Belmond La Residencia

We enjoyed our four night stay at Belmond La Residencia but there are two little items that could easily be fixed to make it perfect! They are: 1. The rooms do not have Nespresso machines. Instead you're provided with a kettle and instant coffee sachels. Does anyone drink instant coffee these days?? 2. Our room had a musty smell. This could be fixed with a scented candle. Apart from these two issues the hotel is great. The public areas are beautiful, breakfasts are generous, and the staff were wonderful. Deia is a lovely town and we enjoyed great food in the local restaurants for dinner each night. (We didn't eat at Belmond other than breakfast). We had a hire car and enjoyed driving to nearby beaches - we thoroughly recommend Son Marriog and Port de Sa Calobra - as well as walking (via the donkey trail) to the local Cala Deia.

This is without doubt one of the best hotels I have stayed at. On arrival we were swiftly assisted with bags and car parking and taken through to reception to assist with checkin. Our rooms were very spacious with a lovely view of the mountains and a partial view of the sea. We stayed for 3 nights and the service was exceptional throughout. The best we have encountered. We ate in all places and the food was good but only excellent in Cafe Miro. Breakfast was delightful with a good spread of options. The pool bar could do with a few more lunch options like club sandwich or just some sandwich options or maybe The more traditional Mallorquin Jámon y queso baguette. The salad bar looked fairly uninspiring. The pizza is good though. El Olivo was great for me but just ok for my husband. I had the suckling pig which was delicious. Bit cheeky to charge for the amuse bouche and bread throughout is charged as well although offered as if it's complimentary. Which for this type of place it should be included really. Cafe Miro tapas was just divine and highly recommend. The setting is beautiful. Its one of the most beautiful hotels I have been to and was really genuinely sad to leave. Our son was looked after well although children's food is very expensive. Sofia the head of children's club is just wonderful. She babysat for us for all 3 night and we did a fantastic cookie making course with Chef Guillermo. We will cherish our Belmond aprons:-) We used the indoor pool mostly as it was really warm. Thankfully children are Allowed in even though it's the spa pool. But they do have to keep noise down which is hard for a 3 year old. May be an idea to have dedicated adult only times so that the children can make a noise and be children. Had the weather been warmer we would definitely have used the outdoor pool. So glad we decided to stay here and cannot wait to find an excuse to go back. Have already recommended this hotel to many people. Including for a wedding.

Fabulous 5 star hotel in Deià in the Tramuntana mountains of Mallorca. We went for a biking trip with friends and had a magnificent room in this unique and very old property. We dined at all three restaurants on the property and they were superb. The staff was excellent. The breakfast was also impressive in its variety and tasty. I was surprised that the room provided only instant coffee and a water heater rather than a coffee maker but there was coffee available very early at the main desk so this was a minor inconvenience. We would love to come again.

This is a unique, special and beautiful hotel. But it is badly let down by the food. I will therefore start with the less than good and move on to the excellent. The food was very very disappointing in almost every respect! I note a previous reviewer suggests Olivio, the 'best' of the restaurants (note the quote marks), deserves a Michelin Star! I am sorry but having eaten in Michelin Starred restaurants around the world, Olivio is far far from that status! In the round the food is very very poor., bread is terrible, and the choice at the outside pool cafe is nice, but totally repetitive.The other main restaurant is delightful in its position, and style, especially on the terraces, but again the food is far short of what one would expect in a Hotel of this calibre!! However the hotel itself, and the area is quite magnificent. It is like a village all of its own, and situated on the hill on the verge of a delightful village Deia. There appears to be no two rooms/suites the same, all in a beautiful jumble of positions on a hill as if they had been there for ever.We had 2 rooms, one for us and one for our daughter and 2 year old grandson. It was excellently situated for us, as I have to walk with a stick, and our 2 year old was near by. Both rooms had large private areas outside, although our daughters was rather dark and shady.But the rooms were convenient for breakfast and the main pool. The design of the hotel is amazing, the grounds are fabulous, and the staff, with one group exception, were wonderful and very child friendly. Reception staff were a little on the grumpy side with little enthusiasm, but I repeat, the rest were delightful and helpful. Fina at breakfast and the pool was a delight. In general the staff were superb. The village is a few yards away, and has some good eateries (see my next review). The whole area is wonderful, but the hotel so good we hardly left it (apart from eating out!!) This is a hugely expensive hotel, but it looks and feels it, the situation is gorgeous,the overall look and feel of the place is spectacular, but the food does let it down badly, and does nothing for the reputation of the country. The staff however are wonderful, adored our grandson, were helpful, kind and professional. Would we go again. I would love to, if only it wasn't on Easy Jet!! and if my husband agreed, which is unlikely owing to the food. Is it worth a try? VERY much so!!

Belmond have a knack for selecting the best located hotels whenever they add to their portfolio. La Residencia is no exception. It is located in the artists’ village of Deia, set under towering peaks of nearby mountains, and a view to the sea beyond. All of the new building, and restoration of original buildings has been carried out to the highest standards, and it oozes quality, uniqueness and discreet wealth. Add to this a fabulous art collection sprinkled very liberally over every wall in both public and private spaces and you have a very comfortable environment The staff are all first rate, approachable, chatty, friendly and very helpful and we did not meet a single member of staff who had anything bad to say about working there, in fact, quite the opposite, this despite them being laid off in the winter months when the hotel closes. Whilst the hotel is wonderful in its aspect and ambience it is let down by all of the food outlets. Just because you may be paying 100 euros and upwards per person for a meal does not mean that you should expect food to match the prices. They claim to have a baker on site, but if so he/she should be sacked, as the worst bread rolls in Europe were dragged out of retirement each evening, at a cost of 8 euros per serving each. If you stay for just a couple of days then you can just about manage but the menus are limited and uninspiring in both Cafe Miro and Olivo and almost everyone could cook as well at home. All food is very expensive, but I never mind paying if the cost bears some relationship to the quality, and here that link is somewhat tenuous. However all is rescued, with one single exception, by the quality of the staff who make your stay a pleasure. Breakfast has a large selection, again let down by the various bakery products, none of which seem to have had more than a passing glance from an artisan pointing at a machine. Fina, at breakfast, needs special mention as she paid so much attention to our grandson, as does Sophia who looked after this lively two year old for 3 hours each morning. Lunch by the pool was very relaxing though Pizza of the day alternated between Margherita and Pepperoni, the salad bar selection never altered, and cocktail of the day remained stubbornly fixed as Mojito. Finally, and just to prevent a faux pas, do remember that Gewurtztraminer is drunk at room temperature, or so the Sicilian Head Waiter would have you believe when he delivered a bottle that was tepid. ‘That’s how it’s drunk where it’s produced’ he said, after I noted that it was not cooled. Strange really, as when I last drank this same Trimbach Estate wine in Alsace the locals served it in an ice cooler. We learn something new every day don’t we!