SPAIN: Mallorca

There are three hotels that really impressed me during my recent stay in Mallorca. Each has a distinctive vibe quite different from the others, but all have a warmth and enveloping comfort that invited me to stay. Two are located in the dramatic interior of the island and are very high-end. Both their fabulous locations and exclusive nature put them out of my price range, but I did spend a day each luxuriating in their service and amenities. Under different circumstances I would enjoy a more extended stay.

Treurer Finca

The Treurer Finca is the Miralles family’s centuries-old rural estate with a five-star, eight suite hotel in its 16^th century stone building. The epitome of agritourism, Treurer sits on a hilltop across the patio from an excellent restaurant run by chef José Cortés. The entire compound is surrounded by beautiful gardens backing up to acres of young olive trees.

Olives are relatively new to the estate, having been planted only since 2007. The production is still small, but growing, with about 15,000 liters of award-winning olive oil bottled each season. It is available in the best markets of Europe, the United States, and elsewhere. And, of course, it is widely used in the flavorful creations of chef José Cortés which, inspired by his global sensibilities, are grounded in traditional Mallorcan dishes and ingredients. If, for whatever reason you cannot book a stay in the boutique hotel, plan on visiting Treurer for one of Chef José’s incredible meals. Be sure to pick up some olive oil while you are there.

Son Brull

Son Brull is a 5-star luxury hotel & spa creatively situated in a centuries-old monastery in Pollensa, Mallorca. It is part of the Relais & Châteaux hotels collection, making it one of the most exclusive hotels in the world. The stone three-story building wraps around a central courtyard and houses 23 luxurious rooms on the two upper floors. The ground floor is home to reception, two restaurants, a bistro and a spa, with ample room to display the huge wooden wine press from the old days. (Modern wine production takes place in newer outbuildings which can be seen in the distance beyond the vineyard.)

Outside, there is a bar and dining area beside the patio surrounding the pool. This is bordered on one side by a rock cliff climbing 100s of feet towards a forested mountaintop. The other sides are elegant gardens that stop at the vineyards. Paths through the gardens lead to a tennis area and four hidden two bedroom villas, each with its own pool, on lower terraces.

In addition, the solar powered property is nearly self-sufficient. They make their own wines and liquors, honey, and breads, plus they grow their own vegetables. What they do not make or grow onsite is purchased locally. With a friendly and most accommodating staff, surrounded by a building exuding the history of the ages, and with amazing cuisine, Son Brull is perfection, as one would expect in a Relais & Châteaux property.

Hotel Saratoga

Located on the harbor in the city of Palma, Hotel Saratoga was my home for my week in Mallorca. From there I could walk to fine dining, tour fun bars and clubs, visit the Gaudi tweaked cathedral, or just hang out at the rooftop pool and bar enjoying the views.

The included breakfast was an elaborate buffet that featured omelet and pancake stations and two automated espresso machines. After my daily explorations visiting wineries, salt farms, pearl factories, caves, and nature preserves, I returned to a cozy sauna and a swim in the heated pool before exploring Palma de Mallorca’s nightlife. On many evenings my last stop was at the rooftop bar where the friendly (and long suffering) staff served the last drink of the day in a refreshing atmosphere of camaraderie.

Hotel Saratoga, with lodging much kinder to my budget than the others, is also steeped in a different kind of history than the first two hotels. Unlike their centuries-old accommodations, the four-star Hotel Saratoga is a modern building, opened in Palma in 1962, not retrofitted from a previous use, and therefore much more functional in design and layout. Family-run since its inception, it has been updated every year since. But, coming to Mallorca from upstate New York very near the city of Saratoga, it was the meaning of the name that intrigued me most. For that I needed a history lesson.

The facts from my research say that Saratoga is not a Spanish word but a Mohawk word referencing the springs and bubbling waters that made Saratoga famous. Additionally, there have been several US Naval ships called USS Saratoga after the pivotal Revolutionary War Battle of Saratoga. It was the fifth aircraft carrier to have that name, commissioned in April of 1956, that anchored in the Palma harbor during a 1958 Mediterranean tour. Over the years, other iterations did as well. Shortly after that, planning and construction of Hotel Saratoga began.

Anecdotally, the front desk personnel told me one USS Saratoga was in the harbor during a period of unrest in Mallorca’s history as a show of force to keep the peace. Its presence so impressed the families that founded the hotel that they named their hotel Saratoga.

Whatever the story, I enjoyed staying in Hotel Saratoga, comfortable in the surroundings and in the connection to so much US history and my home state.

Here’s a Bonus Fourth Mallorcan Hotel video from a previous visit.

• Hotel Saratoga
• Treurer Finca
• Son Brull
• Fleur del Sel

Photo credits: Hotel Saratoga & USS Saratoga images provided. All others by Richard Frisbie.