Cap Rocat
Cap Rocat, once a military fortress located in the most secluded area of the bay of Palma, has been transformed into a boutique hotel.
The former cannon bays, each with a commanding view of the bay, have been turned into 21 suites with private patio and terraces while the Suite El Cabo has a large, living room furnished with art and antiques, and a spacious garden with private terrace. A further two double rooms on the fortress walls have been created from the former soldiers' quarters.
Cap Rocat's main restaurant serves cuisine based on Mediterranean dishes that change according to the season and use products sourced from local ecological farms. The Sea Club, located on the waterfront, is an open-air restaurant which serves dishes cooked in a traditional Mallorcan firewood oven and grill. Finally, the Fortress' former kitchen has been refurbished to offer a private dining room, where wine tastings and cooking classes can be arranged.
The hotel is set in 88 acres of grounds stretching along the coastline and ideal for walking, and other facilities on offer include a private beach, jetty and salt water pool. Alternatively, play a game of tennis or take a cycling trip and explore the coastal region. There are also watersports, fishing, diving, sailing and riding, and all this is just ten miles from the lovely capital of Palma.
Why We Love It
Since its opening in June 2010, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas and a smattering of Spanish royals have stayed at Cap Rocat.
Puro
Located in the neighbourhood of La Lonja, right in the heart of the historic old town, Puro is Palma's hippest boutique hotel.
A design hotel created from a restored mansion house, the Puro has a chic, contemporary ambience with a bohemian Eastern flavour to the décor. White and cream are the predominant colours, offset by colourful cushions and the casual black uniforms of the staff.
The 23 rooms and 3 suites in the main part of the hotel come with spacious bathrooms and all the latest technology, including music and video systems, plasma TVs and wireless internet access. There are two courtyard patios and a rooftop terrace with a plunge pool, sunbeds, and views across the old town.
The Opio restaurant serves Asian and Mediterranean cuisine, while the cocktail bar is one of the city's trendiest watering holes, and has a resident DJ until late at weekends.
A new addition to Puro is the standalone private wing, with 11 en suite bedrooms, an open-air hot tub, spa, kitchen and dining room, which can be rented in its entirety. There is 24-hour concierge service available and as with the hotel, guests have access to 'Oasis del Mar', the Puro's beach club, situated a mile away and served by a complimentary shuttle. This offers yoga in the mornings, a large pool, spa treatments and a restaurant, and becomes the Mallorcan capital's party venue par excellence in the evenings.
Why We Love It
Conde Nast Traveller described Puro as 'an intoxicating cocktail of modern Marrakech meets Miami meets South East Asia.' All that just two hour 20 minutes' flight away.
Castell son Claret
Castell son Claret lies at the heart of an historic 325 acre estate which has been lovingly restored, throwing open its fine oak doors to guests in 2014 and in an instant becoming one of the best luxury hotels in Mallorca.
The owners of Castell son Claret have spared no expense in restoring the castle-style main building and also the stables and outhouses (and even an old water tower) which now collectively house 38 rooms and suites. The look is all about contemporary elegance - think oak flooring, leather headboards and marble bathrooms - with every room and suite having a terrace, and some their own private gardens. A couple of the converted stable suites even have their own pools.
Another coup for the owners was snaffling the considerable talents of Spanish chef Fernando Perez Arellano, whose restaurant Zaranda has now earned him a two Michelin stars. The emphasis at Zaranda is on haute cuisine using extremely fresh and seasonal ingredients, something the hotel is well positioned to cater for given gardens on site. When the weather is good - which it almost invariably is in the summer months - guests can eat outside in the lovely courtyard. The Olivera restaurant serves delicious breakfasts (including breads from the hotel's own bakery), lighter Mediterranean lunches and more informal dinners specialising in pastas and grilled or slow cooked meats either inside or on an olive tree shaded terrace. For a pre- or post-prandial drink, the Castell Bar - once the estate's chapel - is now a temple to mixology, with the barman primed to knock up excellent cocktail, inspired by the surrounding gardens.
The spa, Bellesa de Claret, has an indoor pool, a sauna, Hammam steam room and several treatment rooms but there are also 'pocos nuvols' - outdoor tents - dotted around the grounds for treatments, meditation and yoga sessions. Meanwhile the panoramic outdoor pool is another place to laze away an afternoon, with lovely view of the Tramuntana Mountains - a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
If you can drag yourself off the sunbed, the gardens and grounds are well worth exploration. There are several hundred year old olive trees; almond, olive, pomegranate and orange groves and extensive herb gardens as well as four miles of circular paths through the grounds that are ideal for walking and mountain biking. The Mallorcan capital Palma, which is undergoing something of a renaissance of late, is also just 20 minutes' drive away.
Why We Love It
Choose your favourite location in the extremely extensive grounds and the spa team will set up an outdoor treatment tent so you can enjoy a massage while breathing in the scent of herbs and enjoying the silence of this supremely secluded spot.
Hotel Cort
Hotel Cort is the almost perfect distillation of everything a boutique city hotel should be - intimate, fun, well located and with great rooms (mainly suites in this case) and restaurant. The fact that all this sits pretty in the middle of one of the most fashionable cities in Europe - Palma - makes the whole Hotel Cort package even more alluring.
There are just 14 suites and two double rooms in total, none of which are alike, with deliciously comfortable beds, elegant interiors and tiled bathrooms. A couple of the suites and one of the doubles even have small terraces complete with sunloungers overlooking the internal courtyard, and there's a small plunge pool on the roof as well for use by all guests.
The main event away from the rooms is the buzzing bar and restaurant that takes up the full front of the hotel and which is one of the most fun places to eat and drink in an already highly gastronomic city. Come summer the action spills out into the Placa de Cort square and guests can enjoy a drink or dinner in the shade of a huge 800 year old olive tree. The Hotel Cort restaurant specialises in Mediterranean dishes using the freshest ingredients bought from the city's superb markets, while the RawBar serves a selection of oysters, tuna tartar and - in our humble opinion - the best ceviche this side of Peru, all washed down in with a fine selection of cavas and excellent Mallorcan wines. For a more intimate drink, try the low ceilinged Altillo bar which overlooks the action in the main bar.
Why We Love It
This super-stylish establishment is run with suitably Scandinavian elan by Norwegian Tone Adserø and her faithful half dachshund, half Jack Russell Albert.
Son Brull
It is hard to fault this lovely hotel close to the bay of Pollenca in the North East of Mallorca. It is also very hard to haul yourself away from the hotel's grounds to sample the delights of this stunning part of Mallorca.
Spend the day at the hotel's excellent pool in one of the four-poster daybeds complete with muslin curtains swaying in the breeze.
There are just 23 spacious and contemporary rooms, all designed differently, and all with lovely views. The Son Brull's 365 restaurant serves the best food in the north-east of the island and people come from miles around to eat here. The excellent Oliveda Spa uses a variety of olive based products for its treatments.
For the more active the hotel has a tennis court, bicycles to explore the beautiful countryside and can organise a round of golf. Other things you might want to consider doing nearby include all manner of water-sports, a trip out to the end of Formentor peninsula or to one of Cala San Vincenc's four beaches.
Why We Love It
The barman's passion-fruit caipirinha are a speciality here - so try one and then see if you can avoid having another.
