What is a Spanish Finca?
Mar 21st, 2011, 04:33 PM
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What is a Spanish Finca?
I'm going to Mallorca at the beginning of June and am having the hardest time trying to figure out where to stay. I want rustic charm that's nice but affordable. We're looking to spend $250 (including tax and that's US Dollars) per night.
How different is a Finca to a B&B? Does each room have it's own private bathroom?? This really important to us!
I found two finca's that look great but since i'm not entirely sure what this is I thought I'd write this post.
Here are the two finca's. They are both in Soller.
Finca CA N'AÍ (www.canai.com/espanol/ca-n-ai.html)
Finca Hotel Can Coll (http://cancoll.com/en/fincahotel/home/index.html)
Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!
How different is a Finca to a B&B? Does each room have it's own private bathroom?? This really important to us!
I found two finca's that look great but since i'm not entirely sure what this is I thought I'd write this post.
Here are the two finca's. They are both in Soller.
Finca CA N'AÍ (www.canai.com/espanol/ca-n-ai.html)
Finca Hotel Can Coll (http://cancoll.com/en/fincahotel/home/index.html)
Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!
Mar 21st, 2011, 04:46 PM
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Literal translation is a farm. You first link doesn't work, the second one looks like a high end property. And bathroom is there "All our rooms are equipped with Bath and Shower, Hairdryer, Satellite TV, Radio, Telephone, Safe and Air-condition and Central heating."
B&B can be either in the city or in the country, finca imply country setting.
B&B can be either in the city or in the country, finca imply country setting.
Mar 21st, 2011, 04:49 PM
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A FINCA is a manor home with grounds. That second place, can coll, looks fabulous. There are so many gorgeous estates on Mallorca. What a lovely couple who are running it, too.
I was unable to open the first one.
You can see most of the baths when you look at each room's pictures in the slide show. There may be a room without one, I didn't have time to check them all.
I was unable to open the first one.
You can see most of the baths when you look at each room's pictures in the slide show. There may be a room without one, I didn't have time to check them all.
Mar 21st, 2011, 04:53 PM
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I don't see why you posted these questions. The rates of the two properties are posted on the web sites, and the pictures of the rooms clearly show lovely private baths.
Either one looks like it would be a lovely place to stay, although both are a bit above your $250/night with the Euro @ $1.42.
Either one looks like it would be a lovely place to stay, although both are a bit above your $250/night with the Euro @ $1.42.
Mar 22nd, 2011, 04:54 AM
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Finca is a Manor house? Is that only in Mallorca, because in other parts of Spain it means farm or land. even a small parcel of land where plants are grown for food.
If you want to find so called B&Bs located in the countryside look for Casa Rurals.
Like listed on
http://www.toprural.com/Casas-rurale...3%B1a_9_h.html
http://www.opcionrural.com/index.php
http://www.guiarural.com/
If you want to find so called B&Bs located in the countryside look for Casa Rurals.
Like listed on
http://www.toprural.com/Casas-rurale...3%B1a_9_h.html
http://www.opcionrural.com/index.php
http://www.guiarural.com/
Mar 22nd, 2011, 05:10 AM
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The use of "finca" is a bit blurred in the tourism industry. Or gets stretched by foreign owners who are not so familiar with Spanish. The latter often use "finca" in same sense as "restored rural cottage".
It can mean anything from from a big farmhouse/manor with several rooms/apartments (small hotel/B&B) on a large rural property to a single restored cottage (self-catering vacation rental) that sleeps only 2-4 people.
The major difference to other forms of accomodation would be that it is not a modern building and not part of an "urbanizacion" but located in a rural setting. And you usually need a car to get there..
It can mean anything from from a big farmhouse/manor with several rooms/apartments (small hotel/B&B) on a large rural property to a single restored cottage (self-catering vacation rental) that sleeps only 2-4 people.
The major difference to other forms of accomodation would be that it is not a modern building and not part of an "urbanizacion" but located in a rural setting. And you usually need a car to get there..
Mar 22nd, 2011, 06:01 AM
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Whatever, hope I didn't mislead anyone. You are right ribe..
I have always thought a finca was just that..grounds.. sometimes farmland.. sometimes nothing but acreage...but when you have a building on it like in this case.. I refer to those as manor (historical or estate) buildings. Should have been case specific when looking for finca hotels.
I have always thought a finca was just that..grounds.. sometimes farmland.. sometimes nothing but acreage...but when you have a building on it like in this case.. I refer to those as manor (historical or estate) buildings. Should have been case specific when looking for finca hotels.
Mar 22nd, 2011, 07:12 AM
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rib is nearly there.
I had a lot of detailed experience with Mallorquin planning laws.
Technically of Finca is a plot of land outside an urbanisation that has a farm building on site. Without the farm building it becomes a parcela.
In travel terms on Mallorca, Finca usually means good news.
They are usually large houses in rural settings that have been well renovated into either rentals or small hotels.
http://www.theothermallorca.com/
offer a good selecttion of hotels
http://www.vintagetravel.co.uk/
offer good rentals.
Many of the Finca hotel owners travelled to areas like Tuscany to basically benchmark their businesses with the best around. The results are pretty high standards in most businesses.
we have stayed here :
http://www.monnaber.com/en/index.htm
http://www.esfigueral.com/
http://www.fincaturismo.com/english/fincas-savall.html
All three offer perfect welcomes and food. Monnaber Nou is pretty high end.
Soller is a lovely area but due to its location the weather in June can be worse than other parts of the island. Soller has the great advantage of its link to the airport via the old mountain train which is a lovely journey.
Generally, Soller is a very upper middle market family resort, the higher and lower end resorts are closer to Palma.
I had a lot of detailed experience with Mallorquin planning laws.
Technically of Finca is a plot of land outside an urbanisation that has a farm building on site. Without the farm building it becomes a parcela.
In travel terms on Mallorca, Finca usually means good news.
They are usually large houses in rural settings that have been well renovated into either rentals or small hotels.
http://www.theothermallorca.com/
offer a good selecttion of hotels
http://www.vintagetravel.co.uk/
offer good rentals.
Many of the Finca hotel owners travelled to areas like Tuscany to basically benchmark their businesses with the best around. The results are pretty high standards in most businesses.
we have stayed here :
http://www.monnaber.com/en/index.htm
http://www.esfigueral.com/
http://www.fincaturismo.com/english/fincas-savall.html
All three offer perfect welcomes and food. Monnaber Nou is pretty high end.
Soller is a lovely area but due to its location the weather in June can be worse than other parts of the island. Soller has the great advantage of its link to the airport via the old mountain train which is a lovely journey.
Generally, Soller is a very upper middle market family resort, the higher and lower end resorts are closer to Palma.
Mar 22nd, 2011, 07:23 AM
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You are still correct. The Spanish language did not change.
But if someone in Liverpool or Munich said "I bought a finca in Mallorca", everybody would know that he bought a somewhat rustic house with some land around it, and not just acreage.
It started in Mallorca when more and more small farms got abandoned because the young generation left their lands to work in the tourism industry. And after some years or decades, a wave of North Europeans "discovered" those abandoned properties and bought up the often almost derelict farm houses and lands to transform them into small hotels, restaurants (or a combination of both), or self-catering holiday rentals - or as their retirement homes.
But again, that is not a new meaning in Castellano but one that has developed more outside of Spain.
But if someone in Liverpool or Munich said "I bought a finca in Mallorca", everybody would know that he bought a somewhat rustic house with some land around it, and not just acreage.
It started in Mallorca when more and more small farms got abandoned because the young generation left their lands to work in the tourism industry. And after some years or decades, a wave of North Europeans "discovered" those abandoned properties and bought up the often almost derelict farm houses and lands to transform them into small hotels, restaurants (or a combination of both), or self-catering holiday rentals - or as their retirement homes.
But again, that is not a new meaning in Castellano but one that has developed more outside of Spain.
Mar 22nd, 2011, 07:54 AM
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Your first link is a citrus farm (lemons and oranges). As far as I could read all rooms are considered suites in that they have a balcony and bathrooms, breakfast is included. They definitely exceed your budget $250/night. Send them an email at [email protected].
The second one is a small B&B (9 rooms); they call it finca, but it is obviously not one per description; revenue is not harvest-related. Your budget will get you a small double. I would go for the B&B; closer to town, rustic but nice as you wanted.
The second one is a small B&B (9 rooms); they call it finca, but it is obviously not one per description; revenue is not harvest-related. Your budget will get you a small double. I would go for the B&B; closer to town, rustic but nice as you wanted.
Mar 22nd, 2011, 08:47 AM
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Humptynumpty you are the Mallorca Expert! You seem to have a lot of knowledge about this beautiful destination. After reading the above posts we most likely won't be staying in a Finca. Primarily for their rural location which would probably require a car rental during our stay. We will most likely rent a car at some point to explore the island but we don't want the added expense of having one each day.
You mentioned in your post, "Soller is a lovely area but due to its location the weather in June can be worse than other parts of the island." This is a big red flag for us. What part of the island would be best, weather wise, in June? The warmer, the better. I hear the east side of the island has the best beaches. How are the towns? Is there much to do on that end for 2 single, mid-30's women? (looking for great food/wine, sophisticated restaurants, culture, people-watching, shopping, hiking, beaches).
I've been researching and researching and researching on which part of the island to stay in. I thought Soller would be perfect but if the weather is likely to be the worst of the island, I think I need to continue the search.
Any thoughts on Illetas?
You mentioned in your post, "Soller is a lovely area but due to its location the weather in June can be worse than other parts of the island." This is a big red flag for us. What part of the island would be best, weather wise, in June? The warmer, the better. I hear the east side of the island has the best beaches. How are the towns? Is there much to do on that end for 2 single, mid-30's women? (looking for great food/wine, sophisticated restaurants, culture, people-watching, shopping, hiking, beaches).
I've been researching and researching and researching on which part of the island to stay in. I thought Soller would be perfect but if the weather is likely to be the worst of the island, I think I need to continue the search.
Any thoughts on Illetas?
Mar 22nd, 2011, 11:53 AM
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Illetas is a good choice but I think you should head for Portal Nous which is up-market, isn't too far from Palma
and has people watching as its' main evening pass-time.
Car hire isn't expensive - a week will be around 180 euros including insurance and the road system is as good as any in Europe. Over the past 5 years the motorway system has come a long way and has reduced travel times to allow day trips all over the island.
The weather and beaches are by far and away the best in the east but this is where the culture is indeed "beach based".
Try to spend some time is Palma, it is overlooked by many tourists who head for the coast. It has great shopping, restaurants, the cathedral is an imposing gothic masterpiece.
The weather is nowhere near as predictable as Andalucia which is why we nearly moved to Mallorca. We were there twice last year. February was lovely at around 20oC and late July showed the changeability of the weather. Slightly south in say Seville you would probably experience 45oC in July (and we have). Last July, we had 27oC with cloud most of the week, as a large island, Mallorca has its own micro climate. The areas on the north west coast are influenced by the Tramuntana mountains ie clouder/ wetter.
Towns on the east side (we love it as the sun always shines)
Colonia Sant Jordi : next to some of the best beaches in Europe, we love it as it is a sleepy, fishing village type place with good beach restaurants but "we" include a five year old.
http://www.75l.com/pro/images/Beach1.jpg
always appears somewhere on the list of Europe's best beaches.
Cala Santanyi/ Cala LLombards : lots of 2nd home villas and very quite.
Porto Petro : is another sleepy little fishing village we good restaurants. Again we love it here.
Cala D'Or : is the most developed resort on the east coast. It is pretty, low rise and lower middle market. Although the marina area has had a huge investment and is very upmarket with one of the best settings for restaurants I have come across.
The coast above Cala D'Or is a mix of basic holiday resorts with really good beaches.
Forgot to mention the beach at Cala Mondrago
http://www.casaflores.co.uk/blog/upl...ago-784537.jpg
Which is in a natural park and had good swimming.
In short, the east coast is a very good destination for country style finca rentals and for families but I would say the best area for you is between Palma and Portal Nous.
Just avoid : Magaluf, Palma Nova and Santa Ponca they are down market and mass market.
and has people watching as its' main evening pass-time.
Car hire isn't expensive - a week will be around 180 euros including insurance and the road system is as good as any in Europe. Over the past 5 years the motorway system has come a long way and has reduced travel times to allow day trips all over the island.
The weather and beaches are by far and away the best in the east but this is where the culture is indeed "beach based".
Try to spend some time is Palma, it is overlooked by many tourists who head for the coast. It has great shopping, restaurants, the cathedral is an imposing gothic masterpiece.
The weather is nowhere near as predictable as Andalucia which is why we nearly moved to Mallorca. We were there twice last year. February was lovely at around 20oC and late July showed the changeability of the weather. Slightly south in say Seville you would probably experience 45oC in July (and we have). Last July, we had 27oC with cloud most of the week, as a large island, Mallorca has its own micro climate. The areas on the north west coast are influenced by the Tramuntana mountains ie clouder/ wetter.
Towns on the east side (we love it as the sun always shines)
Colonia Sant Jordi : next to some of the best beaches in Europe, we love it as it is a sleepy, fishing village type place with good beach restaurants but "we" include a five year old.
http://www.75l.com/pro/images/Beach1.jpg
always appears somewhere on the list of Europe's best beaches.
Cala Santanyi/ Cala LLombards : lots of 2nd home villas and very quite.
Porto Petro : is another sleepy little fishing village we good restaurants. Again we love it here.
Cala D'Or : is the most developed resort on the east coast. It is pretty, low rise and lower middle market. Although the marina area has had a huge investment and is very upmarket with one of the best settings for restaurants I have come across.
The coast above Cala D'Or is a mix of basic holiday resorts with really good beaches.
Forgot to mention the beach at Cala Mondrago
http://www.casaflores.co.uk/blog/upl...ago-784537.jpg
Which is in a natural park and had good swimming.
In short, the east coast is a very good destination for country style finca rentals and for families but I would say the best area for you is between Palma and Portal Nous.
Just avoid : Magaluf, Palma Nova and Santa Ponca they are down market and mass market.
