Ten years after it originally opened, Can Cera Boutique Hotel has a new concept. During the Covid-related extended closure of Mallorca’s hospitality businesses, IT Mallorca Unique Spaces took the opportunity to renovate its adults-only, 5-star property in Palma’s atmospheric old town.

Can Cera was our first boutique hotel experience in Palma when we stayed not long after its opening in 2011. The 17th-century former palace was unlike any other hotel we’d stayed in before in Mallorca and we were seriously impressed. Even more so after this week’s return visit to the new-look Can Cera.

Welcoming Courtyard

The boutique hotel now feels more exclusive, because the heavy wooden front doors are no longer open to the gaze or presence of those who aren’t staying guests. After we pressed the intercom button on the wall outside, the door clicked open. It’s like being welcomed into the grand home of privileged friends, or a smart, private club.

We gasped as we entered: the traditional Mallorcan courtyard – stone arches, wooden ceiling beams, marble staircase, and Art Deco stair banisters – has been further enhanced by the addition of huge sofas, plump cushions, ceiling-to-floor curtains, marble low tables, artworks, and designer lighting.

Dream Designs & Designers

IT Mallorca Unique Spaces’ founder Miguel Conde and his architect wife Cristina Marti were responsible for Can Cera’s renovation and redecoration. They successfully married period features such as cabinets, chairs, art, hand-painted coffered ceilings, and 17th-century Murano glass chandeliers, with contemporary features from designers including Matteo Ugolini, Davide Groppi, Marcel Breuer, Jean Prouvé, and Adriana Meunié – the partner of Jaume Roig, whose distinctive ceramic art in the courtyard impresses at first sight.

Fresh Features

Climb the marble staircase from the courtyard and you enter what’s dubbed the ‘work’ room. Its key new features are the six-metre-long oak table, Marcel Breuer chairs, and Matteo Ugolini’s Moby Dick lamps. For guests who have to keep on top of work duties when travelling, this is a fine space in which to do so.

The adjoining room, the Salon Rojo, is now home to a black-marble cocktail bar, with facilities for cooking too.

Interior walls throughout the hotel have been painted with a sophisticated shade of light brown that’s made the ambience feel even more restful. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find out the name of the colour, but it reminded me of Farrow & Ball’s lovely ‘Mouse’s Back’.

Guest rooms have also been renovated and we appreciated having both a long bathtub and separate, spacious shower cubicle in our junior suite (room 11). The windows of this room, by the way, offer some tantalising glimpses of Palma’s glorious cathedral, La Seu.

Sustainability is a key tenet for IT Mallorca Unique Spaces and you can spot evidence of this throughout, from the guest amenities in the rooms to the commercially compostable bags containing individual portions of bread and pastries on the breakfast buffet.

Gastronomy Offering

We had dinner in Can Cera. The hotel offers a vermutería-style menu of tapas and a few light dishes. Menu sections include appetisers, breads, ‘La Cala’ canned fish (the Spanish are renowned for canned fish), cheeses (six types, including the excellent matured English Stilton from Colston Bassett), foies, cold meats, smoked & salted fish, vegetables, and more. The provenance of some of the hotel’s carefully sourced products is noted on the menu.

A Two-Centre Stay in Mallorca

Love the buzz of staying in a city or small town, with restaurants, bars, and shops in walking distance? Here’s my recommendation for a two-centre stay in Mallorca: Start at Can Cera in Palma, then check in at Can Aulí, another IT Mallorca Unique Spaces boutique hotel, in the attractive town of Pollensa. (Click the Can Aulí link above to find out more). If you love the hospitality and design ethos of Can Cera, you’ll find more of it to enjoy there.

Palma’s discreet Can Cera has a convenient location for exploring the Mallorcan capital. However, once you discover the various places inside the hotel where you can relax with a good book or magazine, you may decide not to venture out and, instead, make the most of your Palma home from home.

After your fix of city life, head to Pollensa – which has easy access to resorts, some quieter beaches, and the impressive mountains of the Serra de Tramuntana. Can Aulí also has the benefit of an outdoor swimming pool, so you may just be tempted to stay put and relax in considerable style.

You can see more photos I took at Can Cera on my Facebook page eatdrinksleepmallorca, where you’ll also find details of a special offer if you book a room at this hotel before July 18th.

Jan Edwards ©2021