20 Picture-Perfect Hotels in Mallorca, From Historic Castles to Wellness Hotspots
Somewhere along the line, Mallorca lost a little of its sparkle. Perhaps it was in the 1980s when Magaluf put a slur on its reputation, and it became Majorca, all phonetics and glottal stop. Then in the 1990s, everyone went next door to party with its naughty little sister, Ibiza.
But the smart set has never stopped going to Mallorca, unshuttering their villas every springtime. They come for its romantic coastline, dramatic mountainscapes, tiny bays of sapphire water, and terracotta-roofed villages, jumbled across hilltops. And Palma, with its boulevards of boutiques and its labyrinthine old town full of hidden tavernas and sophisticated bars.
This is the island that has inspired generations of artists, writers, poets, and musicians since Chopin shocked the locals by turning up with his mistress, George Sand. Then came DH Lawrence, Robert Graves, Joan Miró, and Anaïs Nin, all drawn to sleepy Deià, which has become a haven for artists. Jagger partied here in the 1980s, when he wasn't in Mustique. Now, in 2023, Richard Branson opened his first hotel here.
How we choose the best hotels in Mallorca
Every hotel on this list has been selected independently by our editors and written by a journalist who knows the destination and has stayed at that property. When choosing hotels, our editors consider both luxury properties and boutique and lesser-known properties that offer an authentic and insider experience of a destination. We’re always looking for beautiful design, a great location, and warm service—as well as serious sustainability credentials.
All listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you book something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Palma Riad, Palma
Palma is especially well stocked when it comes to boutique accommodations, but not many have a vibe quite as sultry or exotic as this. In a restored 18th-century townhouse off the evocative Carrer De Sant Jaume near the heart of town, there’s a real purity of vision to this adults-only hotel, where Barcelona-based designer Pablo Peyra gave each of the 11 suites its own singular design. One room's treasures include a fantasy of chandeliers, lacquered chests, and a TV hidden behind a smoked mirror, with a hammam-style bath built into a dark-tiled bathroom with exposed fireplaces. The prevailing sense of low-lit, velveteen opulence continues through the hotel to the ground floor bar and restaurant for classic cocktails, sauteed razor clams, Entrecote Paris, and a lovely burrata salad with flambeed figs and grilled peach. It lingers even in the airy riad-style atrium, with its epic fireplace and throne-like wicker chairs, where a water feature serenely tinkles on the little pool. —Toby Skinner
Kate BellmHotel Corazón
“Crystals, cacti and connection” is the promised vibe at the new Hotel Corazón, an artfully restored 15-room finca on the steep winding road between Soller and Deià, overlooking the twinkling blue off Mallorca’s west coast. The hotel is the creation of British fashion photographer Kate Bellm, known for her psychedelic sun-flared portraits of women, and her Mexican artist and cactus gardener partner, Edgar Lopez. Together they hope to celebrate the creatives and producers on the island they call home. As well as linen-draped rooms that channel hazy ’70s Balearic summers, the free-flowing space is home to a gallery, craft-driven shop, and small-scale farm that feeds the locavore restaurant. With no TVs and no rules, sound baths, jam sessions, and guided hikes will set a tone in keeping with Deià’s bohemian halcyon days. —Toby Skinner
The Lodge
Towards Pollença, The Lodge is a second property on the island from the Unico group behind the popular Finca Serena. This one—a series of angular Mallorcan stone buildings surrounded by lavender fields and olive groves on a 388-acre plot—has 24 terracotta-toned suites with floor-to-ceiling windows, as well as an infinity pool and fire-cooking restaurant. Spend days hiking in the Serra de Tramuntana, swimming in pools (there are three to choose from) with a mountain backdrop, or lazing on the white sands of Alcúdia Bay before retiring to feast at the all-day restaurant. Helmed by chef David Martinez, dishes feature locally sourced meat and homegrown veg all slow-roasted over a crackling wood fire. —Toby Skinner
Son Bunyola, Mallorca
This has been one of Richard Branson’s passion projects for decades, and it was finally been completed in June 2023: a lovingly reimagined 16th-century finca set amid 1,300 acres of olive groves and vineyards with teetering views down to the sea and the Tramuntana mountains rising behind. This is Mallorca at its wildest and most original—a UNESCO World Heritage Site no less—and Son Bunyola places you right smack bang in the heart of the landscape.
Inside the finca is the original olive press, the chapel’s altarpiece takes pride of place in the main restaurant, and the 13th-century defensive tower, rising above the tiled courtyard, now protects two suites. The swimming pool, lined with turquoise tiles and shimmering in the sunlight, is deserving of a Slim Aarons photograph or two. There are just 26 rooms here, many with original wooden rafters, and mostly set around the courtyard with views over the pool or mountains. Extremadura-born chef Samuel Galdón presents a vegetable-forward menu at the main restaurant, and a second is set to open in the original olive press serving Mallorcan spins on tapas on the menu. —Rick Jordan
Pernilla DanielssonhotelCan Ferrereta, Santanyi
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Hot List 2022Andrés Soldevila Ferrer, a scion of the Catalan family who owns the grande-dame Majestic Hotel on Barcelona’s Passeig de Gràcia, has been a fan of Mallorca since childhood holidays with his grandparents. Looking for a country property to complement his Palma palace, he homed in on the island’s deep south and found a 17th-century mansion in a state of chronic disrepair. Its vaulted roofs and haylofts have been transformed from crumbling relics to original features that underscore a rule-breaking combination of rustic minimalism and high-end townhouse, where rugged textures coexist with Santa and Cole lamps and Carl Hansen armchairs.
There’s an impressive collection of contemporary Spanish art and plenty of local input from potters, carpenters, and farmers alongside fine Catalan linens (Lo de Manuela) and Italian ceramics (Bucci). Can Ferrereta calls for little exertion beyond a browse around the superb haul of work by artists such as Dominica Sánchez and Jordi Alcaraz, a salt-and-seaweed treatment at the Sa Calma spa, or a supper of modern Mediterranean cooking at Alvar Albaladejo’s Ocre restaurant, fast shaping up as the best in the southeast.
Courtesy BelmondhotelLa Residencia, A Belmond Hotel, Deia
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Readers' Choice Awards 2021, 2022The vastness of the property—bought by Richard Branson in 1987 and now owned by Belmond—is stealth-like, a warren of centuries-old buildings hidden among the foothills of the Serra de Tramuntana. Despite the 71 bedrooms (including six bright new suites), an art gallery, two artists’ studios, four restaurants, two outdoor pools, tennis courts, a kids’ club, and mountain trails, there is a pervading sense of space and wonderful privacy. All rooms have terraces looking out to the green-shuttered, ochre town and glittering sea, and some have their own plunge pool—ideal in this sun-trap of a valley. Inside, they are big and cool with splashes of citrus shades, marshmallow-soft beds, and safes concealed behind works of art (the hotel has more than 800, of which 33 are original Mirós).
The brilliant bistro sends out tapas of jamón ibérico and chorizo cooked in cider—or there’s candlelit El Olivo, where the tasting menu is a hearty and lengthy love letter to Mallorcan gastronomy: freshly caught prawns baked on a bed of salt for just three minutes, suckling pig with a sage and sobrasada sauce, and Sóller-orange ice cream. Each day there’s a soul-brightening boat trip along the coast, where you can play David Attenborough spotting Eleonora’s falcons and snorkel among schools of silvery fish. But the most popular pastime here is taking in that dreamy view.
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Art Sanchez/Can Bordoy Grand House & GardenhotelCan Bordoy Grand House and Garden, Palma
$$$ | Readers' Choice Awards 2019, 2021, 2022Like many special hotels, this one is tricky to find. Only the discreet stone archway that leads off the square to what was once a private family home—then a school run by nuns—indicates you have arrived. Can Bordoy today has been entirely renovated by much-in-demand husband-and-wife architects Jaime Oliver and Paloma Hernaiz of OHLAB. Their aim was to respect the building’s rich heritage while bringing it up to date with contemporary notes. There’s a shady courtyard and a long, stone bar with a low-key reception area; a living room with beautiful creeping vines across the ceiling connects to a dining room and a library with views out to the back.
The designers have excelled in filling this space with natural light and drama with a mix of both vintage and new furniture. Their vast, custom-made walnut beds and in-room cocktail bars with integrated stereos are real highlights. The basement spa and rooftop sundeck with 360-degree views and a glass-bottom plunge pool are delightful, as is the Botànic restaurant run by chef Andrés Benitez, focusing on locally sourced organic ingredients.
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Vera Lair/Courtesy Sant Francesc Hotel SingularhotelSant Francesc Hotel Singular, Palma
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Gold List 2019 Readers' Choice Awards 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021From a platinum-pedigree family of hoteliers, owner Andrés Soldevila Ferrer embarked on the refurbishment of a 19th-century palace and turned it into a savvy showstopper with an independent spirit. Thoughtful extras in the rooms include a handy waterproof bag for wet swimwear and the gift of a black handbook with the owner’s favorite island haunts. In the process of its transformation, table number 42 (where Michelle Obama once dined) has become a must-have in the Quadrat Restaurant & Garden. Formerly the stables, the kitchen serves fresh, seasonal Mediterranean fare—the signature dish of scarlet shrimp socarrat rice created with the island’s famed Soller red prawns is rich and creamy thanks to preparation in a traditional paella pan. At breakfast, try traditional ensaïmada, snail-shaped pastries made by renowned bakery C’an Joan de S’aigo. —Anna Nicholas
hotelEsplendido, Port de Sóller
Swedish couple Mikael and Johanna Landström (who also own the Hotel Portixol in Palma) have transformed it from rather dusty traditional lodgings into a gleaming-fresh temple of Scandinavian chic. The bright and airy bedrooms—retro-cool with mid-century armchairs and fern-frond-printed wallpaper—have views either out to the water or to the terraced gardens behind, planted with olive trees, red geranium, and bougainvillea. And because there's no traffic, you really can fall asleep to the sound of waves lapping the shore.
There's a kids' menu in the bistro, a family pool (and one for the grown-ups), baby bedding, highchairs, and cots all available, as well as junior treatments in the spa. And if you manage to get everyone to bed in time when you're back, make a beeline for one of the striped, nautical chairs on the terrace. Order a stiff gin and tonic and marvel as the sun drops straight between the cliffs and sets behind the bobbing boats.
Courtesy Es Racó D’artàhotelEs Raco D'Arta, near Artà
$$$ | Hot List 2021Architect/designer Antoni Esteva and his long-time associate and builder Jaume Danús are behind some of Mallorca’s most fascinating hotel projects, but this is their best yet. The traditional possessió, or estate, sprawls across acres of glorious countryside in the island’s pristine north-east corner, with elements of monastic refuge, farm stay and nature reserve. The main building, a mansion whose foundations date from the 13th century, has a fortress-like air. Rustic minimalism is Esteva’s stock in trade. This strikes first in the whitewashed interior, the predominant use of natural fibres and the total absence of clutter. Locally crafted objects are artfully positioned (a hat on a hook, a basket in a corner) but the soundtrack is silence.
All-round wellness is the point of a stay here. The spa focuses on meditation and water therapies, plus there’s yoga. The wooden slab that serves as a reception desk has no computer and the mobile-phone signal is deliberately reduced. Esteva knows that paying lip service to green values simply won’t do any more, so the property uses solar and geothermal energy and has an ecological water-treatment system. Fruit, vegetables, honey and olive oil come from the organic garden, wine from its vineyard. Natural infusions and kombucha are offered instead of commercial fizzy drinks. If all this sounds too austere to be truly comfortable, know that the effect of a few days here is one of deep, transformative relaxation. Es Racó is somewhere from which you’ll emerge a changed person. —Paul Richardson
Hotel Glòria de Sant Jaume, Palma
House in a restored 16th-century palace, this property once belonged to the Palou de Comasema—a dynasty who later donated part of the building to a religious order of nuns. Among the sandstone arches, original black-and-white floors, and sloping-beam ceilings are charming historical quirks such as the 19th-century newspapers found beneath floral wallpaper, now framed as artwork. Add to this intimate old-school service and it’s clear that this small hotel is not the work of a novice: the owner Jordi Cabau is a seasoned Spanish hotelier. And this feels like a family affair. His wife Heidi Wolf handpicked the red velvet sofas, high princess-and-the-pea beds, antique Spanish brass lights, and collections of wall mirrors and carriage clocks lending an unforced Art Deco feel to rooms. No two are the same.
Meanwhile, the restaurant, El Patio de Glòria, is all romantic heroine with bookshelves and chairs in pony grey and raspberry pink. Here polyglot maître d’ Michele dances between languages and tables, introducing Argentinian chef Javier Gardonio’s witty dishes such as “Patatas Bravas The Way Jordi Likes Them.”
Courtesy El Llorenç Parc de la MarhotelEl Llorenc Parc De La Mar, Palma
Readers' Choice Awards 2020, 2021, 2022With a sky-skimming infinity pool—the longest in Palma—bringing the Balearic sea right up to the feet of the Balinese sunbeds, El Llorenç’s rooftop is glorious. Around the corner from Palma’s historic hammams in Parc de la Mar, this hotel refracts the medieval heritage of its La Calatrava location through an ultra-contemporary lens. Swedish designer Magnus Ehrland used 27 different geometric tiles in the space, all versions of the Arabic star.
During construction, architect Pedro Rabassa found an 11th-century Moorish oven in the foundations. Ehrland designed without dogma, freely adding botanical splashes: local Santanyi stone pillars and Versailles-style parquet floors are playfully mixed with quirky, palm-print carpets, peacock chairs, and feather headdresses. Sense of place is established with photographs of Palma, an exotic green-tile basement pool and hammam, and Tannur restaurant, which serves up hearty Mallorcan food. Meanwhile, DINS is a fine-dining experience by island chef Santi Taura, who deconstructs historic local dishes.
Courtesy Finca Serena MallorcahotelFinca Serena, Montuïri
$$ | Hot List 2020Set in a 13th-century finca on a 99-acre estate, this stay was opened in April 2019 by Unico Hotels (the group behind island refuge Finca Gayeta) and has the apt air of a religious order’s bucolic retreat. Less minimalist and more Shaker-like simple, the 25 rooms free minds of worldly distractions with natural linens, polished concrete wet rooms, milk-white-painted beams, and wooden farm furniture sourced from French flea markets. The only adornments are olive branches from the estate, which encompasses orchards, 29 acres of newly planted vines, hiking paths, an outdoor pool, yoga shalas, and a spa stocked with Natura Bissé products.
Farm baskets and wooden boards hang in the breakfast room, where an ancient fireplace has been turned into a loveseat; the spread of chia-seed puddings, Mallorcan coca bread and pan con tomate is eaten on the cobbled terrace over a congregation of olives trees. Meanwhile, the courses at Jacaranda restaurant have been pared down to three farm-fed seasonal choices by chef Baltazar Rigo, with dishes such as fennel soup, broccoli risotto, and carob cake with apricot ice cream.
Stella RotgerCal Reiet, Santanyi
This place is something of a first for the island: a holistic hybrid, part deeply pretty hotel, part spa escape, and part standalone wellness hotspot with impressive treatments (craniosacral work, osteopathy, singing bowls, reiki, and Ayurvedic abhyanga, as well as massages and facials). Big hitters such as fitness-focused Equilibrium run retreats throughout the year as part of a schedule that includes transformational vinyasa and yin-yoga weeks, meditation sessions, and even business-strategy gatherings.
The three-story house itself is a calming haven; originally built as a family home in 1881, it retains a cozy bohemian atmosphere. The sitting room—stuffed with curios, banana-leaf plants, a grand piano, and squishy sofas—opens up to the gardens: orchards of trees (olives, figs, and almond) and a terrace that is lit up with candles and flaming torches at night. The 15 bedrooms are neutral and completely relaxing; no TVs to distract you, just the buzz of cicadas and the whoosh of wind through tall trees.
Oliver PilcherCastell Son Claret hotel, Es Capdellà
This estate—which belongs to German billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne—is one of the island's largest private country properties with 326 acres of farmland, woods, and gardens. The 15th-century castle was Kühne's corporate hideaway until a further wave of restoration transformed it into 43 rooms of jaw-dropping beauty.
Castell Son Claret's extremely classy interior— the work of Munich-based designer Danilo Silvestrin—combines marble and sandstone with wood, leather, and glass. The Sa Clastra restaurant, headed by Mallorcan chef Jordi Canto, whips up culinary classics with a gastronomic twist. There are even plans to produce the hotel's own scent, echoing the natural aromas of the surrounding countryside. But what's most striking about the place is the way its voluptuous interior never entirely obliterates the deeply rural character of the vast estate.
Oliver PilcherhotelBrondo Architect hotel, Palma
$$This is Palma's first venture into Architectural Digest-approved contemporary style. The arch mix of original floors and retro furniture with ethnic carpets and contemporary lighting works like a dream. Just don't expect extreme comforts: it's a laid-back spot where service is conspicuous by its absence and the new wing in particular—with bare concrete and stripped-back brick— has a starkness that can only be described as potentially too cool for its own good. Brondo Architect is essentially a design showroom you can stay in, and it certainly adds to the variety and vitality of Palma's hotel scene.
Calatrava Hotel, Palma
From the same Barcelona-based family of designers that created Can Cera, the Calatrava is in a little park with ficus trees above the old harbor wall; the 19th-century house has five floors and eight suites out of a total of just 17 rooms. The suites—measuring from 753 square feet and all with sea views—are especially covetable. The view from the roof terrace is a widescreen Mediterranean panorama taking in the cathedral, Bellver Castle, and the whole of Palma Bay, stretching away eastwards to Cap Blanc.
Hotel Portixol, Palma
Just 15 minutes away from Palma's flashy marina, the old harbor of Portixol with its traditional llaüts (Mallorcan fishing vessels) feels like it belongs to another era. That is until you enter this waterside hotel and discover Spanish architect Rafael Vidal's open-plan interior. Owner Johanna Landström's has refreshed the space with a palette of soft oyster whites, turquoise, and teal, and the rooms are dotted with mid-century furniture, marble floors, and natural wood. In-the-know locals come here to sip early evening cocktails at the bar, and savvy travelers use it as a weekend getaway. The spa area has two treatment rooms plus a mini gym and sauna. Downstairs, French doors open onto the pool terrace, where you can laze while listening to the lapping of the Med and nibble on grilled mini-scallops.
Can Simoneta, Canyamel
Set on a clifftop above the bay of Canyamel, Can Simoneta feels fantastically tucked away. The adults-only Mallorca hotel was designed by local architect Toni Esteva, who spread the 28 bedrooms across two mid-19th century stone houses and updated the interiors in calming creams and taupes. There are simple but stylish doubles and the two-room Gran Suite Neptuno—which is set in a walled garden with a private pool—but the best place to stay is the Beach House with its sea views. A winding staircase leads to the water, hot tubs are dotted around the manicured lawns, and crocheted cotton hammocks swing from umbrella pines. The spa offers facials using products from Spanish brand Natura Bissé, and the restaurant serves locally sourced suckling lamb or Iberian pork. It's quite the grown-up hideaway.
A version of this article originally appeared in Condé Nast Traveller.
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