There’s a certain hush that falls over Valldemossa as the sun begins its slow ascent over the Serra de Tramuntana, gilding honey-hued stone walls and olive trees in morning gold. It’s in this mountain-ringed town on the island of Mallorca that Hotel Valldemossa sits, blending into the landscape like it’s always been part of the picture.
In some ways, it has – at least, for a long while. Once part of the ancient Carthusian monastery that can still be seen from many of the boutique hotel’s rooms, this 13-suite hideaway carries echoes of its past in its ancient bones. The walls are thick; the wooden shutters drawn across windows each night, traditional; and in the grounds there remain moss-cloaked rock staircases hand-carved by monks, a vast, ancient fig that stretches skyward beside the pool, and an 800-year-old olive tree. From these hilltop windows, the distinctive, turquoise-tiled spire of La Cartuja de Valldemossa monastery embellishes an unmoving landscape made up of old town houses, pastoral terraces, pine forests and the primal silhouettes of the Tramuntana mountains above.
In some ways, it has – at least, for a long while. Once part of the ancient Carthusian monastery that can still be seen from many of the boutique hotel’s rooms, this 13-suite hideaway carries echoes of its past in its ancient bones. The walls are thick; the wooden shutters drawn across windows each night, traditional; and in the grounds there remain moss-cloaked rock staircases hand-carved by monks, a vast, ancient fig that stretches skyward beside the pool, and an 800-year-old olive tree. From these hilltop windows, the distinctive, turquoise-tiled spire of La Cartuja de Valldemossa monastery embellishes an unmoving landscape made up of old town houses, pastoral terraces, pine forests and the primal silhouettes of the Tramuntana mountains above.
Views of the monastery from one of the hotel’s 13 suites
Hotel Valldemossa is the newest addition to the IT Mallorca group – a collection of six boutique properties scattered across the island from Palma to the eastern coast. When the solitary monks of the local monastery relinquished the property, it became a hotel, and many of the old-school features retained in that initial changeover were kept in place when IT Mallorca took charge, including terracotta tiling and well-polished wooden ceilings. The joint owners of IT Mallorca, architect Cristina Martí and her husband Miguel Conde, were at pains to retain the historic nature of the edifice now under their stewardship, so interiors are smartly curated – layered with tactile design, mid-century furnishings and art commissioned specifically for the hotel – but local craftsmanship has been used where possible, with an abundance of natural materials and vintage artefacts bolstering the original character. The thick, stone, fortress-like walls are broken by panoramic windows that stretch from corner to corner.
Age-old hospitality continues as a lived philosophy, too. “We have a saying around here,” Selim Ghali, Hotel Valldemossa’s guest experience manager, tells me. “Me casa es su casa.” Translation: My house is your home. It's not just a line, but a thread that weaves through every element of your experience at Hotel Valldemossa. Spot a ripe cherry in the kitchen garden? “Grab it, wash it and eat it,” says Ghali. It’s yours for the taking. Want a soundtrack for your sunbathing? Simply pick up the portable, Bluetooth Marshall speaker from your suite and bring it poolside.
Hotel Valldemossa is the newest addition to the IT Mallorca group – a collection of six boutique properties scattered across the island from Palma to the eastern coast. When the solitary monks of the local monastery relinquished the property, it became a hotel, and many of the old-school features retained in that initial changeover were kept in place when IT Mallorca took charge, including terracotta tiling and well-polished wooden ceilings. The joint owners of IT Mallorca, architect Cristina Martí and her husband Miguel Conde, were at pains to retain the historic nature of the edifice now under their stewardship, so interiors are smartly curated – layered with tactile design, mid-century furnishings and art commissioned specifically for the hotel – but local craftsmanship has been used where possible, with an abundance of natural materials and vintage artefacts bolstering the original character. The thick, stone, fortress-like walls are broken by panoramic windows that stretch from corner to corner.
Age-old hospitality continues as a lived philosophy, too. “We have a saying around here,” Selim Ghali, Hotel Valldemossa’s guest experience manager, tells me. “Me casa es su casa.” Translation: My house is your home. It's not just a line, but a thread that weaves through every element of your experience at Hotel Valldemossa. Spot a ripe cherry in the kitchen garden? “Grab it, wash it and eat it,” says Ghali. It’s yours for the taking. Want a soundtrack for your sunbathing? Simply pick up the portable, Bluetooth Marshall speaker from your suite and bring it poolside.
The hotel’s reception
Art straddles the divide between Carthusian and contemporary, too. There’s Jordi Alcaraz Tarradas’ dreamlike broken-glass sculpture on the rugged stone reception wall, and paint-smeared tools belonging to artist Estefanía Pomar Aloy tucked into a wall niche, themselves a record of the works she created for the property, using natural ingredients found in the local surroundings, like lichen, to create paint pigments.
Outside, a maze of stone staircases, patios and shady terraces weaves through leafy gardens. You’ll be tempted to stop by the kitchen garden to curl up in a hammock with a book beneath the cherry blossoms – or find a bench overlooking the mountains to enjoy with your morning coffee. This is a place for those drawn to stillness – travellers looking for a place where time softens and the mountains call you gently back to yourself. It’s easy to say that a hotel feels suspended in time, but at Hotel Valldemossa, it would be more fitting to say that time is suspended: it’s a hotel firmly in the present, but which invites you to press pause on the usual dash of daily life – if only for a while.
Art straddles the divide between Carthusian and contemporary, too. There’s Jordi Alcaraz Tarradas’ dreamlike broken-glass sculpture on the rugged stone reception wall, and paint-smeared tools belonging to artist Estefanía Pomar Aloy tucked into a wall niche, themselves a record of the works she created for the property, using natural ingredients found in the local surroundings, like lichen, to create paint pigments.
Outside, a maze of stone staircases, patios and shady terraces weaves through leafy gardens. You’ll be tempted to stop by the kitchen garden to curl up in a hammock with a book beneath the cherry blossoms – or find a bench overlooking the mountains to enjoy with your morning coffee. This is a place for those drawn to stillness – travellers looking for a place where time softens and the mountains call you gently back to yourself. It’s easy to say that a hotel feels suspended in time, but at Hotel Valldemossa, it would be more fitting to say that time is suspended: it’s a hotel firmly in the present, but which invites you to press pause on the usual dash of daily life – if only for a while.
A suite with private terrace
All rooms come stocked with Marshall speakers, coffee machines and milk frothers for those who like to start the day with a frothy cappuccino in bed. At turndown, you’ll find calming herbal teas left out to help ease you into the night.
Each IT Mallorca property has a bespoke scent: here, it’s orange and lemongrass – subtly diffused throughout the hotel. You’ll find a sample-size fragrance in your room to take home.
Rooms
Tucked into the old stone house, with views of the monastery and mountains, each of the 13 suites offers its own quiet charm. In ours – room 10 – mornings began with birdsong and the occasional bray of a local donkey. The design respects the history of the property, maintaining traditional wooden shutters, beamed ceilings and earthy, natural hues – but there are unexpected nods to safari lodge style, too, in zebra-print cushions, elephant-lined cupboards and banana leaf-made lamps. All rooms have their own unique selling point: some have sun-trap terraces, others boast deep soaking tubs. In ours, a shower framed by wide windows looks out towards the monastery.All rooms come stocked with Marshall speakers, coffee machines and milk frothers for those who like to start the day with a frothy cappuccino in bed. At turndown, you’ll find calming herbal teas left out to help ease you into the night.
Each IT Mallorca property has a bespoke scent: here, it’s orange and lemongrass – subtly diffused throughout the hotel. You’ll find a sample-size fragrance in your room to take home.
What’s for breakfast?
“What’s not on the breakfast table?” might be a shorter list. Hotel Valldemossa leans into its kitchen-garden abundance with a spread that feels equal parts rustic and refined: homemade pastries and breads, overnight oats, houmous, salads, platters of local cheeses and cold cuts, a “tomato con pan” station, and fresh fruits galore. Most baked goods are made on-site, including the intriguing loaves. During our stay, we spotted a black tea bread, as well as a sobrasada and a tomato-studded one. There are also à la carte options, including eggs Benedict, pancakes and more.
Dining room views across the agricultural landscape
Lunch and dinner
Described by Ghali as a “Med restaurant with Peruvian-Japanese fusion,” De Tokio a Lima draws on the island’s sun-kissed produce to craft visually striking, flavour-packed plates that give the bucolic views of age-old agricultural terraces a run for their money. The second branch of the restaurant – the first is at a sister property in Palma – plates up Iberian pork tacos with jalapeños and apple, roasted octopus with a red mole, and red snapper yubiki under a Kalamata olive emulsion. Leave space for dessert – they lean fruity, fresh and indulgent.Is there a bar?
As dusk falls, the breakfast buffet table morphs into a bar, helmed by a bartender on loan from one of Mallorca’s most famous cocktail bars, Arlequín. The drinks are as transportative as the food – Japanese-Peruvian inspired, but always tailored to your taste. Whether you’re craving a classic pisco sour or something bespoke, just say the word.Amenities
A shaded open-air gym perched beside the property offers a workout with a view (including a bespoke weights space designed for the property and some top-of-the-range yoga and Pilates kit), but the real magic happens in the Sanctuary wellness space, where spa access is bookable by the hour, meaning you’ll have the sauna and heated indoor pool (with mountain views and a rock-cut wall) all to yourself.
Citrus fruits grow in the hotel garden
Treatments, led by the mysteriously named Amora, take place in two spacious rooms accessed by a private terrace. The spa’s soulful therapist blends eastern and western modalities into deeply personal sessions: on offer are traditional massages, lymphatic drainage treatments, hydrotherapy, acupuncture, laser therapy and more. Our experience included a diagnosis of what’s wrong (no emotions, bad insomnia, apparently), before we embarked on an intense, deep tissue massage with cupping, an essential oil-infused bath and a meditative stint on the BEMER mat – a muscle-stimulating tool that doubles as a nifty spot to nap. We’re unsure if our vascular system improved, but as a 20-minute session elongated into a 40-minute one after we nodded off, we can vouch for its sleep-improving powers.
The outdoor pool is flanked by a cabana and sun loungers – plus a phone, so you can call up to reception to ask for snacks.
Across the road from the hotel is a very well-hidden car park, which is perfect for those touring the island by car. Despite its tranquility, Valldemossa is only a 30-minute drive from Palma. Prefer to explore on two wheels? You’ll find a fully equipped bike storage room, too, with a cleaning station, service station and useful maps of Mallorca’s main cycle routes.
Treatments, led by the mysteriously named Amora, take place in two spacious rooms accessed by a private terrace. The spa’s soulful therapist blends eastern and western modalities into deeply personal sessions: on offer are traditional massages, lymphatic drainage treatments, hydrotherapy, acupuncture, laser therapy and more. Our experience included a diagnosis of what’s wrong (no emotions, bad insomnia, apparently), before we embarked on an intense, deep tissue massage with cupping, an essential oil-infused bath and a meditative stint on the BEMER mat – a muscle-stimulating tool that doubles as a nifty spot to nap. We’re unsure if our vascular system improved, but as a 20-minute session elongated into a 40-minute one after we nodded off, we can vouch for its sleep-improving powers.
The outdoor pool is flanked by a cabana and sun loungers – plus a phone, so you can call up to reception to ask for snacks.
Across the road from the hotel is a very well-hidden car park, which is perfect for those touring the island by car. Despite its tranquility, Valldemossa is only a 30-minute drive from Palma. Prefer to explore on two wheels? You’ll find a fully equipped bike storage room, too, with a cleaning station, service station and useful maps of Mallorca’s main cycle routes.
An ivy-clad stone staircase, and one of the hotel’s commissioned artworks
What are the hotel’s eco-credentials like?
Thoughtful, rather than shouty: strong support for local producers; refillable full-size toiletries in each bathroom; and an intentional absence of plastic-wrapped shower caps, earbuds and the like in bathrooms. Forgotten your toothbrush? Just swing by reception to pick one up.What about accessibility?
Avoid the (many) stairs up to the entrance by using the glass lift. One room is adapted for accessibility. However, given that much of the hotel is arranged across its meandering gardens – with the pool, spa and gym accessed by stone staircases – wheelchair users may find navigating the site difficult.What’s the crowd like?
The mood is laid-back luxe: mostly discreetly dressed couples seeking stillness, slow breakfasts and mountain air.
The pool
For take-home treasures, SONMO is your go-to. The shop in town is tied to the nearby Son Moragues estate, and sells high-quality extra-virgin olive oils in handmade bottles, candles, earth-toned ceramics and rugs and blankets made from Mallorcan wool, all produced on the estate. Those enamoured by the shop’s rustic, countryside aesthetic can book an immersive estate experience, too – the line-up includes olive oil tastings, mountain picnics and more.
Within a short walk I can find…
A (somewhat uphill) stroll leads to the cobbled heart of Valldemossa. Stop by S’Hort de Cartoixa, a tiny, old-school deli beloved by locals and hotel staff alike. Try the lemon sorbet – it’s legendary. Pop into Can Molinas, the town’s oldest bakery, for hot chocolate and fresh pastries produced by local grandmothers in the orange blossom-filled courtyard. There’s also the Miramar monastery and museum Son Marroig to explore (the latter, the former home of Archduke Luis Salvador).For take-home treasures, SONMO is your go-to. The shop in town is tied to the nearby Son Moragues estate, and sells high-quality extra-virgin olive oils in handmade bottles, candles, earth-toned ceramics and rugs and blankets made from Mallorcan wool, all produced on the estate. Those enamoured by the shop’s rustic, countryside aesthetic can book an immersive estate experience, too – the line-up includes olive oil tastings, mountain picnics and more.
Mountain views from the hotel’s reception