Mirabò de Valldemossa
There’s something deeply comforting about this honey-stone finca in the Tramuntana mountains. It’s smart without being stiff, designed without being overly ‘done’. Stays here are about good food, good wine, and restoration. Spaces to hang out are thoughtfully arranged, indoors and out: courtyards set with plants, pools flanked by cypresses and wild grasses, groves of olive trees, a breakfast terrace with chairs set beneath foliage. The living room with its open fire, books on the mantelpiece and honesty bar feels like home, while the restaurant (and extensive wine list) is a real treat. Bedrooms are all-white, stone-walled, some with terraces looking across a valley to the pretty hill town of Valldemossa.
Doubles from €237; mirabo.es/en
Finca Serena
A rustic aesthetic – hand-hewn wooden furniture, limewashed walls, linens the colour of stone – belies the five-star finesse at work at Finca Serena, one of Mallorca’s best rural hotels and part of Spanish boutique group Único. The gracefully restored farmhouse sits on a 40-hectare estate encompassing vineyards, orchards, olive groves and vegetable gardens supplying the smart restaurant, alongside Mediterranean planting. Grape vines wind up the ancient stone walls set with louvred shutters and Crittall doors. The 25 bedrooms are elegant, pared back, white-on-white. There’s a spa and the dreamiest pool terrace overlooking patchwork wheatfields. The finca is appropriately named, for there can be no more serene spot on the island – not least because it’s for over-14s only. A sister hotel is opening in May, another finca called The Lodge, with 24 rooms and set in lavender fields – one to watch.
Doubles from €233; fincaserenamallorca.com
Osa Major
Now utterly exquisite, Osa Major was found in ruins, inhabited only by sheep and owls, and brought back to life by Brenda Ooteman and her partner Roland, the incumbent groovy Dutch couple with an eye for art and design. From its hillside vantage point by day are views across the gentle Mallorcan countryside – from bedrooms and cushioned reading nooks, from sun-dappled dining and pool terraces, from the open-sided hilltop yoga sala – and by night, of the constellations above (hence the name, which means “Great Bear”). Honest-to-goodness food is the focus here, with produce from the land (the owners have created their own vegetarian cookbook). There’s a wholesome artsiness to the vibe, and particularly on spring and autumn retreats and workshops (yoga, dance, photography, cycling). There’s a strong sense you’re joining the family you wish you had.
Prices on enquiry; osamajor.com
Son Viscos
Creeper climbs the peachy facade of this agroturismo outside Valldemossa, which is magical from top to toe. If there’s a whiff of the English cottage garden – acanthus, allium, mismatched wooden benches – about the verdant grounds, that’s perhaps because the owner Michael Roberts is an affable Brit who continues the tradition of giving travellers a warm welcome at this age-old B&B. Within its thickset walls, five bedrooms are whitewashed and oak-beamed, minimally furnished with rough-hewn wooden pieces, beds dressed in contemporary linens and kantha quilts.
Doubles from €165; sonviscos.es
Finca Es Cabàs
At the end of a dusty track lined with almond trees and cypresses, Finca Es Cabàs is a gem of an agroturismo – a medieval Moorish farmhouse, gently restored, its country soul intact. Donkeys and sheep graze the estate where the owners continue to make their own wine, olive oil and flour, as their predecessors have for centuries; banks of rosemary and lavender scent the air beside the outdoor pool. Interiors feel personal, with a mix of local artworks and furniture alongside pieces gathered from the owners’ travels around the world. They do yoga retreats here sometimes, but otherwise it’s child-friendly – the two-bedroom apartment is perfect for families.
Doubles from €176; fincaescabas.com/en/
Son Palou
Walking trails lead directly from the gates of this green-shuttered finca in the hillside hamlet of Orient, the Tramuntana slopes a verdant backdrop. Fifteen-room Son Palou is relaxed and slightly old-fashioned – antique wooden beds and squishy white armchairs, terracotta-tiled floors beneath oak-beamed ceilings – with the feel of an old family home, which is exactly what it is. Personable owner Marc Colom and his team proffer tips on walking routes and local restaurants, help arrange horse-riding excursions or pack picnics for days at the beach. There’s a separate little two-room finca with its own pool too – fab for families.
Doubles from €150 B&B; sonpalou.com/en
Laura Fowler is a freelance writer and editor. Follow her on Instagram here @lady_fowler
