By Lyn Funnell
The view from our balcony
I stayed in the Bonsol Hotel in Majorca several years ago and I absolutely loved it. I always intended to return.
Earlier this month I booked a week there with Hubby John, daughter Rana and granddaughter Isabella. They are both vegans so we were looking forward to seeing what food they would be offered.
The hotel was as lovely as I remembered and we had two luxury rooms overlooking the pool and the beach.
There was a bottle of Champagne and Lindt chocolates to greet us.
It was lovely to meet Martin and Lorraine Xamena again. Lorraine is 67 and Martin’s a youthful 80. They are semi-retired, but they live in the hotel, have breakfast in the restaurant every day and they are accessible to the guests.
We had drinks with them and I asked them some questions.
The main building is 200 years old and the hotel is 72 years old.
There are 90 rooms in the main building and 50 rooms in the lower part.
All the rooms have Spanish furniture. And all the rooms are different.
The hotel doesn’t have any long corridors like commercial hotels (except through the tunnels in the lower half) It’s split up into different nooks and crannies. There’s a surprise round every corner, with sofas, statues and pictures.
You can come face to face with a suit of armour or a huge Tibetan Goddess.
Even after a week, we were still seeing things that we hadn’t noticed before.
Martin’s parents, Antonio and Roger, collected many objects d’art on their travels abroad.
A lot of the paintings came from the Monastery of San Salvador. An uncle of Antonio’s was a priest and he spent a lot of his fortune restoring the Monastery. They gave him a load of paintings as a thank you. But the paintings were placed in storage. When Antonio inherited the collection, it took many years to restore them all.
The hotel is surrounded by a jungle of trees, plants and flowers. It’s absolutely wonderful!
Everywhere are tiny stone steps, hidden paths and places to explore.
I don’t recommend it for wheelchairs unless you have a patient companion.
Antonio was Green before it became trendy.
Sewage was purified and used to water the gardens until the local authorities took it over.
Majorca is a very green island.
Toilet and shower drainage is separated and used for irrigation of the gardens.
Recycled water from baths/showers is used to flush toilets.
Heat from air conditioning is used to warm the swimming pools and to pre-heat the hot water.
Almond shell burners are used as a renewable source of energy for hot water and central heating.
In 1968 Antonio introduced solar energy to Mallorca.
Martin and Lorraine own 229,000 teak trees in the Costa Rica. They donate the equivalent of three euros per guest per day to the upkeep of the land.
It creates six months’ work a year for 30 local families.
The Bonsol has two restaurants, one in the top part overlooking the pool, and one above the bay.
All the food is local and delicious.
The service is excellent. Nothing’s too much bother for the staff.
We ate breakfast in the top restaurant, and dinner by the beach as they have a salad bar there, which we all chose for our 2nd course while we watched the sun set into the sea.
The amazing guitarist Pablo serenaded us every evening. He is so versatile and he has been playing there for 35 years.
The hotel employs 90 staff in March when they open, and 135 in mid-season.
The Bonsol is now managed by Martin and Lorraine’s son Alejandro and their daughter Natalia.
As Alejandro has two sons and Natalia has one, the future of the hotel is safe.
As one guest said, It’s nice to go somewhere with civil people.
One problem with the Bonsol? Staying there is an unforgettable experience. We all think about it every day.
We’ll definitely go back there, either later this year or early next year.
Hotel Bonsol is open March-November, when it’s closed for maintenance and updating.
Bonsol Hotel
Paseo de Illetas 30
E 07181 Illetas
Mallorca
Espana
Tel 34-971 402 111
www.hotelbonsol.es
bonsol@hotelbonsol.es
