A large family
Your home
far from home
The team, one big family
Dear guests,
For four generations, we have been passionately and enthusiastically running Sicily’s oldest family-run hotel: the Hotel Villa Schuler.
We are delighted to introduce our team, made up of staff who share our values of hospitality and attention to detail. Many of whom have been part of our team for years, bringing their experience and dedication to help create a genuine, family-like atmosphere.
Our team are on hand to assist you at all times, helping to make your stay enjoyable, relaxing and unforgettable.
Christine, Gerardo, Andrea and Antonio
Reception Team
Julia
Julia
Julia is our Accounting Manager and Head of Reception. She has been with us for many years and has contributed significantly to the hotel's success. Kind and gentle by nature, she carries out her role with reliability, integrity, and patience. Her mother is German and her father is Sicilian. She speaks Italian, English, German, and French.
Claudia
Claudia
Claudia joined the reception staff in 2018. Originally from Taormina, her mother is German and her father is Sicilian. She speaks Italian, English, German, and French fluently. With decades of solid experience in 5-star hotels, she carries out her work with passion, professionalism, and kindness, always maintaining her composure, even in the most intense situations.
Simona
Simona
Simona joined us as a receptionist in the 2022 season. Before joining us, she gained excellent experience in prestigious 5-star hotels. Thanks to her reliable, open, and friendly personality, combined with a wonderful sense of humor, she fits perfectly into our team. She speaks Italian, English, and French and is very passionate about her profession.
Elena
Elena
Elena joined our team in April 2022. Born in Taormina, she grew up in her parents' hotel, which she then managed for over six years. Now the mother of wonderful twins, she has decided to continue her professional career at Villa Schuler. In addition to Italian, she speaks fluent English and German. Her professionalism and her kind, friendly manner have impressed the entire team from the very beginning.
Mariangela
Mariangela
Mariangela joined our reception team in July 2022. With many years of experience as a restaurant manager and assistant event manager at a renowned 5-star hotel in Taormina, she was looking for a new professional challenge, which she found at Villa Schuler. Mariangela enriches our team with her great friendliness, reliability, and poise, as well as her excellent knowledge of English and Spanish.
Giada
Giada
Giada has been learning the receptionist profession with us since the start of the 2024 season. Previously, she has worked at the reception desk of the Ancient Theater of Taormina and at a travel agency. Her cheerful disposition, warm smile, quick wit, and friendliness, along with a great talent for languages, are ideal for this job. Giada speaks fluent English and French, good Spanish, and is improving her German.
Breakfast Team
Rosaria
Rosaria
Rosaria has been with us since 2006. She loves everything to do with the kitchen, so for the 2017 season she moved from room service to breakfast kitchen. She has been head of the department since the 2023 season. Sicilian by birth, she has a sunny and friendly personality, and even during the busiest hours, she never loses her friendly manner or her infectious smile.
Irene
Irene
Irene joined our kitchen team as an apprentice in April 2024. She loves food, possesses the inner calm to handle stressful moments in the kitchen, and is open to learning new things. Our chef Rosaria didn't need to teach her how to make the best espresso or cappuccino. She knows how to do it with her eyes closed, having worked for over three years at a popular café and gelateria in the Trappitello district of Taormina.
Rosita
Rosita
Rosita has been serving our à la carte breakfast since 2014. She gained valuable experience in the hospitality industry before joining us. Rosita is a true Taorminese with a passion for theater and literature. She speaks Italian and English, and with her extraordinary charm, kindness, and attentiveness, she will brighten your day from the start, and a good day truly begins in the morning.
Evegnia
Evegnia
Evegniya has been part of our breakfast service team since the 2024 season. Serene, friendly, and professional, she is one of the pillars of our à la carte service. Having grown up in the restaurant industry working in her family's restaurant in Bulgaria, she graduated as a tourism manager and has worked in various restaurants and hotels in Bulgaria as a food and beverage and restaurant manager. Having lived in Sicily since 2018, she speaks fluent English and Italian, in addition to her native tongue.
Senuri
Senuri
SENURI is our youngest staff member. She joined us as an apprentice in the breakfast service team in the 2025 season. Her role at Villa Schuler is her first experience of the working world. Born in Sri Lanka, she grew up and went to school in Taormina and Sri Lanka, and speaks excellent Italian and English alongside her mother tongue. She treats everyone with care, discretion and a special kindness. And her beaming smile is a gift.
Bar, Valet & Night Porter Team
Marco
Marco
Marco is in charge of bar service. He has eyes everywhere, is fast, friendly, and knowledgeable. Marco speaks Italian, English, and German (which he learned from his German grandmother) and is one of the most passionate bartenders far and wide. Try his "Apple Passion" or ask for a personalized surprise cocktail! And as a regular, you can be sure he'll remember your favorite drink for years to come.
Christian
Christian
CHRISTIAN has been part of the Villa Schuler team since 2021. The son of a Swedish mother and a Sicilian father, trained as a surveying engineer, nevertheless chose the hospitality industry and has gained many years of experience in restaurants across Sicily, London and Malta. With his in-depth knowledge, fluent English and his reliable and friendly nature, Christian is one of the strong pillars of the Villa Schuler service team. Thoughtful, polite and always in good spirits, he welcomes guests as a valet, serves them at the à la carte breakfast or at the bar, and once a week he proves himself a trustworthy stand-in for our night porter Luigi on his day off.
Francesco
Francesco
FRANCESCO has been a member of the service team since the 2026 season. Prior to this, he gained experience primarily in restaurant service. He is now learning the roles of valet and barman at Villa Schuler under the guidance of his dedicated tutor, Marco. Among other things, Francesco stands out for his precision, the high standards he sets for himself, and his exceptionally polite and courteous manner. His good command of English is also a great asset when interacting with guests. Alongside his work, Francesco is continuing his economics studies at the University of Catania. In his spare time, he is a passionate motorcyclist.
Luigi
Luigi
Luigi has been our night porter since 2001. With his calm, diplomatic manner and excellent knowledge of Italian, German, and English, he's a reassuring presence you can turn to if you need help during the night. He's available all night and always keeps you fully alert. He'll even prepare an early breakfast for you, no matter how early you have to leave or plan an excursion.
Housekeeping & Laundry Team
Maria
Maria
Maria is our housekeeper and, along with her team, is responsible for the cleanliness and hygiene of the rooms. She has been working at Hotel Villa Schuler since 1990, making her our longest-serving employee, highly appreciated, and well-liked. With her patience and kind, harmonious nature, she manages to cheer up her team even during the most hectic times.
Maria
Maria
Maria has been part of the housekeeping team since 2014, bringing with her over a decade of experience at prestigious hotels in Taormina. With her lively, hard-working, and cheerful personality, she quickly wins hearts and has become a solid pillar of the team. In her spare time, she sings in a choir, and on special occasions, we are fortunate to enjoy her beautiful voice.
Loredana
Loredana
LOREDANA stepped in at short notice during the 2025 season to replace a colleague in our team who had fallen ill, and she was a great help to us in this emergency. As there is always plenty to do at Villa Schuler, and we hold Loredana in very high regard, we asked her to stay on. She has thus become a great asset and a huge help to our housekeeping team. She brings with her years of experience in housekeeping and has impressed us from the very start with her calm, straightforward and hands-on approach.
Valeria
Valeria
VALERIA, like Senuri, is gaining her first taste of the working world at Villa Schuler. She joined our housekeeping team as an apprentice at the start of the 2026 season. With her understated, gentle manner, she quickly won over her colleagues. Working alongside her mentor, our experienced housekeeper Maria, she has since been learning the high standards and finer points of this often underestimated profession. Valeria brings with her a love of precision and order, as well as the ability to get stuck in. She undoubtedly draws her physical and mental strength from her enthusiasm for her hobby, equestrian sports.
Stefania
Stefania
Stefania has been part of our team since the 2016 season. With her extensive experience in luxury hotels and her discreet, reliable, and kind nature, she is a perfect fit for our housekeeping team. Together with her colleagues, she also oversees the laundry service, which is performed entirely in-house—a demanding task that requires absolute care and attention.
Stella
Stella
STELLA since the 2024 season, has been the calming influence and the quiet force behind the smooth running of the hotel’s in-house laundry. Together with her colleagues in the housekeeping team, she ensures that the linen is available every day, spotlessly white and perfectly ironed. Stella emigrated from Sri Lanka to Taormina with her family more than 40 years ago and has taken Italian citizenship. She and her family are well-known and highly regarded in the Taormina community for their friendliness and reliability. We are delighted to have Stella as part of our team.
House Tech Team
Saro
Saro
Saro has been our Maintenance and IT Technician since 2006. He knows every technological aspect of Villa Schuler down to the last detail and oversees the hotel's maintenance. His motto is "80/20," maintaining that 80% of hotel maintenance should be preventative. He also handles guest parking and is available to assist you with any PC issues.
Garden Team
Francesca
Francesca
Francesca has been our gardener since the 2022 season. She succeeds our legendary gardener Pippo, who retired, but not before initiating Francesca into the secrets of this special garden, which he had passionately tended for many years. Francesca is a native of the area and brings with her a wealth of experience, from working in her father's orchards to tending her own garden. She has a special love for succulents and medicinal herbs. She also possesses a remarkable sense of aesthetic garden design.
