HOME TOUR

Remembering back to wanderings always brings me tremendous joy and after a not-so-fun-week, I’m happy to hit publish and reminisce on this lovely trip a year ago. After a rainy start in Barcelona and day trip to Andorra, we took a quick flight over to Mallorca and that was just what these soggy travelers needed. Sun shining down, we rented a car and drove 25-ish minutes to our first hotel. I couldn’t decide between two dreamy hotels so we broke up our time on this beautiful Spanish island between the two. Each offering their unique flavor, we only wish we had flipped the hotels, staying at the busier one first so we could have ended on a quieter note. More on that later. Mallorca was a delightful, family-friendly destination.

GRAND HOTEL SON NET

Grand Hotel Son Net may go down in the history of our travels as my favorite hotel stay yet and that’s saying something because I loved sleeping in a real life castle in Slovenia. It was lovely. From the staff to the food to the interior design–it just checked every box. But it is most definitely the fanciest place we have ever taken our children. It is tucked up in the foothills of the Serra de Tramuntana, an UNESCO World Heritage Site and just 20 minutes from Palma. This Mallorcan estate was founded in 1672 and has been a luxury hotel hosting heads of state, European royalty, famous actors and actresses since 1998. It is spectacularly decorated by the famed Lorenzo Castillo. If you love interior design, this is a must-stay sometime in your lifetime.

A FANCY HOTEL STAY WITH KIDS

Although undoubtedly fancy and complete with a set of  hotel “house rules”, the experience with our kiddos was lovely. During our stay, Aubrey made friends with a delightful little British girl who was staying with her mum and dad on their babymoon. I appreciate upscale, family-friendly accommodations and I love it when our kiddos make friends on our travels. Our kids are seasoned travelers at this point and understand traveling is a privilege. That doesn’t mean they are without behavior issues during our trips, that’s certainly not the case with any child. They are just well aware of what is expected during our wanderings and that creates freedom for us to stay in nicer places.

This beautiful cactus on the property took me back to our trip to Peru with the kiddos. It’s as mesmerizing here as it was in Peru and it had me reminiscing on our family wanderings.

THOUGHTS ON OUR STAY

Son Net is in the village of Puigpunyent which is very small. Expect to do your eating either in Palma or at the hotel although there was one restaurant we passed on the corner filled with cyclists. We ate all our meals at the hotel on their patio and it was lovely. Son Net features local Mallorcan cuisine and delicious cocktails. Each night there is live music.

There are only a few shops down in the town but it is a nice meandering. I walked down solo one evening while Matt played with the kids in the pool. The pool is really where we spent the majority of our time, venturing out for a day trip only once. Probably our only wish during our stay was the availability of pool toys (we brought our Petite Plume rings and had to convince the pool staff to let us use them). The pool is very large and it would be nice to be able to float around. One of the other hotel guests borrowed ours when the kids were occupied. I imagine they are trying to dissuade loud, splashing problems but the ability to relax is also limited. Son Net just opened a spa on the property and it is lovely. I did get a massage but wished I could have lounged away a day here.

AFTERNOON TRIP TO ESPORLES AND BANYALBUFAR

It is roughly a 25 minute drive from Son Net to the charming Mallorcan town of Esporles. We timed it for market day and headed over around lunchtime. Meandering through the market, back streets and the playground, even though it was hot, was lovely. You could spend a couple hours here if you were really lingering but we wanted to spend some time by the sea. It’s roughly a 15 minute drive further to Banyalbufar, mind you on a very windy mountain road. Once in Banyabufar we parked and walked through the town down to the sea. It was hilly, rather small and the walk long but once you get down to the sliver of the sea at the bottom of all those stone steps, it’s magic. A brilliant turquoise blue with clear water and pebbly shore. It’s Europe in summer, expect to see topless women.

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BANYABULFAR

This lovely town is clinging to the cliffs above the sea. And we were here for the sea. The walk down is long if you park right in the town off the main road and there are a lot of steps down. Matt ended up running back up to the car and driving all the way back down to pick us up. Bring hats, lots of water and make sure everyone is wearing sunscreen.

VALLDEMOSSA

On our way to our second accommodation, Belmond’s La Recidencia in Deià, we stopped for a few hours in Valldemossa, one of the more spectacular hill towns of Mallorca. I adored meandering this town. We had lunch with the traditional almond cake for dessert, then grabbed ice cream while meandering and found ourselves exploring cobbled back lanes. The kiddos chased cats and let momma have her cobblestone moments. Lord help me, when I see a flower pot on the wall family pictures ensue. I can’t help it.

LA RESIDENCIA–A BELMOND HOTEL

I was really excited for this lovely hotel. I had seen it on Instagram. Seen it all over Pinterest and was ready to experience it in person. I think I assumed however that it was still the shoulder season and we’d have some breathing room before summer travel really kicked into high gear. The public schools in our area go through almost the end of June and European school vacations start in July but this place was a nut house the beginning of June. Overwhelmingly busy. So busy I can’t even imagine it in the middle of summer. Deià is a small, picturesque town made famous as an artist colony with the arrival of the poet Robert Graves in the 1920s. I wanted to experience that tranquility and inspiration that has brought artists here through the centuries. My friends, June is apparently not the time to do that.

I think the problem is I just had a set of expectations given what I was seeing online. As long as you go into a stay here expecting it to be busy–like long lines of traffic on a windy mountain road just to enter the town, near impossible parking situations unless you’re a hotel guest, difficult to find restaurant reservations and boat rentals and crowds at every turn, I think you’ll enjoy yourself. We didn’t take enough advantage of the excellent concierge service Belmond has and wished we had booked everything LONG in advance. Instead we settled for 9 pm dinner reservations and had to charter a yacht to get some time on the sea. Our lack of preparation cost us and I’d do things very differently.

WHAT TO DO DIFFERENTLY

First off, make this the first place you stay when you come to Mallorca. It is lovely and worth the stay but you need to set your expectations in a different spot. Fly into Palma, rent a car, enjoy stopping in Valledemosa to break up the hour drive from the capital (an hour drive on windy roads can feel much longer) and then spend your first few days here in Deià. But end your trip in a sleepier spot. A spot where you can get up and not wait for a breakfast table or have to battle crowds. I don’t know about you but I do that every single day and that isn’t how I want to spend a vacation. So don’t end one on that note.

Secondly, Deià starts and ends sleepy, meaning the caravan of buses and day trippers leave and then you do have some time to just meander in peace. These were my favorite moments in the town because it really is beautiful. The way the light dances off the mountains and the sea, I can see why it has inspired artists through the centuries.

OUTTING TO SÓLLER

Sóller is about a 20 minute drive from Deià and one of the prettiest towns in Mallorca. There is a public bus if you don’t rent a car but it’s hard to visit all these charming towns without one. We found a paid public parking lot near the main square and started our day by strolling. Sóller sits in the heart of the “Valley of Oranges” and is famous for that charming wooden trolley that takes you from the town to the port. They are surprisingly far apart, the town and the port. It’s a 10 minute car drive, 26 minute trolley ride to get from the heart of the town to the port. We ended up at the main square, Plaça de la Constitućo in front of the church where we sat down immediately to try the famous Sóller Bomb at El Petit Bistro.  Given the abundance of citrus, you need to try the Sóller Bomb–fresh squeezed OJ with Yogurt Ice cream and Yogurt Foam. It was unbelievable. I’d get on a plane right now to have another. Very orange creamsicle-like.

TROLLEY RIDE

The kids insisted on this. I could have done without it because it moves really slowly and we were going to be seeing the port of Sóller the following day for a boat ride. It is nice to sit in the shade and watch the lovely scenery go by. But it ate up over an hour which gave us less time for the walk I wanted to do between the hill towns near Sóller.

A WALK TO FORNALUTX THROUGH BINIARAIX

Oh boy did this turn out to be a WALK! On google maps it was just under an hour and we thought we’d leisurely walk through some lovely rolling hills and towns. But we had assumed we’d be doing this walk at 10 am not 1 pm and that there would be a sidewalk. There is no side walk so you are dodging cars, very little shade and in the heat of summer, was miserably hot. By the time we got to Fornalutx, we were all exhausted and went straight to the restaurant, Ca N’Antuna that our hotel had recommended. The sangria was delicious and food revitalizing. But we had just enough time for the briefest of wanders through town–we got the kids some gelato and then turned around to walk back. Like travel novices, we scheduled me a spa appointment for late that afternoon (assuming we’d be back with plenty of time to spare). We never have plenty of time to spare so I’m not sure why I continue to think like this. Don’t make afternoon plans, give yourself breathing space and time to wander without deadlines. We had assumed we could find a taxi to take us back to Sóller where our car was parked. But we had to cancel the spa visit and rebook because there were no taxis, the walk back took too long and there was mountain road traffic. Fornalutx is supposedly the prettiest town in Mallorca so give yourself enough time to enjoy it. I wish we had rented bikes instead. On the plus side, we would have never seen this bougainvillea if we hadn’t walked.

A BOAT RIDE ON OUR FINAL DAY

This was the highlight of the trip. Get out on the water. Rent a boat and explore the coastline. We left out of the Port of Sóller. On our way to Sa Calobra which was my wish list to see, our captain pointed out all the pirate watch towers (the Torres) along the way. Wedged between cliffs and brilliant blue waters, Sa Calobra was an amazing stop to throw the anchor down and swim ashore. Cade became the paddle boarding ferry, taking us to and from the yacht to the shore.

We had lunch on the boat as we sailed along the shore, into a cave and then turned around to head back to Sóller. It was brilliant blue magic.

After the boat ride we had reservations back in Deiá at the Restaurant Sa Vinya. This was the last night of our trip and ironically the first paella we tried. I don’t loooove things in shells or with tails so I wouldn’t have bothered if the waiter hadn’t encouraged us. Boy am I glad I tried it. I avoided the things with the tail but the rice and veggies were SO delicious and flavorful.

And just like that we were on our way home. We left the next morning before really anyone was stirring. Belmond’s La Residencia packed us breakfast to go and we were off. Mallorca you’ll stay in our hearts forever.

“It is one of those views that completely overwhelm one, for it leaves nothing to be desired and nothing to the imagination. All that a poet or a painter might dream of, Nature has created here.” -George Sand