21 Best Hotels in Mallorca, Ibiza and the Balearic Islands

A favorite among budget urban travelers, this lodging in the heart of the old town, within strolling distance of the bustling Passeig des Born, has a rooftop terrace with arguably the city's best view—overlooking the cathedral and the sea. The recently spruced-up bedrooms may not wow with closet space or amenities, but they are a decent size for the price, and all have heating and air-conditioning, a desk, and a mini fridge; ask for one with a balcony. Open year-round, the hotel draws a mix of young and older couples, from Spain and elsewhere in Europe.

Built around two 16th-century manor houses, with additional buildings blending with the lush surroundings, this exceptional hotel is superbly furnished with Mallorcan antiques, modern canvases, and canopied four-poster beds. Herbs, olives, fruit, and flowers from the hotel's verdant landscaped gardens come straight to the kitchen and the guest rooms. El Olivo, the restaurant, serves a continental menu that includes delicious dishes such as delicate yellowtail tartare with cucumber pearls and avocado cream, or local honey-glazed suckling pig. Art is everywhere: joining the eclectic in-house gallery and the 750 original works in the guest rooms, the hotel offers artist-in-residency programs that lure in global talent. The hotel also operates its own shuttle to the sea at Cala Deià.

About a minute's walk from the main square, this family-friendly boutique hotel is an oasis of quiet in summer, when Sóller gets most of its tourist traffic. Rooms are simply furnished (some have four-poster canopy beds), with hardwood floors and good lighting; bathrooms are modern, with standard amenities. The palm-shaded interior patio is a particular delight.

Just across the tram tracks from the train station, this former home still feels much like a family hideaway. The lobby is a cheerful clutter of bric-a-brac (sconces, candelabra, bronze heads, novelty teapots); guest rooms are light and airy, with antique furniture, walls in white or Mediterranean blue, exposed beams on the ceilings, and original terra-cotta floors. The bathrooms are ample, with robes and standard amenities. Ask for the Terrace Room, which overlooks the garden.

What was once a 19th-century military fortress has been converted into one of Mallorca's—and arguably Europe's—most distinctive hotels, on a rocky outcrop some 25 minutes from Palma. The sprawling complex of redoubts, ramps, and stone-walled vaulted armories covers 70 acres in a protected nature reserve; guests can get around in electric carts. The interior design, courtesy of owner-architect Antonio Obrador, pays homage to the property's past with, for instance, stylized bullets for door handles and lamps made of old cartridge cases, as well as touches of Morocco and Turkey: carpets, divans, and wall hangings. The suites have huge bathrooms, locally sourced upholstery and textiles—including soft curtains in earth tones and specially commissioned carpets—and individual rooftop terraces. The two restaurants are open to the public; the more informal waterside Sea Club, with its own boat landing, is perfect for romantic candlelit dinners. If you decide to relax by the saltwater infinity pool, there's a push bell on the table by your deck chair to summon your drink.

In an ideal location in the old part of Palma, a minute's walk to the cathedral, this town house, dating back to the 15th century, was the Sancho Moragues home until 2001, when the family opened it as a hotel. Most of the furniture, paintings, and decoration were their own, handed down for generations, but with modernization came enormous whirlpool tubs in the tile bathrooms and a pleasant rooftop terrace with a knockout view of the cathedral. Weather permitting, a basic breakfast is served in the lovely interior garden, overgrown with bougainvillea and orange and lemon trees.

The six-room townhouse of couple Barbara Martí and Martin Lucas, minutes’ walk from Sòller center, is an example of homely hospitality at its finest, as well as green policies–all food is plant-based, and every Saturday there’s a cooking class using ingredients you pick from the garden. Décor varies per room, but statement artworks by Mallorcan artist Francesca Martí (coincidentally, Barbara’s mom) are a constant throughout, alongside upcycled furniture. The backdrop to the peaceful rear patio looks like an artwork in its own right–a full canvas of Tramuntana mountains. Facilities include yoga and meditation classes, and a small pool. 

A former private estate with an imposing Moderniste facade, this is the largest hotel in town. Its spacious rooms, most with twin beds, are decorated with subdued shades of beige and cream, with blue carpeting, and all have Jacuzzi baths. Breakfast is served on the terrace, weather permitting. An upscale spa and fitness center serves both local residents and guests. There is a daily prix-fixe lunch menu here.

About equidistant from Palma and Valldemossa, this restored estate house—parts of which date back to 1672—is one of Mallorca's most luxurious hotels. A cluster of detached suites have private pools, hot tubs, fireplaces, and classic-modern furnishing. Rooms in the main building can be over the top—lots of red and rosy pink—but the bathrooms are truly palatial. Poplars and palms shade the terrace above the 98-foot infinity pool, with a view over the village of Puigpunyent and surrounding countryside, likely making this the best pool terrace on the island. Son Net's restaurant, Oleum, set in an ancient olive mill, is an ideal showcase for chef Sergio Olmedo's Continental–Mallorcan cuisine. The poolside restaurant, El Gazebo, is perfect for summer lunches, and the Treehouse, with panoramic views across the mountains, is a charming setting for more intimate meals. The hotel's own vineyard produces quite drinkable wines.

Business travelers from the mainland favor this comfortable, central hotel, and it's an excellent choice for vacationers as well. Rooms have pebbled white walls, with furniture and color schemes in soothing tones of brown, cream, and orange, and, though the rooms are mostly singles and doubles, there are also a few family-friendly ones for three or four guests. Open year-round, the Almudaina has just three of its own parking spaces, which are understandably hard to reserve. You might want to pay a little more for the "Double Star" Room 804: the hotel's rooftop terrace-solarium is right next door, with wonderful views of the cathedral, the old town, and the harbor.

Romanesque arches and a giant palm tree spectacularly cover the central courtyard and reception area of this shabby-chic hotel, which occupies the former mansion of a noble Mallorcan family. Guest rooms are modest, though some have the original coffered and painted ceilings and traditional Mallorcan furnishings. The rates are more than reasonable, and a buffet breakfast is included.

A converted 17th-century manor house in the hills above the valley of Deià, this peaceful hotel is known for its traditional sense of luxury. Rooms are spacious and classically furnished, and most have private balconies with stone balustrades and stunning views. Acres of gardens have secluded corners, with deck chairs under the orange trees, bamboo groves, and ancient olive trees, and from everywhere you can hear the sound of water tumbling from a mountain spring. A shuttle bus runs four times a day to the hotel's private cove at Sa Muleta, where there's a cliffside solarium and lounge deck. Book early: about half the clientele come back year after year.

This traditional little hotel, which opened in 1907, is on Pollença's main square, making it a good choice for a weekend stay because of the Sunday market that takes place there. It has small but comfortably furnished rooms with traditional Mallorcan pieces and hand-embroidered linens. Nearby is L'Hostal (Carrer Mercat 18), an old stable that's been converted to a modern boutique hotel run by the same owners.

Opposite Sant Francesc church, this namesake hotel keeps the bones of a 19^th-century mansion – vast vaulted ceilings, frescoes, checkerboard floors – and elegantly adorns them with an international art collection, bright bedrooms, and a rooftop pool with majestic old-town views. The overall feeling is calm, stylishly minimal, and grown-up. Outside, you’re a saunter away from all of Palma’s attractions, particularly the Arab Baths and Palau Reial de l’Almudaina. Inside, the beige-hued rooms could come straight out of Architectural Digest magazine, while thoughtful touches, such as providing waterproof bags for wet swimwear, demonstrate the level of detail at play.  

A favorite way station for groups of cyclists touring the island, the Son Sant Jordi is a small, family-friendly gem of a boutique hotel, formerly the convent of the adjacent Church of Sant Jordi. The palm-shaded patio garden in back is a delight, with orange and lemon trees, a small pool, and a fishpond. Guest rooms have antique furniture, king-size four-poster canopy beds, ceramic-tile floors, exposed-stone walls, and ceiling beams. Full amenities include robes and slippers. The best room in the house is No. 4, "Les Aguilas." Book for a week, and the hotel will arrange free transfers from and to the airport.

Owner Toni Oliver obviously put a lot of work into this lovingly restored town house on Sóller's central square. Rooms—four on the square, four facing the interior—are plainly furnished, but the public spaces keep much of the original lush Moderniste detail: coffered ceilings, alabaster walls cut in floral patterns, arches in carved and painted plaster, and a three-story central staircase with a cupola. The terrace gourmet restaurant takes full advantage of the palm-shaded garden. Book well in advance.

With an enviable location in Palma's old town, close to the cathedral and some of the best shopping in the city, M House is a true urban oasis. Created by renowned Spanish interior designer Lázaro Rosa-Violán, the hotel blends modern and classic Mediterranean elements and features a cozy interior patio and a rooftop terrace with an infinity pool. Guest rooms offer high-end amenities including rainfall showers and Rituals bath products. 

At the far end of a winding dirt road in the hills overlooking the Real Cartuja, across the valley of Valldemossa, this luxurious little agroturismo is a romantic hideaway that's hard to reach and even harder to tear yourself away from. The main building dates to 1709; it was restored and modernized in 2004 but retained many of its former features, including the fireplace and the huge olive press in the dining room. Rooms have their original exposed-stone walls; furnishings are simple but elegant. From the terrace, with its 40-foot infinity pool, the view is spectacular. One highlight is the Porche de las Ovejas—once used by sheep, it's now an annex suite with a private terrace that's steps from a spring-fed plunge pool.

Warm Mediterranean tones and crisp, clean lines give this boutique hotel in the center of the shopping district an atmosphere very different from anything else in the city. Occupying a 16th-century former Episcopal palace, it has rooms with linen curtains and plump comforters, and bathrooms with posh amenities. From the terrace in the tower, you have a 360-degree view of Palma's old quarter.

This family-run "hotel on the hill" has a back terrace with a lemon-tree garden and a wonderful view of the mountains. The simply furnished balcony rooms, with exposed beams, share the view. Six refurbished apartments in the nearby annex building (minimum booking: two nights) make D'es Puig a good family-friendly choice for longer stays. The hotel gets a lot of repeat business from British visitors, so book early. There's a four-night minimum stay in high season. 

"Oasis" is what springs to mind when driving up through family vineyards to this lovingly restored medieval monastery, reborn as a deluxe resort hotel. Weather permitting, meals are served on the poolside patio, with a wonderful view of the Tramuntana mountains, though there's also an atmospheric lounge-tapas bar inside decorated with an ancient olive press, stone arches, and thatched vaulted ceilings. Guest rooms have king-size beds and comfortable modern furnishings; bathrooms have huge shower stalls, jetted tubs, and towel warmers. The straw hats in the rooms, left there for strolling the grounds in the summer sun, are typical of the meticulous attention to detail at Son Brull.