The Spanish island may have a bad rep, but look beyond its mega-resorts and packed beaches and you’ll find historic hillside hotels, rustic seaside villages, and a surprisingly cosmopolitan capital city.
Palma. In recent years, the historic center of Majorca’s capital has experienced a boom fueled by wealthy Northern Europeans who have transformed centuries-old buildings into chic hotels, boutiques, and restaurants. Hotel Cort, co-owned by a Majorcan and a Swede and designed by Barcelona-based Lázaro Rosa-Violán, is a former 19th-century bank now decorated with colorful tiles and blue-and white ikat wall covering. On the hot August night I spent there, the hotel’s restaurant was packed, with crowds spilling out onto the Plaça Cort. Behind the dusky ocher façades of Old Town are a growing number of high-end shops, including La Percera, where I found vintage furniture and sophisticated beach accessories like chunky espadrilles and wide-brimmed cane hats, all locally made. An extension of the Gallery Horrach Moya nearby had impressive works by Joana Vasconcelos, along with a slick new restaurant. Head to Patron Lunares for a sumptuous dinner, and try Negrito a la plancha, a toothsome whitefish, which is perfectly grilled.
Palma. In recent years, the historic center of Majorca’s capital has experienced a boom fueled by wealthy Northern Europeans who have transformed centuries-old buildings into chic hotels, boutiques, and restaurants. Hotel Cort, co-owned by a Majorcan and a Swede and designed by Barcelona-based Lázaro Rosa-Violán, is a former 19th-century bank now decorated with colorful tiles and blue-and white ikat wall covering. On the hot August night I spent there, the hotel’s restaurant was packed, with crowds spilling out onto the Plaça Cort. Behind the dusky ocher façades of Old Town are a growing number of high-end shops, including La Percera, where I found vintage furniture and sophisticated beach accessories like chunky espadrilles and wide-brimmed cane hats, all locally made. An extension of the Gallery Horrach Moya nearby had impressive works by Joana Vasconcelos, along with a slick new restaurant. Head to Patron Lunares for a sumptuous dinner, and try Negrito a la plancha, a toothsome whitefish, which is perfectly grilled.
Deià. Perched above the shore on the cliffs of the Tramuntana Mountains, this stone village was built in the middle Ages by the Moors, who constructed terraces on the mountainsides to grow crops. The houses that are sprinkled throughout are blanketed in morning glories and surrounded by pine trees. Deià’s Belmond La Residencia was the first of Majorca’s heritage properties, fashioned out of a group of 16th and 17th century villas. When Richard Branson bought the hotel in the 1990s (he sold it in 2002), it became a magnet for celebrities like Sting and Elton John. Together with wealthy local homeowners, this A-list brigade has managed to keep a low profile. Nonetheless, Deià’s polish was evident everywhere from the beautifully maintained antique houses to the posh English retirees who dined at the upscale Es Racó d’es Teix. Deià has one rocky beach, Cala Deià, in a shady grotto far below the village, and you have to arrive well before noon to find a spot. Eventually, the smell of garlic will lure you to Ca’s Patró March, housed in a shack on the side of the cove. You can take in the view of the sea, its pockets of bright jade prettier from up there, over razor clams and a glass of ice-cold white wine.
Es Capdellà and Sant Elm. The one reason to go to the western mountain village of Es Capdellà is Castell Son Claret, the newest of Majorca’s antique castle makeovers. Everything about the place is designed to impress: the neo-Moorish crenellations of the 19th century manor, the glassy pool, and the vast garden of herbs, olive trees, and blue agapanthus. When the hotel opened, in 2013, Madrid-based chef Francisco Pérez Arellano moved his Zaranda restaurant here and began applying his studied, haute-cuisine technique to the local ingredients. On your first night, try a four-course meal that included stuffed loin of rabbit with crunchy snails and spinach. And dream of the dessert box, with its cinnamon-dusted custard tarts. If your intention is to block out the world in highly tasteful surroundings, then Castell Son Claret is ideal. But If you craved the open sea, head 20 minutes down the hill to the town of Sant Elm, where German and Catalan families were picnicking next to swimming-pool-blue water. A lane of shops peddling bathing suits and a nautical-looking wine bar called Es Bocoi were just up the road. On the menu was pica pica, a dish of calamari in a broth flecked with sea fennel and Algerian raisins, a flavorful reminder that Africa is only an hour’s flight due south.
Christine Meier is a mom of two, traveler and a blogger of Vacation-now.com. A Vacation Rentals website offering cheap holiday homes for rent.
Es Capdellà and Sant Elm. The one reason to go to the western mountain village of Es Capdellà is Castell Son Claret, the newest of Majorca’s antique castle makeovers. Everything about the place is designed to impress: the neo-Moorish crenellations of the 19th century manor, the glassy pool, and the vast garden of herbs, olive trees, and blue agapanthus. When the hotel opened, in 2013, Madrid-based chef Francisco Pérez Arellano moved his Zaranda restaurant here and began applying his studied, haute-cuisine technique to the local ingredients. On your first night, try a four-course meal that included stuffed loin of rabbit with crunchy snails and spinach. And dream of the dessert box, with its cinnamon-dusted custard tarts. If your intention is to block out the world in highly tasteful surroundings, then Castell Son Claret is ideal. But If you craved the open sea, head 20 minutes down the hill to the town of Sant Elm, where German and Catalan families were picnicking next to swimming-pool-blue water. A lane of shops peddling bathing suits and a nautical-looking wine bar called Es Bocoi were just up the road. On the menu was pica pica, a dish of calamari in a broth flecked with sea fennel and Algerian raisins, a flavorful reminder that Africa is only an hour’s flight due south.
Christine Meier is a mom of two, traveler and a blogger of Vacation-now.com. A Vacation Rentals website offering cheap holiday homes for rent.