In 1988, the London lawyer Vivian Read bought a derelict manor house in the
centre of Mallorca, to open a luxury hotel. Everyone thought he was mad.
Mallorca’s minister of tourism, while supportive, was clearly bemused.
“Why would anyone want to stay so far from the beach?” he said. “What will the
guests do all day?” Today, Read’s Hotel is one of the best known on the
island, and helped to pioneer what has become a Mallorcan phenomenon: rural
tourism. By 1994 there were 45 hotels and agroturismos (as the smaller
places are known) in the interior; by 2004 that number had increased to 180,
and it continues to rise. Clearly, guests have either found plenty to do all
day or are happy to do nothing.
The figures are remarkable, but your biggest incentive to stay inland is
quality. The range of accommodation here is vast — from basic rustic
farmstead to sleek renovated town house, to luxurious rural hotel — and even
the humbler places often feature high-quality design and lashings of
creature comforts.
If you want nothing more than sun, solitude and a swimming pool, you’ve got
it. Equally, choosing a central base makes sense for the itchy-footed
holidaymaker — far more of this remarkable island is accessible if you’re
not isolated on the coast.
Here is our insider’s guide to the all-new Mallorca — what to see, where to
stay, what to eat. You’ll wonder what you ever saw in the sea.
All hotel rates quoted are per night for a standard double room, in high season,
and include 7% tax
SERRA DE TRAMUNTANA MOUNTAINS
Meet Mallorca's scenic superstar — the Serra de Tramuntana mountain
chain, which jags all the way along the island’s west coast. Peaking
at 4,740ft, the Tramuntana offers the kind of jaw-dropping wilderness that
would make the average beach-dweller on the southern playas spill his lager
in shock.
Yet here, precipitous mountains plunge into a sapphire sea, while villages cling
to their slopes for dear life. The boho hang-out Deia is the most celebrated;
but a better base is the smart, self-assured town of Soller, surrounded by
high peaks on three sides, yet only five minutes’ drive from its own
harbour and beach — Port de Soller — and half an hour via tunnel
from Palma.
What to see: Without delay, get up into those mountains. There’s
peerless hiking to be had among the high peaks, and plenty of easier walks
too, many along clearly marked trails. The Soller-Deia route is especially
popular.
An essential day trip from Soller is along the century-old narrow-gauge railway
to Palma (00 34-971 63 01 30; £7.40 return). It was built to move the town’s
celebrated citrus fruit to the island capital, and today makes a wonderful
hour-long journey through the mountains.
The west coast isn’t a place for beach bums. Port de Soller has two
reasonable strands, but otherwise, bijou but beautiful Cala de Deia is the
only convenient option.
Where to stay: Soller and its surrounds have seen an explosion
in quality accommodation. The flashiest spot in town is the five-star Gran
Hotel Soller (www.granhotelsoller.com; doubles £230), kitted out in
clean, contemporary style, with a classy Mediterranean restaurant, a rooftop
pool with bar and its own spa.
Another recent newcomer is the Hotel Salvia (www.hotelsalvia.com; doubles £175),
a slick and stylish six-bedroom conversion of an 18th-century town house.
More affordable is the romantic Ca’n Roses (www.canroses.com; doubles £105),
with fabulous gardens set around a big pool. Or there’s the six-room oasis
of C’an Quatre (www.canquatre.com; doubles £84) — sit
around the pool here, and you won’t believe you’re staying just
off Soller’s main square.
The neighbouring village of Fornalutx, famously pretty, now has several top-drawer
options too. If art and design are your thing, the pick is Ca’n Verdera
(www.canverdera.com; doubles £130) — it bursts with modern art
and quality fixtures and fittings. A cheaper option is the characterful Ca’n
Reus (www.canreushotel.com; doubles £75), with its small pool and seven
bedrooms, most of which have mountain views.
Where to eat: Soller itself isn’t great for restaurants —
most folks jump on the open tram down to Port de Soller, where you’ll
be spoilt for choice. The prime spot is Sa Llotja des Peix (971 63 29 54),
where fresh fish is pulled directly from boats in the harbour below, zapped
on the grill and served up with style.
If you fancy traditional Mallorcan cooking at its finest, try Ca’n
Antuna (971 63 30 68), in Fornalutx, which has a vine-covered terrace and
has been known to welcome the king and queen of Spain. For something more
international, the British-owned Café Med (971 63 09 00) offers beef
carpaccio and crab risotto, cooked with conviction.
It’s worth making a trip to Deia for its restaurants alone. The pick,
though, is the Michelin-starred Es Raco d’es Teix (971 63 95 01),
where Josef Sauerschell serves up flawless Mediterranean and Mallorcan
dishes.
ES RAIGUER and POLLENSA
Where the eastern foothills of the Tramuntana shade into the island’s
most fertile farmland lies Es Raiguer, which has long made an unobtrusive
living from agriculture, winemaking and leather. After years spent minding
its own business, however, the region is waking up to tourism — and Es
Raiguer’s convenience for mountains, beaches and the capital makes it
arguably Mallorca’s finest inland base.
Just to the north, the good-looking town of Pollensa is another emerging rural-tourism
hub — and even closer to the beaches, the magnificent Formentor peninsula
and the northern Tramuntana.
What to see: Es Raiguer is well-known for its markets —
the huge Sunday-morning affairs at Santa Maria del Cami and (especially)
Consell attract people from all over the island. Another draw is the outlet
stores on the outskirts of Inca, mostly specialising in leather.
The best of them is Camper (www.camper.com), maker of funky-but-comfy shoes, which
you can pick up at less than half UK prices. This is wine country, and some
of the bigger vineyards offer tours and tastings, among them Bodega de Jose
Luis Ferrer, at Binissalem (www.vinosferrer.com), and Bodega de Macia Batle,
at Santa Maria del Cami (www.maciabatle.com).
Where to stay: just outside Santa Maria del Cami is Read’s
Hotel & Restaurant (www.readshotel.com; doubles £215), which
combines five-star luxury with Vivian Read’s decorative idiosyncrasy.
It’s friendly, fun and has one of the island’s best restaurants
(see below).
Also family-run and welcoming, but of a very different stripe, is the gorgeous Ca’s
Comte (www.cascomte.com; doubles £90), in nearby Lloseta. This
converted 18th-century town house is now a seductive synthesis of the
contemporary and the traditional — and an absolute steal at the price.
Hidden away in the remote mountain village of Orient is L’Hermitage (www.hermitage-hotel.com,
doubles £132), which in 1984 became the very first rural hotel to open
in the Mallorcan interior. It remains one of the finest and most relaxing
spots to stay on the island.
North of the grim working town of Inca lie the cute little villages of Caimari,
Binibona and Moscari, the focus for a clutch of lovely rural hotels and
fincas. One of the friendliest is Finca Es Castell (www.fincaescastell.com;
doubles £100), run by a cheery Italian-English couple. It has three
terraces, a bar and a good restaurant (open to nonresidents). For other
agroturismos in this area, visit www.som7.com.
Son Brull (www.sonbrull.com; doubles £210), just outside Pollensa, is
simply one of the finest hotels on the island. The lofty dimensions of this
grand old farmhouse have been used to stunning effect, combining with
thoroughly contemporary design to create a cool, calming oasis. In Pollensa,
the six-room L’Hostal (www.hostalpollensa.com; doubles £59) is a
bargain if you’re on a budget, with a great central location and more
style than you’d expect for the price. And if you want to spend even
less and enjoy a quintessentially Mallorcan experience, brave the hairpins
to climb the Puig de Maria, just outside town, and lay your head in a former
monk’s cell at the Santuari del Puig de Maria (971 18 41 32; £5.50pp
per night).
Where to eat: chef Marc Fosh has been in the kitchen at Read’s
Michelin-starred restaurant (see above) since it opened, and has built an
enviable reputation for imaginative, perfectly executed dishes. The high-ceilinged,
fresco-decked dining room is pure theatre.
In Lloseta is the fine Can Carrossa (971 51 40 23), where Joan Abrines serves up
first-rate set menus at very reasonable prices in a pretty, terraced setting;
while the five-course, no-choice menu at Santi Taura (971 51 46 22) offers
an accomplished modern take on Mallorcan cuisine.
Ca’n Calco (www.cancalco.com), in the village of Moscari, is a lovely
little restaurant-cum-hotel (doubles £75), where the owners often serve
up the fish they’ve caught that day. The four-course no-choice menu is
a bargain.
ES PLA (The Plain)
Es Pla — “The Plain” — does a better than average job
of living up to its name. It is one long, unstoppable stretch, from the
foothills of the Tramuntana in the west to the Serra de Llevant in the east,
and for decades, the only tourists it saw were hurtling through on their way
to the resorts.
Es Pla retains the languid, unruffled air of an agricultural hinterland, its bucolic
landscape punctuated by various monastery-topped hills and specked with
handsome stone-built settlements.
The gracious central town of Sineu probably makes the best base, though the south
is richer in quality agroturismos. Cycling is the most relaxed way of exploring
the quiet country roads of the plain.
What to see: several other somnolent little towns are worth a visit,
including Montuiri, Porreres, Randa and Petra, the last of which was home to
the 18th-century missionary Junipero Serra, founder of San Francisco and San
Diego. Religion has long ranked high in these parts, literally. All the
significant hills are capped by monasteries, and both the Santuari de Monti-Sion,
near Porreres, and the Santuari de Cura, near Randa, command tremendous
views over the entire island.
Conventional tourist sights are few on Es Pla. By far the most interesting is Els
Calderers (www.todoesp.es/els-calderers/; £4.70), an exquisite manor
house on the Manacor-Palma road that has been restored to its 19th-century
glory. It offers a fascinating window into the lives of the wealthy rural
Mallorcans of the period. Also worth a look is Gordiola (www.gordiola.com;
free), a glassworks housed in an extraordinary mock castle, where visitors
can watch glass being made amid the stygian murk of a neogothic hall.
Where to stay: Sineu offers two choice spots to stay. First is
the wonderful Son Cleda (www.hotel-son-cleda.com; doubles £66), a hotel-bar-restaurant
on the town’s liveliest square (which, this being Es Pla, is rarely
very lively). The comfort level is high, the prices are more than reasonable
and the staff are charming. Slightly more traditional, but no less desirable,
is the family-owned Leon de Sineu (www.hotel-leondesineu.com; doubles £80),
set in a fine old town house that backs onto magical terraced gardens with a
small pool.
Es Pla has scores of lovely agroturismos. Among the best is Son Foguero (www.sonfoguero.com;
doubles £140), a gorgeously restored old finca whose five suites are
all exposed stone, wooden beams and modern art.
South of here, near Porreres, you’ll find Es Passarell
(www.espassarell.net), where the six apartments (£97) and three doubles
(£67) are complemented by rich furnishings and a relaxed atmosphere.
Also in this area are Son Bernadinet (www.sonbernadinet.com; doubles £148),
a grand manor house notable for the friendliness of its owners and the lavishness
of its breakfasts, and Son Cosmet (www.soncosmet.com; doubles £102),
another glorious antique-stuffed mansion, surrounded by nothing but fields
and birdsong.
Where to eat: Sineu is famed for a clutch of restaurants set in
spacious old wine cellars. The pick is Celler Es Grop (971 52 01 87), which serves
earthy Mallorcan cuisine against a backdrop of enormous barrels. For something
a touch more refined, stylish Sa Penya (971 52 03 64), also in Sineu, offers
the only Basque food you’ll find on Es Pla, with special emphasis on
dishes featuring salt cod (bacalao).
There’s another fine cellar restaurant in Petra: Es Celler (971 56 10
56), which specialises in meat roasted in a wood oven and other countrified
dishes. In Montuiri, meanwhile, you’ll find S’Hostal (971 646
049), set in a converted glassworks and serving nothing but pa amb oli —
bread and oil with various toppings.
SERRA DE LLEVANT HILLS
These eastern hills provide a not-so-distant echo of their more spectacular cousins
across the island. They’re at their wildest and loftiest to the north of
Arta, and remain blissfully undeveloped. Great walking and some terrific remote
beaches await discovery.
Arta makes by far the most pleasant base in the east. It’s an amiable, prosperous,
self-assured little place, with handsome honey-hued houses and narrow
streets that rise up to the crenellated Santuari de Sant Salvador, sitting
pertly upon its hilltop.
What to see: In the far northeast, walking and beachcombing are
the draws. You can combine the two by taking the rough road from Arta to Cala
Mitjana and then hiking west to discover a long string of increasingly deserted
beaches.
The east coast is cave country, and the biggest and most spectacular of all are
the ultrapopular Coves del Drac, at Porto Cristo (971 82 07 53; £6). You’d
think that the brash commercialisation of this mile-long complex — the
fact that it is rammed with coach parties from dawn to dusk — would
destroy the caves’ appeal. But they are so extraordinary that even the
corny classical music show on the underground lake comes across as weirdly
beautiful.
Most of the east-coast beaches are backed by bland-to-hideous hotels and villas,
but a handful have survived. Cala Mondrago, near Santanyi, is protected with
its own nature reserve; and on the south coast, Es Trenc is the longest
undeveloped beach on the island.
Where to stay: Arta is home to a trio of desirable hotels. The
most romantic and idiosyncratic is the Sant Salvador (www.santsalvador.com;
doubles from £136), set within the former home of a rich textile
merchant, overlooking neat gardens and a pool. Inside, the eight big
bedrooms glow with bold colours and an inspired mix of classic and contemporary
design.
More restrained is Ca’n Moragues (www.canmoragues.com; doubles £85),
a grand old town house that has been in the same clan for centuries. Its
elegant rooms are softened by family portraits, and there’s a lovely
courtyard garden, complete with small heated pool. Another fine town-house
hotel is S’Abeurador (971 83 52 30; doubles £49), centred on a
magical terrace; one bedroom is in the former chapel.
For a bit of luxury in the countryside between Manacor and Arta, try Son Trobat
(www.sontrobat.com; doubles £83), which has 25 big rooms, extensive gardens
and a pool. Or, for more intimacy, go for the agroturismo Son Marimon (www.sonmarimon.com;
doubles £95), near Santanyi. It looks like a fairy-tale castle and has
five immaculately pared-down rooms.
Finally, there’s the Santuari de Sant Salvador, in Puig de Sant Salvador
(971 82 72 82; doubles £20), the former monastery atop the highest peak
in the southern Serra de Llevant. The mountain air, solitude and 360-degree
views could make even determined cynics turn spiritual.
Where to eat: Arta’s pedestrianised main drag is lined
with excellent places to eat, all with outdoor tables. For something
traditional, you won’t go wrong at Can Balaguer (971 83 50 03) —
try the paella de bacalao. If you’re after something more eclectic,
the funky Café Parisien (971 83 54 40) doles out toothsome steaks,
imaginative salads and perfect pasta, and occupies a prime spot for
late-night drinking.
For more elevated food, Ca’n Epifanio, at the Hotel Sant Salvador, is first-rate.
And although it’s a little way out of Arta, it’s worth making
the effort to reach Finca Es Serral (971 83 53 36), run by a lovely
Mallorcan couple who produce inspired local cuisine.
NEED TO KNOW
Getting there: Palma has scheduled flights from 17 UK airports,
with off-peak fares as low as £41; higher in summer. Good September deals
include: BMI (www.flybmi.com), from Heathrow, from £56; EasyJet (www.easyjet.com),
from Belfast, Bristol, Liverpool, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, Nottingham and
Newcastle, from £69; Flybe (www.flybe.com), from Birmingham and Exeter,
from £100; and Flyglobespan (www.flyglobespan.com), from Edinburgh and Glasgow,
from £139.
Most UK airports also have charters, with late deals for August from £89 through
Charter Flight Centre (www.charterflights.co.uk) or Flightsdirect.com (www.flightsdirect.com).
In Ireland, try Budget Travel (www.budgettravel.ie).
Getting around: Holiday Autos (www.holidayautos.co.uk) has a week’s
inclusive car hire from £86. Or try Sixt (www.e-sixt.co.uk).
