Where to stay in Mallorca: the best hotels and areas, by our editors

Mallorca packs an improbable amount into one island. In a single short drive you can go from the UNESCO-listed peaks of the Serra de Tramuntana to a buzzing little capital in Palma, and on to a coastline of turquoise coves in the south. That variety is the island's great strength — and it's exactly why *where* you stay matters more here than almost anywhere else in Spain. Base yourself badly and you'll spend the holiday in the car; base yourself well and the best of Mallorca is on your doorstep. This guide breaks the island into the areas that matter, with the stays our editors rate in each.

How to choose where to stay in Mallorca

Mallorca splits, broadly, into four moods. The north-west is the Serra de Tramuntana — mountains, olive terraces and stone villages, with the island's grandest country and clifftop hotels. Palma and its bay is the cultural heart: a genuinely good small city of galleries, rooftops and tapas. The south-east is where the prettiest beaches and coves are. And the flat interior, the Pla, is wine country, almond groves and rural agroturismos.

As a quick steer: choose the Tramuntana for romance, walking and scenery; Palma for a city-and-culture break; the south-east for beach days; and a rural finca anywhere if a private pool and total quiet are the point. Most first-timers do best with two bases — a few nights in the mountains and a few near Palma or the coast — rather than trying to see it all from one spot.

Serra de Tramuntana — mountains, villages and sea

If you only base in one part of Mallorca, make it here. The Tramuntana runs the length of the north-west coast — a wall of mountains dropping to hidden coves, threaded with villages like Deià, Sóller and Valldemossa. It has the island's most beautiful driving and walking, and its most characterful hotels.

Belmond La Residencia is the definitive Deià stay — two 16th-century manor houses among olive terraces, with a Michelin-starred restaurant and the polished, romantic service that defines the village. From around €550 a night it's a splurge, but the setting is unmatched. For something quieter and more remote, Finca Ratxó is an adults-only wellness retreat high above Puigpunyent — all stone, fire and morning yoga, with a serious spa and just 25 rooms.

Nearby, the landmark pink manor of Gran Hotel Son Net offers old-world country grandeur 20 minutes from Palma, while Castell Son Claret, near Es Capdellà, is a grand estate with a destination spa and an ambitious kitchen. At the northern end, Son Brull — a former monastery near Pollença — pairs sharp design with one of the island's best restaurants. And for the sea rather than the mountains, Jumeirah Port Sóller is a clifftop resort over the horseshoe bay of Port de Sóller, with one of the Mediterranean's great infinity pools.

Getting around: the Tramuntana's roads are slow and winding (and gorgeous), so a car is essential. Don't miss the vintage wooden tram from Sóller down to its port, the cliff drive to Sa Calobra, and a swim at the Cala de Deià.

Palma & the Bay — city, culture and a castle

Palma is one of Europe's most underrated small cities — a soaring Gothic cathedral, a tangle of old-town lanes, contemporary-art galleries and the buzzing Santa Catalina dining scene. It makes a brilliant short break in its own right, or an easy day or two either side of a coastal stay.

In the old town, Sant Francesc is a restored 19th-century mansion turned design boutique, with a rooftop plunge pool over the rooftops and the cathedral a short walk away. Above the city, the hilltop Castillo Son Vida — the island's original luxury hotel — pairs antiques-filled salons and bay views with three golf courses at the gate. And on the cape just outside Palma, Cap Rocat is a 19th-century fortress turned hotel like nowhere else, with suites behind stone walls and a sea-water pool cut into the rock.

Palma is 15 minutes from the airport, so it's the easy place to start or end a trip. You don't need a car in the city itself — but you will for everywhere else.

The south-east & the coves

The Migjorn, Mallorca's south-east, has the island's prettiest swimming — a string of turquoise coves like Cala Llombards and Mondragó, plus the long white sands of Es Trenc. The handsome market town of Santanyí is the natural base.

Can Ferrereta, a 17th-century sandstone townhouse turned adults-only boutique — and a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World — is the calm, design-minded place to stay here, with a garden pool, a good spa and the coves a short drive away. It's close to the water without being a beach resort, which is exactly the point. Browse more options in our sea-view and private-pool collections.

How many days, and how to get around

Give Mallorca at least five days; a week is better and easily filled. With five to seven days, the classic plan is two or three nights in the Tramuntana, then two or three near Palma or the south-east, splitting the island's two very different sides.

A car is essential for everything except a pure Palma city break. Driving times are short — most of the island is within 60–90 minutes of Palma — but the mountain roads are slow, so don't over-pack the itinerary. Book your car ahead in summer, when island-wide demand sends prices up.

When to visit Mallorca

May, June, September and early October are the sweet spot — warm enough to swim, long golden light, and the island far calmer than in peak season. July and August are hot, beautiful and busy; if you come then, book sea-view rooms and restaurant tables well ahead and start beach days early. Spring (April–May) is glorious for walking and the almond-blossom countryside, while winter is quiet, mild and increasingly popular for a cultural city break in Palma.