Es Racó de Artà Artà / Mallorca

As always, a little geography first: head to the northeast of the island, continue past the pretty town of Artà, turn left onto a narrow side road, and about three minutes later you reach a mighty gate with a bell. Only guests with reservations get in. Es Racó is a place of peace and seclusion; in fact, it is another world, especially compared with most hotels on Majorca.

A gravel path leads to the main house, a 13th-century stone finca with traces of its past all around. That is by design; the garden isn’t perfect either, another reminder that this is anything but a typical resort.

Step inside and you discover great works of art (wooden sculptures, even a real Miró at the entrance to the wine cellar) and a series of cozy, interlocking rooms that together form the lobby. The palette: sand and beige with brown wooden beams.

Sipping your welcome drink, you can feel your soul slipping into vacation mode.

True to the hotel’s motto: “Here we turn our backs on the ordinary and return to nature.”

The Story

So what makes Es Racó de Artà unlike anywhere we have seen before?

First of all, it is their philosophy.

To understand it, you have to know the story and the people behind it. Es Racó de Artà is the brainchild of renowned Majorcan architect Antoni Esteva (Esteva i Esteva Architects), his friend Jaume Danús and their families. Years ago, they began restoring the ruined estate and its 185 hectares (457 acres) on the island where they grew up and still live.

Their goal: back to nature, back to the origins, back to the Majorca they knew as children in the 1950s and ’60s, an island where nature, architecture, culture and food took center stage and had not yet been sold out to mass tourism.

Behind the house stretch endless hills and forests of oak, wild olive, carob, pine and the occasional cypress, bordering the Llevant Natural Park. The estate includes 14 hectares of organic vineyards, some 1,200 olive trees, 200 fruit trees and a field of xeixa, a native Majorcan wheat. For the kitchen, there is also a 2,000-square-meter organic vegetable and herb garden.

The Facts

Es Racó de Artà has 32 accommodations in all: bright suites in the main house and casitas spread across the estate, many with private plunge pools, plus two self-contained houses with their own pools for families. Most important, only natural materials were used throughout, so you feel truly undisturbed and in harmony with nature. Guests must be 14 or older.

At the center is the main house, with a restaurant next door serving lunch and dinner. The cooking is high quality but unpretentious: excellent, regional and seasonal, with produce from the estate’s own garden, trees and vineyards.

Wellness

There are five treatment rooms, an indoor pool, a sauna, a steam room, contrast baths, Watsu and, of course, yoga and mindful-movement classes in beautiful, natural spaces such as the former stable.

Add an outdoor infinity pool with views of Artà, plus craft workshops, art and cooking classes, honey and olive oil tastings, workshops on medicinal plants and herbal remedies and much more. And the spa doesn’t look like a spa at all, which makes it all the more pleasant.