Es Racó d'Artà

Es Racó d'Artà lies in a valley outside Artà in north-east Mallorca, on some 200 hectares of forest, vines, olive groves and farmland next to the Llevant nature park. The hotel traces the farm's history back to the Middle Ages. The architect Antoni Esteva and the builder Jaume Danús restored the old possessió with earth, stone, cane, wood and lime and kept it as the heart of the estate, with eight rooms. Around it stand 21 casitas, each with a terrace, a small garden, a handcrafted bathtub and an outdoor shower; some have a private pool. Two separate houses, Sa Meva Casa and Sa Finqueta, have pools of their own.

The hotel takes adults only, from the age of 14, and keeps a steady rhythm: meditation every morning and a yoga class, both included in the rate, then workshops in basket weaving or painting, or a sound bath. The restaurant, Beni Axir, is named after the Berber settlement that once stood here and cooks mainly from the estate's organic gardens. The spa lies under a green roof, with a stone-walled indoor pool, sauna, hammam, contrast baths and Watsu sessions in warm water, and is open to guests from 16.

The engineering matches the interiors. Geothermal and solar systems supply the energy, heat recovery handles heating, cooling and hot water, grey water is reused and filtered cistern water irrigates the gardens. The estate keeps bees, grows an old local wheat called xeixa and has planted 14 hectares of vines. Retreats run from three days to three weeks and more.