Castell Son Claret

Castell Son Claret

The western foothills of the Serra de Tramuntana are quieter than the more celebrated northwest coast, the roads narrower, the villages smaller, the landscape a little wilder. Es Capdellà is one of those villages, a handful of stone houses and an old church about thirty minutes from Palma airport, sitting at the base of the mountains with the plains of the southwest rolling out below. It is the kind of place that exists at the edge of the tourist map, which means that the estate road you turn onto from the main road feels like a genuine departure rather than a managed one. The approach to Castell Son Claret is two hundred metres of palm-lined avenue, and it sets the tone for everything that follows. The estate covers 132 hectares, the land in continuous agricultural use since 1450, the current turreted manor house dating from the 19th century and restored in 2013 to open as a hotel. It is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World, which signals the register accurately: this is serious luxury, the kind that is expressed through scale, silence and service rather than novelty. Forty-three rooms and suites are distributed between the main castle building and a series of outbuildings and stables across the grounds, connected by winding paths through gardens of orange, olive, almond and pomegranate trees, the estate's own organic kitchen garden visible from several terraces. Rooms have solid oak or marble floors, leather headboards, Egyptian cotton, and a contemporary elegance that lets the historic stone walls and wooden beams carry the character without competing with them. The higher categories have private terraces and gardens, and five suites have their own pools. There are two restaurants. Sa Clastra holds a Michelin star and serves in the castle's main courtyard, creative Mallorcan cuisine built around the estate's own olive oil and produce from local farmers and fishermen. Olivera is more relaxed, for breakfast and lighter meals through the day. The bar occupies the former chapel. The spa has an indoor pool, a hammam, a sauna, and a full treatment menu. A 7.2-kilometre trail runs through the estate's untouched parkland. Hotel bicycles, tennis courts, yoga, and guided hikes are available for those who want them, and the kind of poolside idleness that doesn't require justification for those who don't. Open March to November. The people who come here want the full weight of a grand Mallorcan estate without the social performance that sometimes comes with it. The estate absorbs guests quietly. You can spend a day without seeing many other people, which at 43 rooms on 132 hectares is entirely possible and very much the point. The short version: A 19th-century turreted manor house on a 132-hectare private estate at the foot of the Tramuntana, thirty minutes from Palma. Forty-three rooms and suites across the castle and its outbuildings, a Michelin-starred restaurant in the main courtyard, organic kitchen garden, hammam spa, estate trails and cycling. Leading Hotels of the World. The full weight of a grand Mallorcan estate without the noise. Open March to November.