For many years, Mallorca has been known as a sleepy island— a place where wealthy Europeans bought crumbling fincas in the Tramuntana mountains as second homes and British vacationers came for cheap holidays at built up resorts along the coast. However, in recent years, a new wave of creatives from Berlin to London to Madrid have discovered this quiet island and put down more permanent roots, bringing a new bohemian, back to the land vibe.
There’s Dalad Kambhu, a Thai Michelin star chef who is based in Berlin, but comes to the storied hillside village of Deia to the cliffside home of her fiancé, the architectural designer Geoffry Grunfeld. Lena Catterick and Carlo Letica started their successful business, the clothing company Yoli & Otis, in Byron Bay, Australia and then moved to Bali for a few years before relocating to a farmhouse on the island in 2018. There’s the British photographer Kate Bellm who along with her Mexican artist husband Edgar Lopez and Australian restaurateur friend Magnus Reid will soon be opening a glamorously bohemian 15-room hotel called Hotel Corazon in the hills above the village of Soller. “We’re creating a hub for all our artist friends here in Tramuntana,” said Bellm.
Living by the sea in Palma there’s the French designer Alexandra Senes of the brand Kilometre Paris and in the village of Felanitx there’s Katharina Herold, a German art consultant and designer originally from Hamburg. “To be honest I used to avoid Mallorca because I thought too many Germans go there but I realized that there are so many unwarranted cliches connected to the island. There is so much more to Mallorca,” says Herold. There is a very supportive and synergistic atmosphere on the island at the moment.”
This has in turn nurtured the island’s craft movement that has only been enhanced by the pandemic. There’s even a XTANT, a new annual heritage craft fair XTANT founded by the textile curator Marcella Echavarria and the fashion designer Kavita Parmar, which is happening this week. One of the best places to see the work of the island’s craft community is in the newly opened Cortana shop in Palma, conceived by the fashion designer Rosa Esteva, daughter of the architect Antoni. “Experiencing Covid here really brought home to me that it’s time for Mallorca to learn how to be self-sufficient again,” said Esteva. The textile artist Adriana Meunie agrees. “What’s happening here is the direction we need to take,” Meunie noted. “This is what the future should look like.”
HOTELS
PALMA
CAN BORDOY
Hidden by a thick 12th-century façade from the street (the Moors ruled Mallorca from 902 to 1229 so some of Palma’s streets suggest a fortified Moroccan town) one enters this property through a large double door into a courtyard which fronts a noble five-story historic palace. The first floor and lobby double as a lounge and restaurant that is scattered among three eclectic rooms, featuring a velvet teal banquette and a collection of empty bird cages hanging from the ceiling. The rooms look out over Can Bordoy’s secret garden, an nearly 8000-square-foot walled oasis with outdoor seating and orange, olive and Jacaranda trees. Behind a cluster of bamboo lies a lap pool. Each of its 24 suites are generously sized and unique; the interiors, both elegant and playful, are filled with mid-century and bespoke furniture and mirrored surfaces.
CAN CERA
Staying at Can Cera, a 17th century palace hidden in Palma’s maze-like old town, is like staying at the elegant home of a glamorous European friend. Huge doors open up onto a courtyard spilling over with potted plants and then a grand staircase leads to several intimate public spaces filled with antiques, books, and the work of some of the island’s artisans, from the organic abstract ceramic works of Jaume Roig to the dramatic large scale tapestries by Adriana Meunie, who works with local natural materials such as raffia and esparto to weave her monumental pieces. There are eight rooms and six suites, which includes the Can Cera, once the palace’s master bedroom. The welcoming staff will organize anything from a facial in the spa to drinks on the rooftop terrace to a day exploring secret coves on the property’s private boat.
HOTEL SANT FRANCESC
Located on a lovely small square very well located in Palma’s historic center, Hotel Sant Francesc is just the right balance of Old World and modern, eclectic and polished. Opened in 2015 by one of the island’s most distinguished hotel families—the Soldevila Ferrers—every detail has been considered, from the discreet and friendly service to the contemporary art works that adorn the walls. There are many modern amenities here, rare in a historic property: the gym is located in an ancient cistern, the pool is on the roof terrace and there’s an excellent restaurant Quadrat in the former stables which spills out into a lush garden.
DUX
The chic Dutch interior designer Chantal Verheijen and her architect partner Arndt Schilkowski have transformed a 1920’s villa inspired by Cuban Art Deco architecture on the fringes of Palma into the wildly colorful eight-bedroom Mansion Dux, available to take over in its entirety throughout the summer. The couple has filled the interiors with mid-century treasures –an Elda lounger, a 1920’s Cesca chair—and just the right amount of lush fabrics to create what must be one of the coziest properties on the island. Aspiring chefs will love the kitchen, which is large with a long island and all the latest appliances. It also opens up to an adjoining dining room with a table seating up to twelve. The terraced garden also features an outdoor kitchen complete with grill and long dining table. After dinner guests can take the party to the black-tiled, heated lap pool or to the home theater for a film screening.
