Beach resort....hmmm, with what amenities, spa? tennis? golf?, private boat?, private beach club?

Within your price range (knowing that Mallorca resorts can be extremely expensive!!!!)....while staying in Pollença in the north of the Serra de Tramuntana, we did go to look in Port Pollença for friends at the Hotel Illa d'Or, from 1929, which we liked a lot. It sits away from the town on the Pine Walk promenade, has its own tiny beach, its own boat for guests' use, a wellness spa, tennis courts, indoor and outdoor pools and a gourmet restaurant where we had a lovely waterside lunch with a wonderful rice dish and a bottle of fine local wine. For the last week of September or early October the rates might be just barely within your 400 euro budget.
It does receive a high rating of 9.1 on booking. I would describe it as "old school elegant", founded in 1929.

https://www.hotelillador.com

To Maribel, Myriam, and to everyone who contributed to this thread, I offer warmest thanks!!

I've been in southern Spain for more than two weeks now and am already dreaming about my return next March.
I will spend the bulk of my time in the same small hotel that I've been to now for a few years running.

But before arriving here, I would like to spend some time in another destination, easily accessible to the airport in Jerez.
I have a few ideas, but the one that gets me most excited is a visit to Mallorca. I believe that there are flights from Palma to Jerez.

This thread has been so helpful to me. I just wanted to say how much I appreciate all the tips and information given here..

Just one quick question (soon I will begin my own thread) about Mallorca:

I visited once, back in the 70s when I was a high school student, so I know nothing about the island today except from the little I've read here and in a couple of guidebooks.

My visit would probably take place in early March and stretch to as long as 10 days on the island...from Palma I would then fly to Jerez.

I know no one can predict the weather, but in general, would the last week in February stretching through the first week in March, find many hotels and restaurants open?
From what I read here, I think I would spend a few days in Palma and the rest of the time in Soller. I would rent a car for the Soller portion.

Just want to know, before I dig deeper into this idea, if that time of year would be decent, in the opinion of those who know the island...

Many thanks!!

I have been frequently to Mallorca in Spring, such that I have probably been at every week between February and April over the years. At this time of the year there is always a risk that you will get a cool and wetter week than you would like, but mostly the weather has been balmy - able to sit outside during the day, although it will get colder in the evenings. I have had perfect weeks in mid February and the worst week we have had was one in the last week of April, so no guarantees. We're off again on 6th April for a week and I'm hopeful of some very pleasant weather. (Although we have the insurance of a spa with indoor/outdoor heated pool at our timeshare, so we will be entertained with our young granddaughter whatever the weather).

One thing that you should know about this time of the year is that there will be thousands of cyclists there at any time in Spring. Mallorca is a Mecca for road cyclists and at the peak in Spring there can be as many of 40,000 from across Europe (and some from even further). The sheer numbers mean that you will come across them frequently. often in quite large groups.For full disclosure I have often been one of them.

The advantage of all these cyclists is that many bars and restaurants that might otherwise be closed will be open. If you choose to stay in one of the many resorts geared to Summer beach holidays then you will find a number of places closed, but I would not be choosing these sort of places to stay anyway. Port de Pollenca and Alcudia are exceptions, both in being pleasant places to stay, especially the former and being pretty much open because of the cyclists, who are taking advantage of cheap accommodation next to the hills.

ekscrunchy,
Vueling does operate a flight from Palma to Jerez, but you would need to check if it is seasonal or if running all year, what days of the week. I believe that direct flights may be seasonal. The other destination from the Jerez airport that might appeal to you could be Tenerife Norte (but for me, not during Carnaval, starting on Feb. 16 in Santa Cruz).

If you arrive during the last week of February you will see the almond trees in full bloom. When we return we'll go in early spring and add another part of the island to our explorations.
https://www.seemallorca.com/news/boo...-island-712593
https://mallorca.com/en/magazin/news...almond-blossom

We had 7 nights in Palma for a business related stay and could have used just 4 and instead added 3 nights to our Serra Tramutana stay, or gone further south to Calvia to the Castell Son Claret.. We enjoyed the beautiful countryside much more than very busy and heavily touristed Palma, but we arrived in early June, with a crush of tourists in the capital. Here's an article about suggested areas to stay on the island.

We chose Sóller and Pollença as our two bases primarily because of the lodging and dining opportunities (important to us) and the two towns we found very, very atmospheric, charming in quite different ways. Had we allowed a larger budget and willingness to base just outside of Sóller, we could have chosen the beautiful Son Grec, Finca Ca's Sant or another finca hotel outside of town (there are several), although The Salvia gets higher booking ratings.

But about February hotel openings, you would need to check each hotel that appeals to you to see when they reopen for the season.

We looked at all lodging possibilities (exhausting search) in the Sólller-Deià-Valdemossa-Fornalutx area, but to us Deià and Fornalutx seemed too small, and parking is a PITA in Deià, and Valedmossa gets lots and lots of bus tours from Palma, making it very busy during the day.
If we had won the lottery we might have been tempted to splash out, throw all caution to the wind at the super luxurious La Residencia or Branson's new place, Son Bunyola! (We held to our budget and had just as enjoyable a stay, I think, because I enjoyed being in those two towns so much, and both lodgings were totally comfortable and friendly.)

For dining tips we used Michelin recommendations, Guia Repsol, tips from my favorite critics and tips from realtor Helen Cummins for each town. On her web page I just did a search for each town that we planned to visit to see her tips on lodging, shopping, dining, sightseeing.
https://www.helencummins.com/soller/
https://www.helencummins.com/puerto-...-things-to-do/
https://www.helencummins.com/deia-mallorca/


I didn't see John's post while composing mine, but I will admit that we were a bit intimidated on some roads due the large number of cyclists. And I dared not make the drive down to Sa Calobra, having viewed some of the YouTube videos!

Sa Calobra is for me something not to be missed, although an awful lot of people seem to be afraid of it. It's a beautiful road and safe enough if you take your time. Although maybe not in the Spring when daft people like me are cycling up and down it.

John,
The next time I think being timid drivers, we'll take the boat trip to Sa Calobra from Port de Sóller, or ask our host, Prznek, at The Salvia, an avid cyclist, to drive us down!

Thank you again. You guys are amazing. ekscrunchy, I've been following your posts and trip reports for a long time so I'm anxious to see what you end up doing. I need to lock myself in a quiet room and dedicate some serious time to carving out a preliminary agenda. Your advice is absolutely incredible and so helpful. THANK YOU!!
I forgot to mention, in terms of beach resort, we aren't really interested in tennis, golf or even Spa so much as just a lovely town with a nice property/hotel that has a beach where we can just relax, chill and also have access to great food and perhaps shopping, art, culture.

Sa Calobra is magical. Such as the view on Es Vedra in Ibiza. Yes, the road is challenging but so worth driving.


February/early March may be chilly. We have just returned from the Murcia area and the weather was - oh well - shit. Cold, rainy, stormy.
We've had fantastic weather in Mallorca in April.

Weather, once while cycling on the island, we had a storm, 160mm just over 6" of rain in 24 hours.

abbondanza,
John's suggestion of Portixol may be just the "beach resort" type place that you're looking for as your second base, close to Palma and the public transportation to get to other places, yet outside of Palma's busy-ness. In April the Hotel Portixol may come in slightly above your budget (but not during Easter week when rates will increase).
https://www.portixol.com

A bit more about Portixol.

ekscrunchy,
You can see the February, 2025 graph of weather in Palma de Mallorca here:
https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/...th=2&year=2025

Thanks again to all of you and to Maribel, especially for all the information and links.

I'm back home after the most fantastic trip to Andalucia and have already booked my stay for 2026 in the same hotel, outside Vejer.
I am going to proceed with the plan for Mallorca and will begin new thread once questions arise. But from all the info on just this thread, I think my trip is almost fully planned.

I was thinking four nights in Palma, because I would be arriving from NYC so will probably just go to sleep upon arrival, so those four nights would allow me three full days in Palma.
Still too much time in that city?

For me, three days in Palma would not be too much. Years ago we stayed in Palma for a week where we visited the obvious (cathedral, Almudaina Palace, aquarium, ...) and did a few daytrips from there such as by tourist train to Sóller and by foot further to Port de Sóller), by bus to Valldemosa, to Port d'Andratx.

Thanks Myriam. That's very good for me to read.
But there may be a glitch here; I wrote to HOTEL SALVIA and they will not open until the end of March, which is too late for me. Today I will write to CA'S CURIEL and CA'S SANT, and hope that either of those is open at the end of February.

The good news is that both CA' CURIAL and CA SANT plan to be open by end of February (CA SANT opens February 1).

If either of you, or anyone else, knows these hotels in Soller, would you give one higher marks than the other? One thing I'd like is that the walk to the town, and restaurants is not much more than 20 minutes....is either hotel better located than the other?

I will also write to L'AVENIDA, just to check their dates; that hotel seems to be in Soller....any opinions on that one?
All of these seem to get excellent reviews.
None of the pools are heated and open at that time of year.

Yes, ekscrunchy,
We did see the L' Avenida as it's in town, has parking and everything in Sóller is walkable. The only reason we didn't book it, is that we liked our small and utterly charming The Salvia so much better, and the rates at The Salvia for our particular room were better, if memory recalls.

Of the other two, the "finca" Ca's Sant would be more similar, probably in price and maybe even more in amenities to where you were recently outside of Vejer (I do know that property), if you were willing to drive into Sóller; however, since inside Sóller street parking is virtually impossible, you would need to taxi in, as you have done so from your hideaway outside of Vejer, which I assume wasn't a problem.
In fact, because you enjoyed so much your Vejer area hideaway, perhaps Ca's Sant would be perfect for you. Of the "finca" hotels outside of Sóller, we thought that Ca's Sant was the most attractive one, although there are several.
I assume you've read the Telegraph review
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/spain/majorca/soller/hotels/cas-sant-hotel/

https://www.theothermallorca.com/hotels/cas-sant/

I don't think 4 days in Palma would be too much. We had a week (business related), after our 8 nights in Sóller and Pollensa, which for us were 3 nights too many, but 4 nights would be reasonable.
Because we had already toured Valdemossa from Sóller, we took no day trips from Palma. We weren't interested in the Caves of Drach.

Maribel thanks so much!! I'm disappointed that CA'S SANT is too far for me to walk into Soller. You know how infrequently I get into Vejer itself from my hotel. Although I love it and would never stay anywhere else, the need to drive is the one negative and it sounds as if it would be the same with CA'S SANT. Although maybe in very early March, parking is easier in Soller (??). The Telegraph review of CA'S SANT certainly draws me to the hotel!

Is CA'S CURIEL any closer to town? I think you visited--do you think it would be good for me? I'd rather have a better location than a fabulous room.

It looks as if there is no shortage of wonderful hotels in Palma. (SINGULAR and GLORIA DE SANT JAUME are standing out upon first look; I had those two marked and I imagine I did that because you wrote about them (??). But I think finding hotel space in Palma will not be difficult for my time period.. Those hotels are certainly on the pricey side, though!!

It does seem as if there are so many fusion-ey, international-style restaurants on Mallorca...I was hoping to find real local fare but I have confidence that you will guide me when the time comes..

I imagine that if I cannot find a direct Vueling flight to Jerez on my dates, I could fly Palma-Sevilla, and then retrace the route I took lat month, from Sevilla to Jerez airport and onwards..

ekscrunchy,
Yes I did also check out Ca's Curial, as we had a friend who was scheduled to stay there, and it's walkable to the main square, the Plaça de sa Constitució. It's under a 20-minute walk---secluded from the summer crowds, in a typical Mallorcan finca (agroturismo), yet reachable to the center of town on foot. We seriously considered it. The reviews, as you've seen are quite solid.

But unlike at your Vejer environs hideaway, the pool here is unheated.
There's on site parking, but truly Sóller is difficult to get around with a vehicle, with extremely narrow streets, zero street parking (and no underground garage, just an open lot at the cemetary where we left our car for free), plus the tram runs right through the center of town.

Interestingly, our host remarked that most of his guests leave their car parked at the cemetary and never used it during their stay.
On our last day, he remarked that he often offers his services as his guests's driver, especially down to Sa Calobra.

If you'd rather have a better location than a plusher room, I would choose Ca's Curial. And it's adults only.
Like your hideaway situation, the evening dining is for hotel guests only and tends to be more nice "home cooked" food.. That said, there is an abundance of lovely dining in town. Our hotel, The Salvia, used to have a gourmet restaurant but the new owners decided to close it when their chef left to open his own.

Yes, the hotel prices in Palma are sky high.
We visited several (work related) and liked very much the El Llorenç, the San Francesc Singular (very nice with excellent service and member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World), the Can Bordoy, the Es Princep with a gorgeous rooftop infinity pool, the Can Cera, the Can Alomar (which is what we would have chosen with a more ample, as in high! budget, and if we hadn't needed a serviced suites-hotel)

The Puro Oasis Urbano for us seemed a bit too trendy, boho chic. And the Capuccino and the Cort are side by side in an extremely busy location. I didn't write, if memory serves, about the Gloria de Sant Jaume (or maybe I did???), as I wasn't thrilled with the location. Location is very important to me. And the simply incredible, castle hotel Cap Rocat, is outside of the city with extremely high rates, as it's the jewel in the Marugal hotel group crown.

About the Palma airport, which may not be so incredibly busy in late February, I really disliked departing from there. We had a far too early flight, check in lines were extremely long at that ungodly hour, but luckily, because we purchased our Vueling flight through Iberia, and I had Emerald status on One World, we were able to use the Vueling premium check in lane, which truly saved the day. We were also able to access the premium lounge.

Maribel, interesting about Palma airport.

Do you remember what was not great about the location of the GLORIA ST JAUME?

Now I'm wondering if I even need to rent a car on Mallorca (or is it IN Mallorca?).
If I stay 4 nights in Palma and another 4 in Soller....get a taxi from Palma to Soller and back again from Soller to the airport, and have someone drive me to Sa Colobra? Money spent on taxis might be less than renting a car and now I understand that. car is useless IN Soller. And also in Palma.

I'm not sure there are any MUST do day trips, although I do like driving around IF parking is not difficult..... I don't think I HAVE to see Deia on this trip.. And you know I am not about to go hiking. But maybe there are some rural restaurants I should book for lunch (??) near Soller.

I have to map out the walk from those two finca hotels to the center of Soller....is one is MUCH closer than the other, I guess I ought to book that one. One thing for certain is that the walking is along narrow roads with narrow or no sidewalks, so at night I'd certainly bring my flashlight but the walks might not be so pleasant if I am worried about traffic.


Or should I stay IN Soller because I probably won't do much lounging outside in early March...
I don't think any swimming will be on the agenda anywhere on the island during my dates..... Unless a heated pool magically appears on my radar!

Sorry to ask so many questions...this is such a new area for me.
I probably mentioned this someplace but my parents stayed at a hotel named the SON VIDA in the...early 60s, I'm guessing. Not only did my Mom's eyes bug out when she spotted Maria Callas with Ari (she told ms so many times about the eel skin coat that Callas was wearing and how gorgeous it was). but Christopher Plummer was also at the hotel and apparently found a buddy in my dad, so when CP's tooth was killing him, he had my dad yank it out...I'm sure both were well lubricated.


ps..I just looked up that hotel. It's still there, but it's a Marriott!!

We did rent a car, but...
our original rental booked via Budget at their Palma center city location fell through, (much cheaper than the airport, switched at the last moment), as our plane arrived very late and the rental office had already closed. So we had to take a taxi from Palma to Sóller, then once at The Salvia we rented from a local company in Port de Sóller only because we wanted to take an excursion to Deià and Valdemossa, then needed to move on by car to our next location in Pollença plus....the local rental company allowed us to drop the car off at the Palma airport upon departure.
The car for us was useless while IN Sóller, as we used the delightful, historic wooden tram to go back and forth from Sóller to Port de Sóller.

https://trendesoller.com/eng/routes/tram