This Mallorca hotel took 20 years to open — is it worth it?

Jun 01, 2023

Twenty years is a long time to wait for a hotel, but that’s how long it took for Son Bunyola — a 16th-century Mallorcan finca turned boutique hotel estate — to open its doors. All the squabbling over planning permission was certainly worth it for its owner, Sir Richard Branson.

Wedged into the steep cliffs of the Tramuntana mountains and peering out over millennia-old olive trees to the three miles of its own private Mediterranean coastline, this is the Balearic island’s newest luxury hotel and Virgin Limited Edition’s first in Europe.

Sprawling across 1,300 acres of land at the heart of a Unesco world heritage site, yet offering only 3 villas and 26 rooms and suites, it has managed to pull off the tricky feat of being magnificent but not pretentious. That’s largely thanks to its 120-strong staff, who are wonderfully efficient without being overbearing.

The setting is pretty special too. “It’s the last completely and utterly unspoilt piece of land in Mallorca,” says Branson, who is there during my stay. “And quite possibly one of the most beautiful in all of Europe.”

Branson spent childhood holidays on the island and first fell in love with what was then a crumbling finca two decades ago. Seemingly endless red tape repeatedly stalled the property’s development, to the point where Branson gave up: he sold Son Bunyola in 2002, only to repurchase the estate in 2015. “It has some of the highest protection levels given to such buildings, which meant years of meticulous planning, many archaeological studies and a devoted focus on sustainability,” he says. “It’s incredible to see it now, finally, brought back to life.”

With a pristine white exterior and two turrets — one of them new and the other dating back to the 1500s — Son Bunyola is eye-catching. Its splendid courtyard borrows from Morocco — colourful tiles, giant candles and palms flourishing from ceramic pots — and there’s an ancient oil press.

Outside the breakfast room, a church altar has been preserved, 16th-century doors are now coffee tables, baby blue tiles meet splashes of pistachio and coral, and bold modern art enlivens Binissalem stone walls. A beguiling scent of citrus and spice hovers in the bar area — a fragrance developed specially for the hotel by a local perfumer.

The most impressive feature, however, is a vast, 28m pool. When Branson isn’t on his bike, looping around the steep mountains behind us — “It’s one of the best areas for cycling in the world,” he says — he does slow lengths up and down that glorious rectangle. Fringed with palm trees above elegant sun loungers, gazebos and small tables, it’s an inviting place to while away the day.

● Best things to do in Mallorca● Other great hotels in Mallorca

Come evening, guests gravitate to the main terrace. Here, to the tune of waves, native birds and bleats from distant goats, the sun disappears into the sea below. Fairy lights flicker on in the trees and, once a week on Spanish night, flamenco dancers march and spin as dinner is served.

With a tennis court, as well as mountain bikes and kayaks to hire, or even sailing boats, there’s no excuse to be recumbent. There are also weekly guided walks with the local author and historian Tomàs Vibot to inspect the Bronze and Iron Age remains scattered across the estate. And a shuttle is on hand to ferry guests to charming neighbouring villages — be sure to visit the Saturday morning market in pretty Esporles. Honey-hued Valldemossa is also only a 20-minute drive away.

Foodies have their pick between the hotel’s two restaurants, one Mediterranean-themed and the other a tapas bar in what was once the finca’s oil mill. Both menus have been designed by the head chef Samuel G Galdón, who follows a farm-to-table philosophy: freshly baked bread with olive oil from the estate and herbs from the kitchen garden, locally caught seafood in gargantuan pans of paella and charcoal-roasted Iberian pork. The recently replanted vineyard (grapes have been grown here since 1275) will enable the estate to produce its own malvasia.

Although Son Bunyola is not designed specifically with children in mind, I am here with my one-year-old son and am pleasantly surprised. In the restaurants, fine wicker highchairs complement the rest of the seats — no Ikea here. In our suite, a brand new wooden cot (far nicer than the one we have at home) is laid out with a hooded baby towel (embroidered with his name — a service available on request), a selection of toys and even an inflatable pool float. There are also games and chessboards dotted about the hotel’s many alcoves.

The rooms are tasteful and comfortable, most featuring high oak-beamed ceilings, wooden fans and freestanding bathtubs; some have their own terraces, while all are stocked with locally crafted bathroom amenities (plus ghd hair straighteners — a rare treat) and complimentary minibars.

Son Bunyola has competition, as a number of other top-end hotels have recently opened on the island — the lavish Gran Hotel Son Net in a 17th-century former palace also in the Tramuntana mountains, and the tennis champion Rafael Nadal’s freshly launched Zel, on the shores of Palma Nova, among them. But none of them proves the point so well that good things come to those who wait.

Annabel Fenwick Elliott was a guest of Son Bunyola, which has B&B doubles from £471 (virginlimitededition.com). Fly to Palma

By Sarah Turner

Many of Mallorca’s most exciting restaurant openings have been in Palma. In its ever-trendifying Santa Catalina district, El Txoko de Martín draws in the crowds, and for good reason. In 2021 the chef Martín Berasategui, one of the island’s culinary stars, returned to his tapas roots with this 200-seater restaurant (tapas from £12; eltxokodemartin.com). On Carrer del Moll in Palma’s marina, meanwhile, Vida by UM opened this year. The chef worked under Berasategui, the menu has everything from salads to slabs of beef to share, and DJs add a gentle Mallorca-Ibiza fusion feel (mains from £21; vidabyum.com). Near the waterfront is the delightful new bar Flora, which does seasonal drinks — El Cilantro is a summer concoction of apple vodka, coriander syrup, passion and lime juice with a shot of cava (cocktails from £11; florapalma.com). It’s quite the contrast to the Palma stalwart Bar Abaco nearby, an ornate drinking den in a 19th-century mansion where locals gather for gin and tonics (cocktails from £13; bar-abaco.es).

Son Moragues, near ValldemossaTo understand the hold olive trees have on Mallorca, visit the beautiful working estate of Son Moragues, less than 20 minutes’ drive from Son Bunyola. Sheep and goats roam free among the vegetable and fruit crops and 10,000 olive trees, from gnarled 600-year-old veterans to mere striplings. Guided walks and tasting sessions are run throughout the year and you can buy the produce (two-hour walks with picnic from £64pp; sonmoragues.com).

Museu Sa Bassa Blanca, near AlcudiaIn the north of the island, this museum has a superb setting overlooking the sea. The main house has more than 150 portraits of children from the 16th to 19th centuries, plus — among other curiosities — curtains made from crystals and the fossilised skeleton of a woolly rhinoceros. Outside, sculptures of supersized, stylised animals and Café La Paloma, with its dayglo chairs, add to this supremely family-friendly approach to culture (£9; msbb.org).

Many of Europe’s best cyclists base themselves here, both for the climbs and the mild winter climate. Bike hire and repair stations are easy to find and there are routes that challenge (especially the hairpin bends on the Sa Calobra climb). Good Mallorca-based cycling tour companies include Mills & Honey (seven nights’ B&B from £2,195pp, including bike hire; millsandhoney.com). Outside the summer months, walking holidays are also a joy; follow old mule tracks to discover hillside villages including Deia, Soller and Cala Tuent (seven nights’ full board from £1,195pp; headwater.com).

Mallorca has plenty of beach clubs, including a Nikki Beach in Magaluf, but further west, near Andratx, Beach Club Gran Folies has a uniquely Mallorcan vibe with a 130-seat restaurant, sunloungers, tiki huts and a saltwater pool with its own tapas bar (loungers from £26; beachclubgranfolies.com).

New hotelsThe island has seen a flurry of new openings this year, including the upmarket Ikos Porto Petro (all-inclusive doubles from £585; ikosresorts.com). Across the Tramuntana mountains from Son Bunyola, the 18-room Lodge Hotel, also created from a former finca, opened this summer (B&B doubles from £383; thelodgemallorca.com). You’ll also find more budget-minded new hotels. Close to Magaluf, Cook’s Club Calvia Beach opened a short walk from the sea in May with 221 rooms, a long infinity pool, DJs and decent food (B&B doubles from £85; hotelesglobales.com).

Capital staysFor those who want to explore Mallorca’s capital, Palma — and there are many reasons to do so, from food to museums — the excellent Hotel Palma Blanc opened in 2022, with pools on the rooftop and in the spa, a courtyard garden and 118 charming rooms (room-only doubles from £124; hmpalmablanc.com). At the glam boutique end, the 37-room Nobis Palma opens this month on Carrer dels Caputxins in the old town; Spanish and Scandinavian design will fuse in a 12th-century building that was once an Islamic palace (B&B doubles from £386; nobishotel.es).

Swish villasThe Mallorca specialist Insider Villas has properties that range from Casa El Terreno in central Palma (seven nights’ self-catering for five from £2,149) to the ten-bedroom The Farm in Alaro (seven nights’ full board for 20 from £53,000) but an excellent midway point is Villa Orchard in Pollenca, a cool minimalist villa with four bedrooms, an infinity swimming pool, orchards and chickens (seven nights’ self-catering for eight from £6,384; insidervillas.com).

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