Every season we let ourselves be carried away by the island of Mallorca through these irresistible topics: from the most dreamy coves to the flowery streets of Valldemossa or the viewpoints of the Sierra de la Tramuntana.
However, there are alternative routes for the most hedonistic through old farmhouses converted into rural accommodation, farms influenced by the lunar cycles, and restaurants where the destination itself is a succulent starter. The joie de vivre floats at different heights in Mallorca to fulfill the promise of a more sensory and different trip.
The mountains look out on the city, the pinnacles on the roofs, the ladies through green windows and the cathedrals on the sea. However, in the midst of this maelstrom of postcards that seem to overlap in Palma, the heart of the city seems to revolve around a hundred-year-old olive tree. We have arrived at Hotel Cort, our second home on the island.
This is confirmed by the lobby of this boutique hotel with 16 rooms - 14 suites and 2 double rooms - housed in the old Banco Atlántico and whose history is reflected today in the stone moldings and wrought iron. Here comfort and history are integrated to establish shortcuts to Scandinavian maritime culture and project the island's own colors between fairytale mosaics and warm textiles.
From the roof, a jacuzzi with views behind which connect with the restaurant –Raw
A refuge, but not the only one, since the city of Palma has many places where you can experience the culture of good living. Fera restaurant is the best example. A paradise hidden among the cobbled streets of the old town and opened in 2017 by three partners, Ivan and Sheela Levy and chef Simon Petutschnig. Synergies that have turned one of the most suggestive fine dining venues in Palma into an experience for the senses.
Located in the old Círculo Mallorquín social club, Fera has been remodeled with a collection of art and installations from Aba Art Lab, which seduces with its charming interior, and a garden that is sometimes confused with Bali and other times with a Mediterranean orchard .
The environment envelops you, the dim light from the esparto grass lamps do the rest and the Chef's Menu confirms why Fera is the perfect km 0 for any dive in Mallorca: its proximity but also its ingredients, from its lobster ravioli to to the sublime carpaccio carabinero.
The wagyu beef that Petutschnig prepares comes from Japan but is raised in Teruel, while its biodynamic wines and oils –Demeter certified– are born from so much care on the Son Naava estate, located in the town of Montuïri; and the Montesion farm located in Porreres, this project of the owner of Fera, Iván Levy, which was born to develop wine, oil and honey that speak their own language. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Experience a bite, a flavor, the land and the sea on a plate –això is mel, a Mallorcan would say–, and a trip to the center of the island where destiny has many secrets to reveal to you.
The road leaves Palma behind to surround the town of Porreres. The greenery of the countryside promises a bucolic experience, and the chickens camouflaged among the pines make you suspect that you have arrived in a special place. Can Feliu is an agrotourism managed by Carlos Feliu, the last generation of farmers who decided to stay, among clouds of pine trees, almond trees and yellow daisies, to make nature converse with the moon. As you tour this farmhouse, Fus, the family dog, follows you around, and the cows watch you meditatively from across the furrow.
At Can Feliu we can stay to enjoy relaxation, read a book on a Vichy tablecloth, or even celebrate a wedding, but also immerse ourselves in the essence of the territory through its surroundings, its oil mill and winery, bastions of which The oils and wines come with the only Demeter appellation on the entire island. This prestigious certificate recognizes those producers who promote a type of biodynamic cultivation, that is, based on ancient agricultural codes that range from pruning guided by lunar cycles to the use of homeopathic fertilizers.
It is also possible to create your own wine from a personalized barrel, or sit down to enjoy Provencal wines with the best sobrassada, or even have a family barbecue. These are some of the branches that are born from this paradise where all the whims of Mallorcan nature seem to merge. A good place to get away from the established, feel like you're floating until you reach all the secrets of the island, this time towards the mountains.
36 hours have passed, although sometimes it feels like a lifetime. It is what has to circulate among so many heights and contrasts, to follow the white rabbit that leads to the country of serendipity until it comes out of the burrow somewhere in the mountains. And it is that if the Sierra de Tramuntana –a world heritage site– had a secret, that would be Finca Can Beneït.
The banana and avocado trees that coexist with peach and cherry trees in this plural orchard know it. The green windows through which the pines could penetrate at any moment and the memories of an old farmhouse in the heart of the Binibona valley, a few minutes from the town of Selva.
This farm of more than 200 years and up to 70 hectares is the pretty girl of Toni Durán, who manages a Balearic oasis in which slow life is one more mantra -to add to his massages or yoga classes- and the old stables and workshops have been transformed into ten intimate rooms, without abandoning the traces of their history.
A space integrated with the environment itself where life is savored in its Mirabona restaurant, and its Garden Spa invites you to enjoy the perfect wellness circuit: a dry sauna, heated outdoor pool and a cabin with different facial and body treatments. Nirvana, according to Mallorca, was this.
And there, among the green mountains that could be yours, that panoramic view, the glass of wine that whistles a hundred-year-old song, you discover that there are many Mallorcas. Some fulfill a typical summer dream, others a festive getaway and, one very particular, is an extension of each of our senses.
