“The luxury of silence” is the motto of new but old Mallorca’s gem. Opening this summer, Castell Son Claret Hotel is historic 325-acre estate which has been lovingly restored and transformed into an extraordinary sanctuary. Nestled in the midst of stunning nature Mallorca, Castell Son Claret is an oasis of serenity, with the main manor house dating back to the mid-18th century. Inside its thick stone walls are 22 rooms and 16 suites, all of them different, ranging from Estate Kings at just under 300-square-feet and up to the Deluxe Pool Suite with two King bedrooms, a private terrace and garden and nearly 1,000 feet of combined total square footage.
Some have Juliet balconies from which to let down your hair, some have balconies big enough to throw a party on. All come with natural oak hardwood floors, stained wood fixtures and furniture, leather-padded bed headboards and Egyptian cotton sheets. Downstairs there’s a spa with a hammam; or tented treatment rooms can be set up in the gardens, or wherever guests want.
Madrid chef Fernando Perez Arellano has moved in and set up a new home for his Mallorcan restaurant Zaranda – the original outpost of which, in Llucmajor in the centre of the island, has won a Michelin star. “Son Claret Castell is a paradise,” says Fernando about his decision to move. “I found my personal paradise here, a place to enjoy and delight our customers.” A second, more informal restaurant, Olivera, serves lighter Mediterranean dishes, inside or out on the terrace; both use vegetables from the gardens and bread from the castle’s own bakery. A chapel in the grounds now houses a bar.
This sanctuary also boasts formal planting and terraced pools around the castle itself, with a pool and terrace overlooking the Tramunta mountains. Beyond, herb gardens and orchards stretch into the wilder Balearic maquis and woodland of the Calvía province, down in the south-east of the island, a quarter-hour drive from Palma.
