Mallorca hotel Can Auli is full of laidback allure

Hotel Can Auli, hidden down a labyrinth of side streets in the Majorcan town of Pollença offers a luxurious escape steeped in its location’s history, produce and artisanship and blessed with a languid charm. 

Pollença, set inland at the northern tip of Mallorca’s Tramuntana mountain range, is a lower-key alternative to nearby Sóller or Deia (the latter a hotspot for the beau monde, especially in August), its significant feature a 365-step stone stairway that leads from the main square to a chapel at the top. While the town dates back to the 12th century, and oozes medieval charm, most of Pollença’s houses were built in the 17th and 18th centuries, including Can Auli, an elegant townhouse five minutes’ walk from the centre.

The property has been lovingly restored by Miguel Conde and Cristina Marti, a husband/wife, developer/architect duo who form part of the IT Mallorca group. Their mission has been to create a series of luxury boutique hotels throughout the island that preserve its historic buildings and pay living tribute to the stories within them. 

Step into Can Auli off the street and you are greeted by a double-height lobby with monastic-style arches and swathes of travertine. The internal spaces are beautiful, well lit and furnished for comfort and functionality, including pieces by Konstantin Grcic, Hans Wegner and e15.

The atmosphere is laidback, the staff are charming, and the service is good. Sunset aperitivo by the glittering pool is intimate, without feeling claustrophobic, and the olives are excellent (aceitunas gordal – huge, firm-fleshed, vinegary; I had the kitchen staff take me to the store cupboard and show me the packaging before I checked out).

If you’re planning on going to the beach and don't have a car, note that it’s a 1.5-hour walk to the nearest, Cala Sant Vicenç, so book a taxi.

Rooms offer the kind of comfort and space that qualify the hotel for its luxury retreat strapline. Mine featured exposed timber, and hessian-lined walls. The beds are huge and the doors close with a pleasing thud, while the mini bar is a treasure chest of tonic waters in pretty bottles, and salty chocolate. 

The dining ethos at Can Auli is ‘open-kitchen’, and largely al fresco, meaning that after you’ve ordered, you’re free to wander inside and into the adjacent kitchen so you can chat to the chef while he prepares your razor clams. The menu is modern European, unpretentious, and retains the odd Mallorcan stalwart (gazpacho is on tap throughout the day). 

Breakfast is equally informal, a self-service affair laid out in the same pretty domestic setting – an array of homemade pastries, breads and various acai, chia, and overnight oat bowls on offer. I had eggs, which were excellent – folded, rather than scrambled, with big soft curds rather than the unctuous British version.

In the afternoon, after an hour-long massage in the boutique spa, I re-emerge soporific and thirsty. It has started raining outside. I ask for some tea and am brought an earthenware cup of English Breakfast and told that there is homemade cheesecake. It’s just come out of the oven…

canauliluxuryretreat.com

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