Set the scene.
This is the sort of place where people set off, novel in hand, to wander through the orchards looking for a shady patch to read or cover their faces with a hat for a snooze, all before heading back for a local gin cocktail under the poolside pergola. Everything about the surroundings is authentic. Wonky windmills revolve in the distance, and lemon, orange, and cypress trees line the driveway. The farmhouse itself is somehow both rough and smooth, laid-back and stylish, a rambling old Finca with a chic attitude. The price compares favorably with long-established country house hotels on the Tramuntana coast, making it an exciting new offering.
What’s the backstory?
The hotel is the first rural outpost from Pau Guardans i Cambo of Barcelona-based Único group who own Grand Hotel Central Barcelona and the Hotel Unico Madrid. Gaurdans is passionate about creating a portfolio that is constantly evolving, so this two-year transformation of a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, which is totally different from his big city hotels, makes sense.
What can we expect in our room?
Armchairs are upholstered in mole-grey linen, bedside lamps are lightbulbs cocooned in wicker that hang from the ceiling, cool cement floors are soothing, and thick Hessian rugs are tucked under the beds. Although on first sight it appears minimalist, there’s more detail than meets the eye (Gaurdans loves details). There's plenty of hand-made pottery; a stack of pool towels, slippers, and bathrobes; a pillow menu; and wardrobes that glow with soft light when opened. Some rooms have terraces, and one faces the vineyard. Bath products are presented on an olive-wood cheeseboard.
How about the food and drink?
Chef Celia Martín (ex Santi Taura) does modern Mallorcan at Jacaranda (named after the trees found on the estate). It’s a clever and unshowy space, but what comes out of the kitchen is a changed-daily six course tasting menu that could easily sit on one of London’s or Madrid’s latest restaurant tables. Chargrilled octopus, shrimp, or squid is a speciality, the pumpkin and miso soup is delightfully sweet and salty, and the Mallorcan lamb ribs should be washed down with a red-wine spritzer. Breakfast is beautifully laid out in the original farm kitchen—figs and fresh goat’s cheese, pastries from Forn Can Salem in Algaida—and is particularly stand-out.
What’s the crowd like?
Mallorca regulars tired of La Residencia and Europeans looking to chill for a few nights (they’ve left their children behind and are finally getting through The Mirror & The Light) are the types of guests here. This is a spot for couples who want fields and forests, not sand and sangría.
Anything to say about the service?
For a hotel so easy-going and encouraging of slow living, the staff sure dart around hastily: placing an Aperol spritz on a chunky wooden side table by the pool, fixing a parasol, dusting leaves off the crooked cobbles, twisting fairy lights in the trees, fetching bicycles, organizing personal training sessions…they are always on the job, always trying to make each stay exceptional.
What’s the neighborhood scene like?
Pleasingly absent. You might see a tractor on a winding country lane, but that’s about it. In the day time, there’s a couple of homely Spanish tavernas a quick drive away serving simple but exquisite bread and olive oil, perhaps with wafer-thin Iberico ham and piquant peppers. The only nightlife to speak of is a quiet beer in the snoozy village of Pina.
Anything else to add?
The Finca’s former cowshed is now a Natura Bissé spa with wide-screen views. A post-treatment swing in a hammock under palm tree leaves almost as big as canoes is pretty soporific. There’s also a couple of running routes purposefully plowed into the estate especially for guests.
Anything you’d change?
The atmosphere pool-side is a little awkward: a touch of Mozart or Metheny might loosen things up.
Is it worth it?
The silent star-lit nights, the Finca’s feeling of away-from-it-all tranquillity, are beyond price. And in much the same sentiment as the group's flagship, Grand Hotel Central Barcelona, the price isn’t even that out of reach. So yes, it’s very, very worth it.
Ma-3200 km, 3, Montuïri, Mallorca 07230
Spain
https://www.fincaserenamallorca.com/
+34 971 18 17 58