Lady Florence Trevelyan, who created the beautiful gardens that are now the Villa Communale, lived in this villa until her death in 1907. The elegant house then passed to the Martorana family, three generations of whom have proven to be outstanding hoteliers and avid renovators, adding entire floors to the original house. Family antiques, comfy armchairs and couches, and paintings (many presented by guests over the years) fill lounges and bright, handsomely decorated guest rooms, where balconies and sun-drenched sitting alcoves face the sea. Breakfast and dinners are served in a top-floor, glassed-in restaurant, Settimo Cielo (Seventh Heaven), which it really seems to be. Between June and October, the hotel offers free shuttle service and free entrance to the Paradise Beach Club, about 6km (4 miles) to the east, in the seaside resort of Letojanni.