The southwest of Mallorca is home to the Calvià municipality – home of some of the island’s most popular resorts, marinas, and tourist attractions. But this area also offers tranquillity, and we found it staying in the rurally located Finca Hotel Can Estades, less than two kilometres from the village of Calvià.

An architectural feature

The Can Estades estate has been here since the 16th century, and is surrounded by lovely countryside, with views of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Tramuntana mountain range. It’s well-signposted from the centre of the village. Through the hotel’s gated entrance, we parked our car and, before we could reach the door, the couple running the hotel came out to greet us.

Welcoming Hosts

Norbert and Christiane are German, but speak perfect English and offer warm hospitality to guests of all nationalities.  We were offered a cold drink after our journey, and shown the whereabouts of a ‘fridge, from which we could help ourselves to drinks at any time (making a note of what we’d had).

As Norbert gave us a guided tour of the hotel – which has been superbly renovated and retains some traditional Mallorcan features – we spotted antique furniture, interesting artefacts, and lovely views through the windows. The hotel has its own mini-chapel and an old Mallorcan kitchen (the hotel’s modern version is next door to it), which must be a cosy place to sit in the cooler months.

The mini-chapel at Finca Hotel Can Estades.

Sitting room on upper floor.

Part of the original old kitchen.

Our Room

Norbert showed us to our room – one of 12, all named after fruit. We stayed in ‘Apple’, which was spacious and had the benefit of a balcony, looking over the hotel’s vegetable garden, and with the pointy mountain known as Galatzó as a backdrop. The room and bathroom were immaculately presented and clean. We spent some time in the evening and early the following morning, sitting on the balcony and enjoying the utter peace.

The balcony of the room named Apple.

The church in nearby Calvia, from our balcony.

Estate orchards.

A clever feature in our room was an air-conditioning unit disguised as a picture on the wall. No ugly modern air-conditioning units to spoil the décor here! There’s a small ‘fridge in the room in case you want to keep drinks cool, and a  safe (available for small extra charge, but not large enough for a laptop). Norbert showed us how the satellite TV worked, but we didn’t have the time or inclination for television in such lovely surroundings.

Air-conditioning unit disguised as a picture

Although there is plenty of antique furniture in this hotel, the beds are modern and very comfortable, and there was a choice of pillows. Our home is in a very quiet valley and we’re used to silence at night. Luckily we had it here too, so we had an undisturbed and excellent night’s sleep.

Breakfast

Norbert and Christiane clearly believe in giving their guests a good start to the day. We had coffee from a self-service machine, loaded with whole coffee beans. Christiane came to show us how it worked and moments after pressing the button we had excellent coffee – and not a capsule in sight. The buffet included rye bread made by Norbert, preserves made from fruit from the estate, a variety of hams, cheeses, pastries, home-made muesli, fruit, and yogurt.

Breakfast buffet.

A variety of hams and cold meats.

. . . and cheeses with home-made preserve.

Norbert appeared in his red apron as we helped ourselves to the buffet, to offer a cooked breakfast. He’s apparently renowned for his egg-cooking and The Boss took advantage of the offer of freshly cooked bacon and eggs – and was pleased he had.

Although there’s an attractive dining room, breakfast is usually served on the terrace in good weather and we ate ours sitting under the shade of a huge tree, enjoying beautiful views and the promise of a new day.

Leisure Facilities

The pool in the late afternoon.

Old well on the pool terrace.

Home of the infrared sauna and gym equipment.

The pool reflected in the door of the infrared sauna.

The hotel has a decent-sized pool, plenty of loungers on the surrounding terrace, and a separate building housing infrared sauna and a few pieces of gym equipment. If you want to play golf, ride a horse, go cycling, or hiking, this hotel is well located. Norbert and Christiane are happy to advise on all of these – and more.

Dinner

Dinner isn’t served at Finca Hotel Can Estades (although they do have a weekly BBQ for guests during the season). The hosts provide a helpful guide in the rooms about local facilities, beaches, and restaurants. There’s an excellent choice of places to eat out in the area, including the Michelin-starred Zaranda, in nearby Es Capdellà.

Guest Relations Assistant

Rodrigo chilling out on a doorstep.

Rodrigo also doubles as security chief (not a very taxing job in this lovely rural setting), and is a small breed of Mallorcan dog that was rescued by Norbert and Christiane. He’s friendly and very well behaved and won’t come and sit at your feet to beg for a bit of your breakfast: the terrace is off-limits to him during this time.

In Summary . . .

This hotel is steeped in Mallorcan character and charm but offers modern comforts and conveniences (including WiFi); although it’s in the countryside, access is quick and easy to the coastal resorts and tourist attractions; the hotel is peaceful and relaxing, and run by a couple who clearly enjoy what they do and put a lot of effort into looking after their guests. And those are just some of the reasons we plan to return to Mallorca’s Finca Hotel Can Estades one day . . .

©Jan Edwards 2015