Faustino Gran Relais & Chateaux

Compared to busy Mallorca and the party mecca of Ibiza to the southwest, the island of Minorca sees precious few tourists. And that, of course, is the key to its appeal. Not that you’re going to isolated when you check into a place like Faustino Gran Relais & Chateaux: the 24-room boutique is located just across from the port of Ciutadella. It’s an older city than you’d think, serving as the island’s religious center since the fourth century, once governed by the Moors. Thanks to that age-old cultural confluence, the port city has a medina-like feel, the sort of place that’s made for wandering, drinking in the evening silhouettes and views over pristine white beaches and the clear blue waters beyond.

Faustino Gran Relais & Chateaux is located inside a palace that dates back to the 16th century, making it one of the newer buildings in town. The look is sufficiently stately from the outside, soaring three stories high with antique shuttered windows and an old-fashioned shingled roof. But inside, the hotel is relatively sleek and pared-down. The interiors were done, in part, by Olivia Putman of the French design firm Studio Putman, the same firm famous for their mid-eighties work on Morgans Hotel in New York.

The Faustino is sophisticated, urbane, with minimalist furnishings and a natural color palette that draw the eye to the building’s original architectural details — curved doorways, arching ceilings, tiled floors, wrought-iron railings on the staircases. Standard rooms are somewhat simple to look at, though outfitted with a solid range of luxury amenities from bespoke furnishings by Putman, bedding by Eden, large flat-screen TVs, iPhone docks, and walk-in showers with bath products by Hermès. Considerably more inspiring are rooms and suites in the Deluxe category and upward: many have quaint skylights, dramatic vaulted ceilings, or private patios. Suite Vigie, on the top floor, has a charming cloistered feel, and a pair of terraces looking out over the port, the sea, and the rooftops of Old Town.

A Mediterranean menu, and a good wine list, are on offer at the hotel’s restaurant. Faustino Gran Relais & Chateaux also features two bars, one off the lobby, and the other, beneath the trees on the hotel’s lovely patio. All guests enjoy access to a pair of swimming pools and a hammam that’s located inside the vault of an ancient grotto.

Please note: Faustino Gran Relais & Chateaux is a seasonal hotel and is closed from the beginning of January through the end of February.