by Laura Coffey is available now.