Quiet Mallorca: Artà in the northeast, Santanyí in the southeast
For a quieter Mallorca, look east: a finca in the hills near Artà or a mansion in the middle of Santanyí. Where to stay, and how to spend the days in each.
Finding a quiet Mallorca is mostly about where you stay. If a beachfront promenade is not what you have in mind, the east of the island offers two areas that work well and could hardly be more different. Near Artà in the northeast you are in the countryside, among fields, woodland and the hills by the Llevant Natural Park. In Santanyí in the southeast you stay in a small town with cafés and a market, and the sea is an outing rather than the view from your window.
For each area we introduce one house from our selection and suggest how to spend the days there. Both houses welcome guests from the age of 14.
The northeast: Artà and the countryside by the Llevant Natural Park
Es Racó d’Artà: a finca in the hills
Es Racó d’Artà spreads around an old finca in the hills near Artà. Antoni Esteva and Jaume Danús turned the former farming estate into a hotel. Part of the quiet simply comes from the way guests are spread across the grounds.
How secluded you are depends on where you sleep. The main house, Sa Possessió, has eight rooms. The casitas sit in the woods, each with a terrace and an outdoor shower; only certain categories come with a private pool. For more space of your own there are two standalone houses, Sa Meva Casa and Sa Finqueta. It pays to look closely at the exact accommodation when you book.
What to do in the northeast
The Llevant Natural Park borders the estate and is the obvious reason to leave the grounds. A day in the park, on foot or by bike, suits the pace of this part of the island. Sa Finqueta comes with two e-bikes, according to the hotel's website.
At the hotel itself there is yoga, meditation and craft workshops, as well as programmes over several days. The spa and its water treatments are another focus; the spa is open to guests from 16. It is worth agreeing with the hotel in advance which treatments and activities your stay includes.
Meals are taken at the hotel restaurant: Mediterranean cooking with vegetables from the estate's own gardens and produce from small local suppliers. In the countryside that is a practical point, as nobody needs to get back in the car in the evening.
The southeast: Santanyí and Can Ferrereta
In the southeast the quiet is not found in open country but behind old walls. Can Ferrereta is a historic mansion in the centre of Santanyí, at Carrer de Can Ferrereta 12. The Soldevila-Ferrer family is behind the hotel, and Bastidas Architecture designed the conversion. Stone arches and timber beams sit alongside modern additions, and there is a garden with a pool.
The house has 32 rooms and suites. You can stay in the historic building, over two levels in the Duplex Suite or with an outdoor space of your own. Only the Pool Suite has a private pool; gardens and terraces also depend on the category.
What to do in Santanyí
Santanyí is a town to explore on foot. Cafés and the market are right outside the hotel, and a morning walk through the streets ends back in the hotel garden. For a day at the beach you head out to the coast; Can Ferrereta is not a beach hotel and does not try to be one.
Inside, contemporary art runs through the rooms and outdoor spaces, including works by Joan Miró according to the hotel's website. For time by the water there is the garden pool and the Sa Calma spa.
You do not have to leave the house to eat. Ocre, in the old wine cellar, serves Mediterranean cooking with island produce. La Fresca sits by the pool in the garden and is the more relaxed of the two.
In short
The northeast and Es Racó d’Artà: countryside rather than town, woodland, gardens and the nature park on the doorstep. Right for anyone who wants to drive little and spend a lot of time outdoors, or to build yoga, meditation or the spa into the stay.
The southeast and Can Ferrereta: a town centre rather than open country, art, a garden and two restaurants in the house. Right for anyone who likes a morning coffee in town and treats the beach as a day out.
If you want both, split your stay. Both houses are in the east of the island.
Worth checking before you book
In both houses, private pools come only with certain categories, so book accordingly if you want one. We have not been able to confirm opening seasons or travel times from Palma with the hotels' own information. Ask the hotels directly about both.
