Hotel Can Simoneta, Canyamel, Spain

Can Simoneta is the best boutique hotel in Mallorca for stressed-out urbanites who simply want a fly-and-flop holiday. In fact, this 19th-century finca and the elegant white house in its grounds were originally built for a sickly monk ordered to convalesce with seawater treatments. Can Simoneta’s manicured lawns and stunning views over the Bay of Canyamel, one of Mallorca’s most spectacular coastlines, is enough to put anyone on the road to recovery. The signature, pared-down, minimalist interiors created by architect Toni Esteva (designer and owner of Convent de la Missio in Palma and Son Gener down the road) are also entirely conducive to rest and relaxation.

The facilities

In the summer months, guests can be found lying in the sun around the large pool, in the two Jacuzzis beside it or in a third Jacuzzi on the brow of a cliff-face at the end of the garden. A curved stairway carved into the cliff side leads down to a secluded cove with a bathing pool cut into the rock for a Jacuzzi experience au naturel. Guests can also book massages under the pine trees, yoga classes on the lawn and snooze in hammocks in the grounds. Two new saunas are planned for the summer of 2008 and guests now get a 10% discount at three golf courses nearby.

Can Simoneta’s restaurant makes the most of those stunning views by spilling out onto the terraces and shady, summer salon in the spring and summer. Its signature, gourmet carpaccio dishes, Kobe beef hamburgers and quirky desserts (the Gin and Tonic ice-cream is a dream) have made it a destination restaurant in the area. Intimate candlelit dinners for two in the gardens can be arranged any time and in the summer months there’s a Sunday bbq laid on for the guests.

The rooms

There are nineteen rooms in total - eleven in the old finca and the eight in the house, all decorated with the same white interiors, four-poster beds with creamy linens and sleek, spacious bathrooms with Lanvin toiletries. The two suites with terraces and picture windows and the single Grand Suite are the most impressive.