Can Bordoy Grand House & Garden

The old town center of Palma de Mallorca is beautiful, rich with history and impossibly atmospheric. Even so, it’s not quite adequate preparation for what you’ll find within the 12th-century stone walls of Can Bordoy Grand House and Garden. It’s made from a couple of heritage buildings, and the ancient architecture lends its spaces plenty of historical character. But what it all adds up to is a high-end luxury boutique hotel that’s as contemporary as can be.

Part of it is the visual style, which mixes classic antiques with ultra-modern design pieces. Part of it is the comforts, which are subtly high-tech and totally up to date. And part of it is the restaurant, Botànic, which is refined yet nourishing, featuring a cuisine that’s largely organically sourced and well tuned to today’s health-conscious tastes.

But most of what makes Can Bordoy special is the fact that it’s somehow secluded and convivial at the same time. The service is friendly but also highly capable, and the atmosphere is stylish without being intimidating. There’s an interior garden with a heated pool, there’s a terrace cocktail bar, and there’s even a rooftop lounge — and any one of these spaces feels, while you’re in it, like the most desirable spot on the island.