Eat Drink Sleep Mallorca

Review of Art Hotel Palma

December 28, 2017

Breakfast room at Art Hotel Palma

We treat ourselves to a special dinner in Palma just before every Christmas and this year we ate at Fera – one of the Mallorcan capital’s newest restaurants. Before this, we met friends for cava at Nicolas Bar and attended a special festive performance by Flamallorca with them at Teatre Sans in the Old Town. A full-on night like this called for an overnight stay and I had booked Art Hotel Palma.

The 13-room boutique Art Hotel Palma has a convenient location just off the Rambla and close to the Teatre Principal, Plaza Major, and its underground public car park. I’d had a show-round of the hotel last year after reviewing the owner’s nearby Mari-lin Café-Lounge and had wanted to stay here ever since. The premises once housed an antiques gallery but the owner converted his business into a boutique hotel, home to some of the artworks and antiques he collected over the years.

Our stay

I took the option of paying in advance for our room, which entitled me to a discount. The room rate also included a glass of Mallorcan wine and two tapas each at Mari-lin. Subject to availability (only two spaces are available) you can book a parking place – through the hotel – in the adjacent Plaça Major public car park, for a supplement of 20 euros per 24 hours.

We stayed in room 10 on the third floor. It had views – but no sounds (good glazing) – of the leafy street below. There were lots of plus-points here: good WiFi, coffee machine (capsules), kettle and tea-making facilities, mini-bar, safe, plenty of wardrobe space (with umbrella provided), and very comfortable large bed. Best of all, on a cold December day in Mallorca, easy-to-control heating (the whole hotel felt really cosy and welcoming). Our room had an original fireplace, although it wasn’t in use.

The bathroom of room 10 doesn’t have a bath, but a very efficient shower with different water jets (two of which took me by surprise!). You emerge wet and clean to a towel warmed on the heated towel rail – my idea of bliss.

My only tiny gripe was the lack of a full-length mirror.

Elegant decor

Some of the antique boxes on display in the hotel

Painting by Miro

Detail of part of room 10

Oranges squeezed fresh to order for breakfast juice

Browsing material in room 10 for antiques enthusiasts

Things we liked best about AH Art Hotel Palma

Friendly staff offering a genuinely warm welcome and service.
The vast amount of art and antiques combining harmoniously with 21st-century comforts and convenience.
The cosy home-from-home feeling (not that our home is stuffed with antiques and masterpieces!).
It’s a tranquil and relaxing place to stay after a day (or night) out in the vibrant Mallorcan capital of Palma.

Useful to know

AH Art Hotel Palma doesn’t have a restaurant but serves a buffet breakfast in a pleasant breakfast room (or on the narrow rear terrace in fine weather). Palma has a wealth of eateries within a short walking distance, including Marc Fosh, Fera Palma, Adrián Quetglas, El Camino (excellent tapas), and Bi-Bap.

©Jan Edwards 2017

Bib Gourmand restaurants Mallorca 2018

November 24, 2017

by Jan Edwards

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Two restaurants on Mallorca have gained a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide Spain & Portugal 2018: Aromata in Palma and Sa Fàbrica in Inca. Michelin awards the Bib Gourmand to establishments that they consider have the ‘best quality-price relationship’. Son Tomás in Banyalbufar retains the Bib Gourmand it had for 2017.

We’ve eaten in both of these newly-awarded restaurants a few times and they offer impressive value for money for the high standard of cuisine. Aromata and Sa Fàbrica are both open for lunch and dinner. If you’re looking for a high-quality lunch, with a price to make you smile, rather than wince, check out what’s on offer.

Aromata

Aromata’s Mallorcan owner Andreu Genestra is renowned for his eponymous (seasonal) restaurant in Capdepera, which holds one Michelin star. (His Senzill bistro – within the same hotel – is also worth a visit). Aromata is in Palma and the weekday lunch menu (which changes weekly) is one of the Mallorcan capital’s best bargains: three courses (with choices) for 15,50 euros including bread and a glass of wine or beer or water.

Here are the flavourful dishes I ate at Aromata during our last visit, in October:

Cream of smoked celeriac with caramelized figs, and black olive mousse – starter enjoyed in October as part of the great-value ‘menu del dia’

Confit free-range chicken with tender artichokes in a sweet-and-sour spicy tomato sauce

Chocolate mousse, vanilla foam and cardamon meringue

Sa Fàbrica

Located in the renovated old Ramis leather factory in Inca, Sa Fàbrica has Marcel Ress at the helm. This 29-year-old German chef won the Spanish TV series ‘Top Chef de España’ in December 2015, while he was working at the Michelin-starred Simply Fosh (now Marc Fosh) in Palma.

Sa Fàbrica’s weekday lunch menu (Tuesday to Friday except public holidays) also changes weekly and offers three courses (with choices) including bread for 15 euros. If you have a healthy appetite – or just can’t decide what to choose – go for the 5-course option for 25 euros, which includes two starters, two mains, and a dessert. The 5-course option is also available on Saturdays and public holidays. Well worth a visit – and only a few minutes’ walk from Inca’s train station.

Here are a few photos from one of the lunches I had in the summer.

Contemporary industrial chic setting

Marcel Ress (left) in Sa Fabrica’s open kitchen

Interior of Sa Fabrica at Inica

Example of a weekday menu at Sa Fabrica, Inca

Lunchtime menu of the week at Sa Fabrica (example)

Sadly, my iPad battery failed before I could photo any of the dishes; for examples of the cuisine, here are the dishes we ate one evening when we had the Chef’s Choice menu (35 euros for five dishes). Sa Fàbrica also offers an à la carte menu.

Is it lunchtime yet?

©Jan Edwards 2017

Mallorca’s Michelin stars for 2018

November 22, 2017

by Jan Edwards

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Eat / Michelin / Restaurants

For many chefs and restaurant teams across Spain and Portugal, today’s date is significant: this evening the Guía Michelin España & Portugal 2018 held their annual event to announce the restaurants awarded Michelin stars for the coming year.

Last year (for the 2017 edition of the Michelin Guide for Spain & Portugal), two restaurants in Mallorca gained their first star (Argos and Adrián Quetglas), bringing the total of stars on the island to 10 (across nine restaurants).

This year, the eagerly awaited event was held in Guía de Isora, Tenerife, at the Ritz-Carlton Abama – which has two Michelin-starred restaurants (a total of three stars) among its various restaurants and eateries. (Interestingly, Miguel Navarro, chef at Mallorca’s Es Fum, used to work in this hotel).

Can you imagine the pressure of creating a gala dinner for 500 starred chefs and top gastronomic critics? Despite that, those lucky enough to be spreading their napkins on their laps there tonight will have eaten very well!

The new stars in the Michelin Guide for Spain & Portugal for 2018 were 19 restaurants with one star; five with two stars, and two with three stars. Stars awarded for restaurants in Mallorca last year have deservedly been awarded again, as follows:

Mallorca’s Michelin-starred restaurants for 2018

Two stars:

Zaranda

One star:

I feel proud to live on an island with so many excellent restaurants and talented chefs, who have helped to make Mallorca a must-visit gastronomic destination. I also feel fortunate to have eaten in all of the Michelin-starred restaurants in Mallorca and, if I had the money to do so, I’d eat in them more often. But there are also several other deserving restaurants, in my opinion. I was convinced that this would be the year Santi Taura was awarded a star for Dins Santi Taura and that Bou, Tomeu Caldentey’s restaurant in Sa Coma, would gain a second star. Neither happened. Perhaps next year?

For the time being though, my congratulations to everyone raising a glass tonight to celebrate recognition for 2018 by Michelin – the publishers of the famous red book.

Summer 2018 update

Tomeu Caldentey’s Bou restaurant in Sa Coma has closed, so Mallorca has one less Michelin star in its firmament now. The renowned Mallorcan chef – the first islander to have his cuisine recognised with a Michelin star – decided to go back to his culinary roots and to open a new restaurant (in the same location) offering creative Mallorcan cuisine that’s more affordable than his former Bou. I have yet to try Tomeu Caldentey Cuiner, but hope to do so very soon.

©Jan Edwards Updated 2018

Repsol awards its ‘Suns’ for 2018

November 16, 2017

by Jan Edwards

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Chefs / Eat / Restaurants

The Repsol Guide for 2018 has just been published and it includes all the establishments in Spain awarded with one, two, and three Repsol ‘Soles’ (Suns). The awards are made for ‘culinary excellence, quality of raw materials and their implementation, respect for local cuisine, wine menu, as well as table and dining room service.’

The list for Mallorca is the same as for 2017 but with one addition: Baiben (Gastrobar). Fernando P Arellano – whose restaurant Zaranda at the 5-star Castell Son Claret hotel has two Michelin stars – owns Baiben, which is in the smart southwest-Mallorca marina of Puerto Portals. Its location is enviable, facing luxurious pleasure cruisers moored right in front of the place.

“We are very happy to have this award in our first year,” Itziar Rodríguez – director of Zaranda – told me today. “People have been getting to know us and to receive a Repsol Sol is really important to us. It can be tough in the first year of a new business, but the guys here have done a great job – especially during such a busy summer season.”

Jerome Rohmer (head chef Baiben) and restaurant owner Fernando P Arellano (of 2-Michelin-starred Zaranda)

L-R Jerome Rohmer, head chef of Baiben, with restaurant owner Fernando P Arellano. Photo provided.

For quick reference, here are the establishments with Repsol Suns for 2018:

Two stars

Awarded to restaurants guaranteeing excellent quality in cuisine and service:

Andreu Genestra
Bou
Bens d’Avall
El Olivo
I loved this locally caught John Dory with lemongrass sauce, crispy langoustine, and coconut during a dinner at El Olivo in October
Jardín
Santi Taura Dins
Zaranda

One star

Awarded for high-quality cuisine and sufficient variety:

Aromata
Cream of smoked celeriac with caramelized figs, and black olive mousse – starter I enjoyed in October as part of the great-value ‘menu del dia’
Baiben *NEW FOR 2018*
Casa Manolo
Ca na Toneta
Ca’n Calent
Can Toni Moreno
Es Racó d’es Teix
Flanigan
La Forteleza
Marc Fosh
Sadrassana

©Jan Edwards 2017

Review: Restaurant Arrels by Marga Coll

October 31, 2017

by Jan Edwards

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Eat / Restaurants / Sleep

Summers – even long ones – always pass too quickly on Mallorca. I had been intending to visit Arrels by Marga Coll for months but suddenly this seasonal restaurant located within the 5-star Gran Meliá de Mar in Mallorca’s southwest resort of Illetas was about to close for the winter. We just made it in time on Friday as it was the penultimate service of the season.

We’ve never stayed at this adults-only hotel, but it’s on the (growing) list to try. It has a privileged location on a promontory, with its own small cove and beautiful views of the Bay of Palma. The building itself is an icon in Illetas: the Hotel del Mar first opened in May 1964; in 1968 Sol Meliá had 50 per cent ownership and a few years later the hotel became a part of the prestigious Mallorcan hotel group. Upgraded to a Gran Meliá hotel a few years ago, it also has a Clarins Spa and choice of restaurants amongst the reasons to stay here.

Interior of restaurant

Marga Coll features in the decor too!

Table with a sea view

All the cutlery arrives in this Mallorcan ‘cloth of tongues’ wrap

The cuisine at Arrels by Marga Coll is Mallorcan. Marga also has her own restaurant – Miceli – in the village of Selva (a couple of kilometres from Inca). For both restaurants, Marga bases her dishes for any day on the fresh produce she buys at the market that morning; the menus change daily.

Our dinner at Arrels by Marga Coll

We ate al fresco on Friday evening. It was still just about warm enough to sit outside and enjoy the views of lights twinkling around the bay. A waiter kindly brought me a blanket, just in case I became chilly later – although it wasn’t needed. The service was very good and friendly; you’d never have guessed that the team was probably counting down the hours to their holidays.

Our server brought us a small red notebook each, in which the day’s tasting menu was handwritten. There was something about this idea I really loved – and not just because, as a writer, I can’t resist notebooks; it seemed more personal than perusing a printed menu or screen-swiping on an electronic device. And it gave us a chance to tell our server in advance if there was anything we didn’t like or couldn’t eat. In fact when I’d phoned to book the table I had been asked whether we had an allergies or dislikes and they had already noted The Boss’s dislike of garlic. Top marks.

Menu written in notebook at Arrels by Marga Coll

Handwritten menu (also available in English)

Other things we liked: the small tiles used as side plates for the delicious bread made on the premises; the tiles were handmade made by Huguet, a company in Campos that has been manufacturing hydraulic tiles by hand since 1933. The tables were simply decorated – each one had a pristine yellow pepper sitting on a dish and a small nightlight – and the chairs were comfortable. The food was served on hot dishes – particularly important when eating al fresco. And did I mention the delicious bread?

Cream of hazelnut and Norway lobster soup – poured over carpaccio. Delicious!

Courgette coca with goat’s cheese and dried tomato pesto – lovely crispy base and the tomato pesto was divine

Perfectly cooked hake with a sobrasada alioli and caramelized onion

‘Presa’ of black pork with Binigarba (Menorcan) cheese sauce and sauteed vegetables. Excellent.

Creamy coffee and Mallorcan Suau brandy dessert. More please!

UPDATE FOR 2020

Arrels by Marga Coll opened for the 2020 season on June 29th. This year the restaurant offers only a seven-course dinner for 56€, excluding drinks. The menu changes every day and the restaurant is open every evening except Mondays. There’s no à la carte.

©Jan Edwards 2017

Review of Spot Restaurant in Palma de Mallorca

October 10, 2017

by Jan Edwards

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Drink / Eat / Restaurants

EatDrinkSleepMallorca was recently invited to try a new eating-out spot in the Santa Catalina district of Mallorca’s capital, Palma. Or perhaps that should be the new eating-out Spot – since that is the name of the restaurant.

Spot is located in premises previously occupied by the business BConnected, which had a showroom for trendy furniture and interior accessories here. Now the spacious building is home to this informal restaurant serving freshly made Mediterranean cuisine with some international touches. It’s a place where you can come for a coffee in the morning, a drink at any time of day, lunch, or dinner.

Spot is part of the restaurant group En Compañía de Lobos (Spanish for ‘in the company of wolves’) which also has seven restaurants in Barcelona and two in Madrid. This is their first in Mallorca. It’s not a chain: the restaurants are individually named and different from each other in both setting, style, and cuisine; the menus are all devised by the group’s executive chef Marcelino Jiménez.

We went for lunch. Spot is easy to find as it’s on one side of the Sant Magí church. Street parking is usually possible in the area (but buy a parking ticket from a meter if you’re there during the payment period).

The Place

A black-iron wood-burning oven and a pile of logs beneath it were the first thing we noticed: they’re in a small foyer to the right of the restaurant entrance. With the doors open, as they were, we could see the chefs working in the kitchen beyond the foyer. Wood smoke is one of my favourite aromas, so Spot almost had me before I’d even gone in!

Spot’s wood-fired oven

Entrance area perfect for coffee or drinks

Local flavour in the stylish decor at Spot

There had to be a wolf somewhere. We were in the company of this gorgeous one…

Entering Spot, you’re in an area of tables where you can sit and just have a drink. The open front (when the weather is fine) gives the feel of being outdoors. Beyond this is the eating area and a large bar and counter (with high chairs for those who like to see a bit of prep-action while they’re eating or drinking).

Tables are a mix of round and rectangular and are well spaced, thanks to the size of the premises. We chose a rectangular table at the rear of the restaurant – where the large windows offer views of a small verdant courtyard with a couple of citrus trees (no al fresco eating though).

Mallorca is reflected in the Mediterranean décor, which includes fabrics, tiles, and ceramics from the island – although the interior design team was the Barcelona-based Tarruella Trenchs Studio. The result is informal, contemporary, and comfortable.

The Food

The menu (also available in English, if you don’t speak Spanish) is split into the following sections: To share; pastas; greens, soups, & salads; pizza (from that wood-fired oven), and del mund (from the world). The menu is marked with different-coloured spots to indicate dishes that contain meat, fish, or neither. Vegetarians have a choice of four sharing dishes, two pastas, six from the greens, soups, & salads, and three pizzas.

Alex, the manager, recommended that we try the sharing dish tortita with tuna sashimi, avocado and chipotle mayonnaise (three pieces for 9€). This is the only dish that appears on all the group’s restaurant menus and we felt we had to try it.

Tortita with tuna sashimi, avocado and chipotle mayo

Beet tartar with avocado and pink grapefruit – healthy and delicious

Activated charcoal gives this black pizza its colour – a revelation

Crispy duck – deliciously crisply and served with a bamboo steamer of pancakes.

Definitely worth the calories: Spot’s banoffee pie

We also shared some other dishes, including something I hadn’t seen before on the island: black pizza made in the wood-fired oven (14€, but large enough to share if you’re having something else too). The base was made from the trendy gastro-ingredient activated charcoal (food grade, of course), and topped with fresh fig, the French cheese Morbier, local black sausage, and rocket. OK, it may look as though the wood-fired oven got a little overheated, but it doesn’t taste burnt!

The bread was another noteworthy item here: made with olive oil, it had a good crunchy crust (baked in the wood-fired oven). If you want to dip it in olive oil, be sure to ask for the oil, as no condiments were on the tables during our visit. If they sold the loaves to take home, I’d have bought one.

The Wines

The list includes Mallorcan wines, as well as labels from the Peninsula, some of which are available by the glass. Prices seemed reasonable, for example, a bottle of the Mallorcan Obac from Bodega Binigrau, was listed as 24€. The Boss opted for an alcohol-free beer (he was driving) and I had a glass of Bodegas Angel’s Atac (white), at a fair price of 3,50€.

Would We Return?

Yes, most definitely. We enjoyed the tasty food, which seemed to be made from good-quality ingredients, and the ambience of the place. My only small criticism was that the music (clearly from a decent sound system through ceiling-mounted Bose speakers around the place) was a little too loud for easy conversation. Great choice of tunes though!

Spot has the vibe of a place to be enjoyed with a group of friends, sharing several dishes in that lovely convivial way that’s part of the lifestyle when eating out on the island of Mallorca.

©Jan Edwards 2017

Foraged Fruits in Mallorca

October 5, 2017

by Jan Edwards

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Eat

Earlier this week we went hiking with our Dutch friends in the Orient valley – a truly beautiful part of rural Mallorca. As we kicked our way through fallen leaves on a forested path, we spotted several varieties of fungus – including a few that looked like something you’d find in a greengrocer’s.

Know What You’re Doing

I love the idea of foraging: the searching, the gathering, and then using nature’s free gifts at home in the kitchen. But it’s vital to know what’s edible and what’s likely to land you in hospital (or worse still, the mortuary). As we spotted various different types of fungus, our friends told us a truly horrific story about someone they knew who had eaten some innocent-looking wild mushrooms they had gathered. No. Don’t be tempted by any wild fungi if you’re not 100% sure that they’re edible.

Lovely to look at but…

Autumnal woodland sighting

A Wild Fruit You Can Eat

Further along the forest path we saw an arbutus or, to give it its common name in English, a strawberry tree. This tree’s pretty little fruits – known in Spain as madroños – are edible, although I hear they don’t have much flavour. Still shaken from the horrors of the mushroom story, I chickened out of trying one.

Brightly coloured in this case doesn’t spell danger

A Third Location for Palma’s Ca’n Joan de s’Aigo

September 28, 2017

by Jan Edwards

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Bakeries / Cafes and bars / Drink / Eat

Mallorca’s capital Palma has lost quite a few well-established businesses in recent months – many of them traditional cafés, bars, or bakeries. We said goodbye to Café Lírico in spring 2017 and, later, Bar Cristal in Plaça d’Espanya closed; the latter had been founded in 1930 and managed by the same family since 1955. Over the past decade, more than 30 bakeries in Palma have shut their doors for good. 2017’s closures included El Forn (mallorquín for oven) des Paners, Pasteleria Llull, and Forn d’es Teatre (probably one of the most-photographed shop fronts in the city).

One of many bakeries to close its doors

Palma’s changing commercial centre

Reasons for the closure of these family-owned businesses include retirement (with no younger members of the family willing to continue the business), growth in supermarket shopping (impacting on traditional bakeries), and – the biggie – increased commercial property rents. International chains including Starbucks and McDonald’s have opened in the city (sadly, IMHO) and, recognizing that the Big Boys are prepared to pay top dollar (or euro) for a presence in Palma, some commercial property owners have hiked up rents to the extent that it’s no longer viable for some local traders to continue in business.

Traditional details in Can Joan de s’Aigo’s C/ de Sans premises

Local business bucking the trend

People saddened by the increasing loss of traditional local businesses in Mallorca’s capital have welcomed the opening of another branch of Ca’n Joan de s’Aigo (founded here in the 18th century). The company’s third café/bakery/ice-cream parlour has opened in Palma, in an architecturally interesting building that once housed the emblematic El Triquet bar but, more recently, a fashion store. Its prime location on the corner of the Avenidas (inner ring road) and C/ Sindicat gives it more visibility than its existing branches in C/ de Sans and Baró de Santa Maria del Sepulcre.

Read more about the business Ca’n Joan de s’Aigo and its branch in C/ de Sans here.

Mallorcan Olive Oil Wins British ‘Great Taste’ Award

September 7, 2017

by Jan Edwards

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Eat / Mallorca extra virgin olive oil

An extra virgin olive oil producer in Mallorca is celebrating a prestigious food award from Britain. Judges in the British ‘Great Taste’ 2017 Awards – organised by the Guild of Fine Food – awarded two stars to L’AMO Aubocassa, which is produced on Aubocassa’s 12th-century country estate, in the municipality of Manacor.

L’AMO Aubocassa was named for L’amo en Sebastiá – which means Sebastiá the owner; Sebastiá lived at Aubocassa for 40 years. In naming this oil after him, the producers wanted to pay homage to all the ‘amos‘ who have maintained the agricultural heritage of Mallorca over the centuries.

The Aubocassa estate in Mallorca – home of award-winning extra virgin olive oils.

L’amo en Sebastia – who lived at Aubocassa for 40 years.

Winner of a ‘Great Taste’ 2017 award from Britain – L’AMO Aubocassa.

DO Oli de Mallorca

This rural estate produces two extra virgin olive oils: Aubocassa and L’AMO Aubocassa – both of which have the (Denomination of Origin) DO Oli de Mallorca. L’AMO Aubocassa is made from Arbequina and Picual olives; Aubocassa from 100% Arbequina olives. Both oils have now won awards.

‘Great Taste’ 2017 Facts

The ‘Great Taste’ Awards scheme is the benchmark for fine artisan and speciality foods. It has been called the ‘Oscars’ of the food world.
A record number of 12,366 products were entered this year.
More than 500 experienced palates – those of chefs, food critics, restaurateurs, cooks, food writers, and journalists – blind-tasted each product.
3,171 products were awarded one star
1,011 were awarded two stars
165 were awarded three stars

According to the Guild of Fine Food, the judges are looking for truly great taste. “Yes, they take into account texture, appearance and of course quality ingredients; they like a good aroma, a decent bite to a sausage, a smooth lemon curd, crunchy rich pastry, but everything comes back to the taste. Is it really, truly great?”

In the case of L’AMO Aubocassa, clearly, yes!

Where to buy L’AMO Aubocassa in the UK

If you’re in Britain, you can buy L’AMO Aubocassa and the original Aubocassa extra virgin olive oils from the Spanish food company Brindisa (established in 1988). Brindisa has shops in London’s Borough Market and in Balham (London borough of Wandsworth), and an online store too.

Where Diana, Princess of Wales, Stayed in Mallorca

August 31, 2017

by Jan Edwards

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Hotels / Sleep

Twenty years ago today. I will never forget the day that Princess Diana died. The radio station where I was a presenter had arranged a huge roadshow event at Silverstone, with top bands and singers due to perform. Because I made an early start from home I didn’t catch any news before I left and it wasn’t until I was en route that I switched on the car radio and heard about Diana’s death. Obviously, the station cancelled the event.

I had met ‘the People’s Princess’ twice. Once, at the end of a sponsored wheelchair push from Edinburgh to London by three young paraplegics raising money for the International Spinal Research Trust. Diana was the patron of the charity and greeted the three wheelchair users on arrival at their final destination. I was there as PR executive for the chain Crest Hotels, having arranged free hotel accommodation along the route for the three wheelchair users.

To my surprise, Princess Diana subsequently invited me to a special reception at Kensington Palace for all those who had been involved. She chatted to everyone there and we also saw her being a normal mum: at one stage Diana had to chide the two young princes for being boisterous. On both occasions, Diana charmed everyone she met.

Escaping the world

The Princess of Wales lived her life under a spotlight – sometimes of her own making. But in the spring of 1996 she found sanctuary during a weekend’s stay at the Mallorca hotel known today as Belmond La Residencia in Deià, where her framed letter of thanks to the hotel still hangs on the wall in the reception area.

Quite a few changes have happened at the hotel since Diana stayed and she’d probably love it even more now; especially as the hotel added some new suites this year – with a high degree of privacy.

Here are some of my photos of this beautiful hotel – a place where any girl can feel like a princess.