Seated together outside our door were the Queen of Denmark and the King of Sweden and further up the corridor was Queen Maria of Romania — each caught in the eye of the photographic lens, indicating the type of clientele who once frequented Grand Hotel Villa Igiea. Steeped in history, this grand dame of hotel properties on the outskirts of Palermo, Sicily has hosted high financiers and royalty alike during its century-long, illustrious career. And it’s not difficult to understand why.

Located at the water’s edge overlooking a luxury yacht harbor, the hotel’s facade is sandstone with marble and stone porticoes, a horizontal line of Moorish-like ceramics and mock battlements embellishing the top of the building. The hotel is reached along a looping road on the city’s outskirts, access to the entrance is through tall black and gold wrought iron gates and along a short, narrow driveway lined with potted bushes and trees. Long carpeted corridors under high ceilings and arches on either side of the lobby lead into the villa proper and the elevator.

During its infancy in the early 1900s, the three-story building was home to those rich enough to pay for the habitual "Taking the Air" sojourn in southern Italy, a time when tuberculosis was rampant. Built by the entrepreneurial Floria family, it was initially meant to be a sanatorium. Yet, with the erection of luxury hotels elsewhere in Europe and the US on the occasion of the World Exhibitions, family members decided a top-class hotel would be much more profitable and prestigious.

While undergoing various stages of renovation, Grand Hotel Villa Igiea retains much of its period glamour, leading guests to believe they've stepped back in time, or at least through the door of a living museum.

Take for example, the Basile Room situated off one of the long, carpeted corridors off the main reception desk, its walls are bedecked with framed photos of well-known international guests. The room is spectacular with rich art nouveau decorations and intricate frescoes on the walls representing various periods of a day like sunrise on the east, sunset on the central, and night on the north. Lighting the accommodation is an impressive chandelier made from Murano glass with intricately-carved art nouveau furniture everywhere.

A short walk into the heart of the villa leads to the Room of Mirrors, or the Donna Franca Florio Room, named after the wife of the owner. With floor-to-ceiling windows facing the sea and mirrors of various sizes located around the space, it offers a gracious atmosphere for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Extending from it is a series of interlinking rooms with a wide balustrade leading to higher floors.

Breakfast is served outside during warm weather on a wide, stone-tiled patio, at stained aqua-marine rattan tables and chairs. The patio faces a lush garden crisscrossed with pathways and filled with decorative bushes, hibiscus, cacti, overhanging pine, and fruits and vegetables. The fresh air and luscious greens make this an energizing way to start the day.

There is also a small swimming pool, a fountain and bronze statue of the beautiful Franca Florio to add serenity to the property. Decorative lamps at night add a sense of romance.

A framed photograph of England’s King Edward VII seated here entertaining guests indicates the prestige with which Villa Igiea was held in the early years of the 20th century. Beyond the harbor crowded with yachts, Palermo spreads itself along the coast with a range of mountains behind it, making a picturesque backdrop.

Our bedroom, overlooking the harbor, had a classic design with a flowery, cinnamon and gold-colored padded wallpaper. Furnishings included a walnut table, a central gilt-framed mirror and two large, still-life sketches above the bed. Another sketch in a corner above two comfortable armchairs and a standing lamp depicts Charles Dickens' character Mr. Pickwick embarking on the coach for Rochester. With a garden mélange of orange, lemon and palm trees just below our balcony, we were provided privacy with a view.

Dining at Grand Hotel Villa Igiea takes place in one of two rooms lying opposite each other, the Donna Franca Florio, or the expansive bar area Cuvée du Jour. It being off-season and the former not as yet opened, we dined comfortably in the latter. With a high-vaulted, sandstone ceiling, a marble fireplace, painted frescoes depicting the history, everyday life and historical monuments of Sicily, the room presents an intriguing and enjoyable ambiance.

In addition to á la carte choices, tasting menus from both land and sea are available. Making for a more interesting dining experience, food can be paired with local wines such as Pollara Principe di Corleone Chardonnay. Dishes emanate a sense of authentic Sicilian cuisine by using ingredients such as ricotta, locally grown tomatoes, dried fava beans and pine nuts presented in a modern, but simple way. Plates also incorporate fresh produce such as cernia (a smaller grouper genre of fish), clams, mussels, shrimp and cuttlefish or sepia. Desserts make for memorable sharing moments with basil ice cream, Sicilian cassata (a pudding of sponge cake, ricotta and marzipan), and pistachio parfait served with candied olives and wild strawberries well worth trying.

If you’re looking for a hotel filled with Italian grandeur and historical intrigue, quietly tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Sicilian city life, Grand Hotel Villa Igiea is for you.