Why is Mallorca on our
list of Best Beach Holidays? Because of a well-kept secret bay on this
Spanish island just off the coast of Barcelona.
Bypass Mallorca’s capital
Palma and head straight to the north coast
of Mallorca
and the beautiful curving sweep of Puerto
Pollença (pronounced Pollensa).
This is a charming traditional Spanish port with a sweeping bay and
promenade full of quality cafes, shops and bars
near the beach. The ambience and charm of this little seaside village makes
it a perfect inclusion as a Best Beach Holiday.
Photo of Mallorca Beach
By day you can take the short trip into the bigger town of
Pollença, which has plenty of
shopping and restaurants. Make sure you go to the Sunday market in the
Pollença
town
square, where you’ll find colourful stalls with everything from fresh
fruit to French fashion. Eating al fresco in this warm Mediterranean climate
is a real treat as you watch the world go by, especially in summer when it
stays light until around 10pm.
Restaurant
menu prices
are very reasonable
by European standards. Even though the introduction of the Euro has
forced up prices, the
Malllorca restaurants are some of the most
inexpensive in the Mediterranean.
There
are many festivals in Pollença including bonfires in January, El Pino the
next day when a huge pine tree is dragged through town, the annual carnival
in February and dancing in the streets in July to honour the
patron saint of Mallorca. Movie stars including Michael
Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones have houses
in Mallorca.
Hotel Illa d’Or
The
holiday place to be in Mallorca Island really is
near the beach at Puerto Pollença with its
beautiful sweeping vista.
Without a doubt the star of the
beachfront promenade is the stylish
"Hotel Illa d’Or",
where author Agatha Christie enjoyed staying and writing about.
She
described the hotel perfectly with the following famous lines: “For after
they had passed through the narrow streets of
Pollensa and were following
the curved line of the seashore, they came to it, a small hotel standing on
the edge of the sea looking out over a view that in the misty haze of a fine
morning had the exquisite vagueness of a Japanese print…”
Photo of Hotel Illa d' Or, Puerto Pollença
The
Hotel Illa d’Or is perfectly located in Puerto Pollença at the left hand end
of the beach promenade, far enough away from the noise of the café strip but
close enough to lazily stroll there. The hotel restaurant that seems to
sit out over the sea is superbly located by the shade of the huge pines, and
the interior of the hotel itself is pure Spanish class, with refined lounge
areas and rooms with ocean views that don’t cost the earth.
Double
hotel
rooms at the Illa D’Or range from 103 Euros in low season to 187 Euros in
peak summer, and you pay an extra 30 Euros for half board. What a way
to spend a week!
The Illa d' Or hotel manager Miguel Salom is one of the most personable people on
Mallorca, and although he maintains the privacy of hotel guests, you may
bump into famous visitors including singers Ricky Martin and Annie Lenox and
actor Jane Seymour.
Celebrities are all drawn here to the crystal clear water
and fine beaches that are the jewel in the crown of
Mallorca's coastline.
Hotel Illa
d’Or is one of those gracious historic hotels on the beach (dating back to
1929) that has it all. This really is the focal point of enjoying a
great beach holiday in Mallorca.
Travel Mallorca
It will
take you a good 45 minutes to drive to Puerto Pollença from the capital
Palma. This is where taxis get expensive at 40 Euros each way. Our
great value tip is to hire a car at one of the many rental stations at Palma
Airport.
Mallorca’s airport is one of the busiest in Europe, and when you
arrive you’ll find the red and white of "Air Berlin" dominating the runways,
thanks to the German influence in Mallorca.
It is truly a pleasurable experience flying Air Berlin with typical German
efficiency - your flight will almost certainly leave on time and often
arrive early, unlike competitors like Easyjet.
Air Berlin flights on
modern jets are inexpensive, feature assigned leather seats and have good
leg room, which is rare in the modern discount air fare market. Often
you’ll pick up a bargain on the Air Berlin website at
www.airberlin.com for as little as 30
Euros to fly just about anywhere inside Europe.
Remarkably, Air
Berlin flies in to Mallorca from 60 different destinations around the world
including New York, London and Paris, and also from the Spanish mainland.
A great way to arrive in Mallorca is to fly in from nearby Valencia
on the Spanish coast, where you’ll find wonderful seafood paella restaurants
like La Alegria de la Huerta on Valencia’s white sandy beach.
Paella was invented in Valencia, a
pretty city with those famous Valencia oranges everywhere. After the
atmosphere of paella on the beach, take the half hour flight to
Mallorca with Air Berlin.
Photo of paella on Valencia beach
When you arrive in Mallorca, sure – check out the capital Palma, but
your time is better spent on the northern side of the island at Puerto
Pollença or the resort beach at Fomentor, 10 kilometres away. If you really
want to stay in the capital Palma, look at C’an Pere Antoni beach and a few
others along the Badia de Palma include Palma Nova beach, with its
attractive green foliage hiding a few of the resort hotels.
There is another pretty beach with fine white sand and clear water at
Magalluf to the south and west of Palma, but this is now popular with brash
young tourists who like very loud music into the early hours of the morning.
When you arrive in Mallorca, head straight to
Puerto Pollença, slip on
your beachwear and enjoy what is truly one of the world’s
Best Beach
Holidays.
Photo of Valencia Beach Spain, near Mallorca, one of the best beaches on mainland
Spain