The Island of the Calm

Our contributor visits Palma Mallorca and discovers why it’s a hit destination with royalty, celebrities (and writers)

“There are few places on this earth where one could find such complete repose, when tired out by this busy world,” wrote painter-writer Santiago Rusinol, referring to Palma Mallorca (also known as Majorca) in his book “The Island of the Calm”.

 100 years later, his words still ring true. My visit to Majorca left me yearning for more. Idyllic and peaceful, it was an escape far from the Blackberry-wielding crowd. 

Measuring 80 kilometres from one end to the other, it is outstanding for its diversity. With 550 kilometres of coast, here you will find some of the Mediterranean’s most beautiful coves, beaches and scenery.

The island’s beauty is often overshadowed by its famed reputation for package holidays. What most don’t know that is that Majorca is also the chosen holiday playground of the rich and famous –from the King & Queen of Jordan to the late Princess Diana to Kate Moss and Jamie Oliver.

Founded as a Roman camp upon the remains of a Talaiotic settlement, the turbulent history of the city saw it subject to Vandal sackings during the fall of the Roman Empire, then reconquered by the Byzantine, then colonised by the Moors (who called it Medina Mayurqa), and finally established by James I of Aragon.

With an average annual temperature of 17.9° C, and 300 days of sunshine a year, it is no wonder millions flock to Majorca each year. In June 2011, in a bid to woo the tourism dollar, the Spanish Tourism Board and Singapore Airlines (SIA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to commit funds through the year to support advertising and promotional campaigns, as well as familiarisation programmes for trade and media to promote tourist traffic to Spain, by way of SIA’s flights between Singapore and Barcelona.

SIA currently flies to Barcelona from Singapore seven times a week. With the MOU, SIA customers can connect to the Spanish cities of Bilbao, Madrid and Majorca on codeshare partner Spanair.

Famous attractions
Even with Majorca’s teeming city streets, and its commitment to commerce, its old-world charm and history still remains. Highlights of Majorca include Bellver castle, which has been standing for more than 700 years. Bellver – ancient Catalan for ‘lonely view’ was built in the 14th century for King James II of Majorca, and is one of the few circular castles in Europe.

Used as a prison throughout the 18th to mid-20th century, it is now one of the main tourist attractions of the island, as well as the seat for the city’s History Museum. Another tourist attraction is La Almudaina Royal Palace. Almudaina (meaning fortress in Arabic), was plundered and burnt, reconstructed, and then changed again. King James II began its transformation to the Levantine Gothic style and the palace became the headquarters for the
Kingdom of Mallorca.

Aspects of the palace include the King’s Palace, the Queen’s Palace, the Throne Room, the Royal Chapel and the courtyards. “To Whom Else, Deia” For the most scenic views of Majorca, head to the northwest village of Deia, a 40 minute drive from the airport. Nestled in the mountain range of Sierra de Tramuntana, and the Mediterranean Sea, it boasts peaks as high as 1,500m above sea level. Deia is most famous for housing English poet Robert Graves for a blissful 45 years. The small coastal village was the setting for some of his important prosaic works such as “I, Claudius”.

He also dedicated a book to the area, titled, “To Whom Else, Deia”. It was here that Robert Graves entertained Hollywood starlet Ava Gardner who wrote that living in the mountains of Deia caused her “such unbelievable pleasure and satisfaction that nothing in [her] life could be
compared to it”.

The crowning jewel of Deia was the hotel we were fortunate enough to stay at – La Residencia.

Consistently voted as one of the best hotels in Europe, it was nestled on a winding road between the mountain
and the sea, dotted with cosy villages and olive groves.

La Residencia was converted from manor houses, and the buildings retain as much of the original features as possible, seamlessly blending Majorcan architecture, with beautiful fittings and finishings.

Star-gazing
Formerly owned by Sir Richard Branson, and now owned by Orient- Express Hotels, La Residencia has become a discrete escape for Hollywood stars and royalty such as the Duchess of Kent, the King and Queen of Norway, Hollywood stars like Gwyneth Paltrow, Pierce Brosnan, Catherine- Zeta Jones, and musicians such as Rod Steward and Bruce Springsteen. Each of its 67 bedrooms has its distinctive Majorcan touch, and features paintings of local artists.

The luxury suite, which we stayed in was far from the ordinary. With a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, our very own pool, a dining room, a bathroom for two, a patio, two TV sets (no fights for the remote control here!), and our chambermaid who loved leaving presents behind, our suite was a dream come true. Definitely a highlight for anyone who needed inspiration was the study desk overlooking the magnificent view, with white clouds gently grazing the mountain tops.

Scooters, donkeys & rubber duckies
La Residencia offers everything you can imagine from a hotel – from its own professional beauty therapists, to resident sculptors, and Vespa scooters. Nature enthusiasts will love that La Residencia has its own donkey refuge for donkeys to accompany guests on a nature trail.

There were also heartfelt personal touches like fresh fruits and flowers replenished daily, hand-written notes to tell us when the maid will arrive for the day, and by the giant bathtub…the quintessential rubber ducky. And just like every bathtub needs a duck, every award-winning hotel needs a top restaurant. El Olivo, voted one of the best restaurants in Spain in 2010, and also a recommended restaurant in Michelin

Guide Spain, is another feather in La Residencia’s hat, and cements the hotel experience as being simply unforgettable.

Someone once said, “No one needs a vacation so much as the person who just had one.”

With my memories of Majorca – sun filtering through the heavens, cloud-tipped mountains, beautiful weather, the blue horizon, and the friendly locals … I couldn’t agree more.