The best hotels in Mallorca, chosen by our editors
Mallorca is the largest of Spain's Balearic islands and offers something for every type of holiday. In need of a city break? Palma is always a good idea. Looking to stretch out on the sand? Head to Santanyì and Es Trenc in the south. After a bit of hiking, swimming and eating fresh fish? You want to stay in the towns and villages around the Tramantuna mountains in the west. Essentially, you can visit Mallorca many many times over and discover something entirely new each time. What's more, there are a plethora of tempting places to stay (head to our guide to the best villas in Mallorca if that's more your style) so we've rounded up the best hotels in Mallorca, tried and tested by our team, for your consideration.
1/7Sant Francesc Hotel Singular
Where: Palma
If the ‘quiet luxury’ trend could be embodied by a hotel in Mallorca, Sant Francesc would be it. From its location – on a quiet, tree-lined square – to its rooftop pool that overlooks the square's church, the fabrics and fittings throughout and seamless service, Sant Francesc just has it. The 19th-century mansion has a serene feeling throughout, helped in a large part by the lofty architecture and decoration that is just on the right side of minimal. It is cool in every sense of the word and offers an incredibly welcome retreat from a day pounding the pavements of Palma. Relax in the comfortable surrounds of the 32 rooms and 10 suites, sip a cocktail in the shady courtyard garden or cool off in the aforementioned pool – however you use it, you'll be very thankful that you are.
Address: Plaza Sant Francesc, 5, 07001 Palma, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain
Price: Doubles from about £312
2/7Convent de la Missio
Where: Palma
There is a monastic quality to Convent de la Missio, rather fitting given its former life as a training base for missionaries. The hotel is incredibly peaceful, decked out in breezy linens and as many natural materials as possible, from cool, heavy stone to light wood. The doors to the rooms are not your standard hotel doors; instead, they are vastly thick, rich wooden doors with ironwork details and the feeling of shutting it – and the rest of the world – behind you signals that you are truly in a place to unwind. If you're heading to Palma to party, this is not the hotel for you. If, however, you are looking to explore the city's many cultural offerings, eat your fair share of Mallorquin fare and get some very decent sleep, there are few better hotels to place yourself than here.
The hotel is also home to Marc Fosh, one of the island's few Michelin-starred restaurants, as well as a small but effective pool in a courtyard garden, heated all year round.
Address: Carrer de la Missió, 7A, 07003 Palma, Illes Balears, Spain
Price: Doubles from £220
3/7Son Brull
Where: Pollença
A self-proclaimed ‘rural sanctuary’, Son Brull occupies an idyllic plot at the bottom of the undulating hills outside Pollença. It is tucked amongst 32 acres of fruit groves, olive trees and vineyards, the produce from which is all consumed at the hotel. There are different accommodation options here; rooms in the main building (a historic 18th-century monastery), as well as a discreet run of private villas that slope gently down towards the farmlands and come with their own private plunge pools. The main pool is long enough to properly swim in, and for those who want to simply float away, the spa is up there with the best of them in Mallorca, featuring a freezing cold plunge pool amongst the usual amenities.
Son Brull is the type of hotel you could rock up at and never leave, taking advantage of the bucolic life on offer, daily yoga classes and seasonal, local menu at the restaurant. Should you want to venture out (and you should, Mallorca has so much to offer), Pollença and its port town are striking distance on the hotel's bikes and the whole northern range of the island is within easy reach by car.
Address: Ctra. Palma -Puerto Pollença, Km. 50, 07460 Pollença, Balearic Islands, Spain
Price: Doubles from £260
Jose Heva4/7Can Bordoy
Where: Palma
Two steps from La Lonja, where merchants once traded silks and spices on the seafront, this Swedish-owned ‘Grand House & Garden’ occupies a 16th-century mansion with a fairy-tale fruit- and flower-filled garden concealed within its walls. The building was previously home to a Sacred Heart primary school. In restoring it, Paloma Hernaiz and Jaime Oliver, of local architecture studio Ohlab, have taken their cue from the Japanese art of kintsugi (repairing broken ceramics using precious metals) to enhance the building’s ‘flaws’. They have also added an eclectic mix of furniture and fixtures, and invited the greenery inside. Can Bordoy is not just atmospheric: it is also comfortable and spoiling. The suites come with extra-large king-size beds; six face the garden and 20 have sleek Inbani bath tubs. In the garden is a heated 16-metre pool and a massage cabana (leading, via a secret passage, to a subterranean spa), while chill-out music plays on the chic rooftop terrace, which has views across Palma’s marina and a glass-bottomed pool that looks down to the stairwell.
Address: Carrer del Forn de la Glòria, 14, 07012 Palma, Spain
Price: Doubles from about £250
Mark Anthony Fox5/7Es Racó d’Artà
Where: Artà
Es Racó d’Artà is a new hotel and working farm on one of the island’s largest agricultural estates, located on the outskirts of the hilltop town of the same name. Like many hotels on the island, it features the same palette of neutral linens, light wood, stone walls and curving architecture. It is cool, airy and another project by the duo of architect Antoni Esteva and his long-time associate and builder Jaume Danús. The pair have designed many Mallorquin hotels but Es Racó is their best yet, a haven of wellbeing in the middle of forestland. There's complimentary yoga every morning, alongside meditation and simply nothing is a stress or hurry at the hotel. It is in part monastic in its reverence of relaxation, but this is no silent retreat and a stay here is sure to reset anyone.
Address: Camí des Racó. Ctra. de Cala Mitjana Km1.5, Balearic Islands, Spain
Price: Doubles from about £360
6/7Can Ferrereta
Where: Santanyì
If Sant Francesc sounds like the hotel for you, but you're looking for a beach stay rather than a city trip then isn't it lucky that the team took its recipe for success to the laidback, artistic town of Santanyì? Can Ferrereta is the sister hotel to the Palma outpost and has a similar aesthetic throughout, though here perhaps it is slightly lighter and brighter to reflect its surroundings. The 32 rooms and suites are in a 17th-century mansion, set amongst a garden that seemingly goes on and on (quite a feat given that the hotel is entered from a narrow road in town) with a long, skinny pool and a spa at the end with an indoor pool. Throughout, an impressive collection of contemporary Spanish art lines the walls and work by local artisans brings texture.
Address: Carrer de Can Ferrereta, 12 07650, Santanyí, Mallorca, Spain
Price: Doubles from about £270
7/7Calatrava
Where: Palma
In contrast to many Mallorcan hotels, Calatrava – which sits near the harbour on the southeastern side of the city – is drenched in colour. It is a warm embrace of cocooning terracottas set against the endless blue of the sea and sky out the windows. There is a feeling of space here, given the location and views, that lets you breathe out a little more than the rest of the city allows. There are just 17 rooms, and the guests from each of them have access to a roof terrace where the views over the cathedral and bay are quite spectacular, especially as the sun sets, the sky fades to the same terracotta hues as inside and the lights of the city start to twinkle.
Address: Plaça de Llorenç Villalonga, 8, 07001 Palma, Illes
Price: Doubles from about £272
