Hotel Salvia

Rooms

The spacious and elegant rooms are decorated with swags and drapes, gilt mirrors, wooden beams, fluffy white towels, bathrobes and romantic old-fashioned roll-top baths, some large enough for 2 people, with gleaming chrome fittings. However, the star turn is the magnificent view: you may be in town but most of the rooms have huge shuttered windows looking out to the pretty garden and mountains.

We stayed in the Sol Suite and would happily book it again. It has great views of the garden and mountains, a large double bed with crisp white linen, lots of blue and white china, yellow-washed walls and a bathroom with a large tub and an overhead shower.

Both this room and the Tramuntana Suite are ideally located off the drawing room, which almost feels like your own. The Tramuntana Suite is popular with honeymooners as it has a lovely antique four-poster bed, a sitting area and fabulous views. The ground-floor Garden Suite has a large bed with a sitting area and windows overlooking the shaded garden terrace.

The grandest room is the first-floor Salvia Suite, comprising an entire private wing and filled with fine antiques. It's truly elegant and strikingly decorated with beautiful black and white 18th-century Mallorquin floor tiles. It has a separate dining room and a hallway with 2 chaise-longues, from where you can gaze out of the floor-to-ceiling shuttered windows to the garden and mountains. The large double bedroom overlooks the narrow streets (but is still quiet and bright).

On the top floor is the Soller Room, a bright space with 2 French windows with Juliet balconies overlooking the town's narrow streets. Next to this is the Orange Room - the only twin and the smallest of the rooms, but still very comfortable, with a mountain-and-garden view.

Accessed from the same level is the Deia Suite, a loft-style space, with exposed beams, French windows, balconies, oak floors and far-reaching mountain views. Though we’re yet to view it personally, the elevated position and calm design looks heavenly.

Features include:

• Air conditioning
• Minibar/fridge
• WiFi

Eating

In summer breakfast is taken out on the terrace, under the shade of the creepers; in winter guests cosy up in the pretty dining room with its original blue tiles and mahogany chairs. It's a tempting spread: platters of ensaimada pastries and croissants, giant glass goblets of jam, local cheeses and serrano ham. A salad of fresh wild strawberries, plump blackberries and slivers of pineapple and peach was especially good, as was the fresh juice made from Soller's famously sweet oranges. If you hanker after something hot, eggs scrambled, poached or boiled are on offer, but feel free to ask if other options can be provided, as the team will be happy to indulge any special requests if they can.

You'll never be far from a cool drink - from one of the honesty bars. Guests can help themselves from a full-length bar in the games room or the minibar in their room. Try one of the deceptively refreshing Pimms and spend the afternoon by the pool in a blissed-out haze. If you're feeling peckish at lunchtime, you can choose from a selection of light dishes. The menu boasts a great selection of salads, open sandwiches and seafood pasta (all made with local ingredients.) We tucked into an orange feta and herb salad and a delicious serrano, chorizo and fig sandwich.

On Mondays, Salvia hosts a sociable barbecue evening, and on Wednesdays there's a tapas evening. On other nights staff can point you in the direction of Soller's best restaurants and cafés - these include Restaurante Agapanto for modern cooking and Es Faro for local seafood.

Features include:

• Minibar/fridge
• Restaurants nearby

Activities

• Laze in the swimming pool and lush garden, or chill out with a film from the extensive DVD library
  
• Explore Soller: sit in one of the cafés on the main square in front of the church, wander along the narrow cobbled streets, then take the vintage tram down to Puerto Soller and its beach (just 3km away)
  
• Catch the old wooden train through the rugged mountains to the island's capital, Palma, and spend a day exploring the city's art galleries, cathedral and boutiques
  
• Visit the pretty villages of Deia, Valledomossa, Fornalutx and Biniaraitx, all within a 25-minute drive. The drive along the mountainous coast to Lluc Monastery is spectacular
  
• The hotel can charter a boat, complete with a picnic lunch and a skipper, to take you on a tour of the dramatic northwest coastline
  
• Sailing and diving are on offer in Puerto Soller
  
• The surrounding Tramuntana mountains offer superb hiking opportunities. Picnic lunches and guides can be arranged, with all levels of fitness catered for
  
• Mallorca has 18 golf courses that are within easy reach, including the Son Termens 18-hole course (a 15-minute drive from the hotel). Tee-off times and private transfers can be arranged for groups
  
• Relax with a massage from a fully qualified therapist, who will come to the hotel by appointment. Reiki, Indian head massages and cranial sacral therapy are also available

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Cycling
• Golf
• Hiking
• Sailing
• Scuba diving
• Shopping / markets
• Snorkelling

Kids

Children under the age of 15 are not accepted unless the hotel is booked exclusively.

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

Hotel Salvia is centrally located in the pretty town of Soller, 3km from the port and the small beach and around 30 minutes from Palma airport.

By Air:
Palma (35km away) is the nearest airport. Click on the links below for a list of airlines serving it.

From the Airport:
We recommend getting a taxi from the airport (see Rates), as the roads in Soller can be tricky to negotiate. You can then hire a car for exploring once in the town.

By Car:
If you prefer to hire a car at Palma airport, see our car rental recommendations. Make sure you have a few euros with you for the Soller tunnel toll.

Detailed directions are provided when booking with i-escape.com.

More on getting to Mallorca and getting around