Hotel Can Ferrereta – a Santanyí mansion with Two MICHELIN Keys

Behind an unmarked door on a cobbled street in Santanyí, the old Bonet family mansion has become one of south-east Mallorca's quietest luxuries. Hotel Can Ferrereta occupies a 17th-century townhouse that once stood inside the town's walls, raised against pirate raids, its bell tower and courtyard Norfolk pine still part of Santanyí's skyline. The Soldevila-Ferrer family, who also run Palma's Sant Francesc Hotel Singular, restored the house room by room, keeping its vaulted ceilings, stone arches and the old pas d'ase passage by reception while adding 32 rooms and suites. A former wine cellar now holds the restaurant Ocre, and a central garden hides a dark-green pool among cypresses and olive trees. The MICHELIN Guide gives the house Two Keys, and Ocre itself carries the MICHELIN Plate for its Mediterranean kitchen.

01The house

Santanyí itself predates the hotel by many centuries: the town was founded in 1300 by James II, King of Mallorca, though archaeological finds on the site go back to prehistory. Can Ferrereta stands next to what was once the town's defensive wall, built against pirate attacks, and the mansion's position by the bell tower and the courtyard's Norfolk pine has long made it part of the town's best-known view.

The house belonged to the Bonets, a family whose fortune grew through selling property across Santanyí. Restoration work kept the original architecture wherever it survived – vaults, arches, wooden beams, stone ceilings and the pas d'ase passage in reception – while the garden now holds dry-stone terraces and a reconstructed shepherd's hut, a quiet nod to the rural economy the house once belonged to.

02Rooms and suites

The 32 rooms and suites run from the compact Nest, a 27 m² room on the ground floor of the Santanyí building, up to the 65 m² Duplex Suite with its own terrace and a free-standing round bathtub. The Can Ferrereta Suite, also 65 m², sits inside the original 17th-century structure with views over the Mallorcan courtyard and the street toward Santanyí's church, lit by French balconies and furnished with a bathroom holding two washbasins and a free-standing tub.

Insider tip

Closed mid-November to April; adults-oriented, guests from age 14.

Art runs through every room: the Soldevila Ferrer family curated the collection themselves, choosing Spanish painting and sculpture, alongside photography by Barbara Vidal documenting the mansion before its restoration. Furnishings favour dark timber and linen against the original stone, a deliberate contrast the house's architects pursued between heritage and contemporary comfort.

03Where to eat

Ocre takes its name from the ochre tone of Santanyí's façades, coloured over centuries by sand winds blowing up from North Africa, and occupies the house's old wine cellar, its wooden beams and stone arches intact – one arch still bears graffiti scratched into the stone in the 17th century. Chefs Àlvar Albaladejo and Tamara Lumbreras work a Mediterranean, produce-led menu, with a Saturday market menu built around whatever is freshest at Santanyí's own market that morning. The restaurant carries the MICHELIN Plate distinction.

By the pool, La Fresca takes its name from the Mallorcan habit of prendre la fresca, cooling off in the shade through the hottest hours, and serves grilled meat, fish, salads and fruit outdoors among the garden's greenery.

04The bar

Ocre's bar runs from midday until eleven at night, pouring from a wine list built around a wide range of designations of origin and vintages kept in the restaurant's small cellar, alongside a dedicated cocktails menu. A private room for eight, opening onto a small interior garden, and tables set in the Mallorcan courtyard outside give the bar several different moods depending on the hour.

05Spa and wellbeing

Sa Calma spa works with pure materials and plenty of stone: a 10-metre heated indoor pool with a hydromassage area, a hammam, sauna and a double sensation shower sit alongside three treatment rooms and an outdoor area kept for yoga and meditation. Treatments draw on local ingredients – salt from the Es Trenc flats, seaweed, and oils of olive and almond scented with rosemary, lavender, lemon and orange.

Outside, the central garden's pool is deliberately dark green, built to echo the colour of the island's old country reservoirs, ringed by cypresses and olive trees with jasmine and bougainvillea scenting the air. The 24-hour gym, fitted with Technogym equipment, a punch bag and TRX kit, sits next to the spa.

06The neighbourhood

Santanyí, in Mallorca's south-east, remains one of the island's least-visited old towns, its cobbled lanes, boutique shops and twice-weekly markets largely untouched by the crowds further north. The hotel sits close to some of the island's best beaches and within reach of protected natural areas, with a fully equipped Bike Station on site for guests heading out to explore the coastline and countryside on two wheels.

07Making the most of a stay

Can Ferrereta welcomes guests from the age of 14 and closes for the season each year from mid-November to April. The house library, stocked with Maison Assouline titles including limited editions and a private vinyl collection, is as good a reason to linger indoors as the courtyard view it looks onto. The hotel belongs to Small Luxury Hotels of the World and shares ownership with Palma's Sant Francesc Hotel Singular and Villa Soro in San Sebastián.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.