Palacio Ca Sa Galesa, Palma, Spain

Stately, secluded and terribly grand, the Palacio Ca Sa Galesa feels more like a museum than a boutique hotel. This grand 16th-century palace, located in the heart of Palma de Mallorca’s old town, was brought back to life in 1995 and won an architectural award for its sympathetic restoration. Period interiors and antiques compliment the vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows, whilst original canvases by the likes of Alexander Calder, Joan Miro and Joan Bennasar (Mallorca’s answer to Picasso) give the boutique hotel a modern twist.

The facilities

Tucked down a narrow side street beside Palma de Mallorca’s famous Cathedral, the only sign for the boutique hotel is a discreet, polished brass plaque beside huge wooden doors. Beyond them a grand Renaissance courtyard is used for secure parking. A marble staircase leads up to the series of grand salons. The most spectacular is the dining room with its parquet flooring, 17th-century oak furniture and intricate stained-glass windows where dinner is served on request. Next door is the living room, lined with panels of silver silk and the small honesty bar where guests are invited to sherry-tasting between 7.30 and 9.30 p.m. A canary-yellow kitchen which mimicks Monet’s in Giverny, resounds to the strains of Vivaldi, Gershwin and Schubert and is always stocked with tea from Harrods and home-made cookies.

The basement houses the boutique hotel’s small spa which boasts a heated Roman bath (plunge pool), a sun-bed, rowing machine, sauna and large Jacuzzi.

The boutique hotel’s expansive roof-terrace has been transformed into a flower-filled solarium with views over the Bay of Palma and the Cathedral.

The rooms

Palacio Ca Sa Galesa has only 12 rooms each one individually designed with authentic antiques and colourful prints. Although interiors tend towards the old-fashioned, all the amenities are thoroughly modern.