Award-winning travel writer JOHN TREW returns to an old favourite…
“We don’t make any changes around here. Just improvements. Our guests prefer us to remain the way we are.” That, in the typically light-hearted words of hotelier Martin Xamena, is the secret behind the enduring formula that has made his family-owned HOTEL BONSOL RESORT & SPA one of Mallorca’s best-loved holiday locations.
I rediscovered the truth of Señor Martin’s mantra during a recent week-long autumn break which I entirely devoted to enjoying the hotel’s own amenities and attractions which have been familiar to me since I first fell in love with this extraordinary clifftop establishment twenty-odd years ago. Its name is often rendered as two words, BON SOL, meaning ‘good sun’ in local dialect and it is located in Illetas, on the main road out south of Palma city.
Without straying one millimetre beyond the hotel’s borders, I slept, I marvelled at World Cup rugby, I snoozed on our sunny terrace — and even snorkelled in Cala Bonsol, its private cove; I ate gourmet meals in three different restaurants and was serenaded by two pianists, a violinist and an Argentinian guitarist; I drank iced espressos at the beach bar and alcohol-free cocktails on the tavern terrace; I played crazy golf shaded by banana palms with a fish-filled pond for a water hazard; I sunbathed and simmered in the jacuzzi surrounded by speakers of five languages; I took refuge from relentless 28 degree sunshine by heading for the Library packed with multilingual bestsellers and glossy mags; more often, I just wandered around the quirky collection of artworks, suits of armour and Asian statues indoors; I sang a poolside duet in German with Lilli whose mother was astonished that her daughter had recently learned ‘Lorelei’ by Heinrich Heine in her Berlin kindergarten — the exact same rhyme that I had memorised at my Belfast grammar school 65 years before her. Unglaublich!
Come to think of it, the whole hotel is Unbelievable! My wife Karen enthusiastically undertook essential missions outside the Bonsol boundaries, such as climbing the clifftop road to the shops that would wear out my walking stick and what’s left of my replacement hip. She sought English newspapers with full coverage of the rugby, plus plenty of Factor 30 lotion to outlast the heatwave and enough medication to sort out my innards, as well as postcards with stamps. She also reported on the facilities of the hotel’s Nirvana Spa along with gossip from her daily Yoga class, one of the varied activities available, from bowls, gym and childsplay, to tennis, bridge and billiards.
BONSOL BREAK IS THE PERFECT WAY TO RE-BOOT SOLAR BATTERIES
Regular readers of Trew’s Travels over the past quarter-century may be sceptical that I vowed NOT to do my usual journalistic duty — scurrying around nearby Palma, notebook in hand, complaining about streets crowded with 20,000 cruise-ship passengers, half of whom believe they are in Las Palmas, etc etc. The truth is that I have already written about the caves and coves, beaches and boat-trips, five-star hotels and humble hostales of Mallorca during our score of visits since 1972, when it was still invariably known as Majorca (pronounced ‘Madge-orka’). We even took my late mother to Palma Nova for her first-ever foreign holiday, knowing she would love it. This means that I have reported on the delights of the Palma region many times on this page. Regular readers know about our enduring love for the VINTAGE TRAIN TO SOLLER and shopping along PASSEIG des BORN and in EL CORTE INGLES; our admiration for the breathtaking waterside CATHEDRAL and its FOUNTAIN GARDENS is undiminished; our more recent discovery of JOAN MIRO STUDIO & GALLERIES has added to our top art-tractions; while, sorry to say, enthusiasm for our family’s once-favourite restaurant CELLER SA PREMSA has evaporated due to its sloppy service and indifferent fare.
What I needed from my latest Bonsol break was simply to reboot my solar batteries in preparation for a busy winter of ceramics courses, art history classes, Christmas, domestic and gardening projects, charitable works, and spending what’s left of my life in front of screens.
HOW MALLORCAN HOLIDAYS HELP COSTA RICAN RAINFOREST INITIATIVE
The first time I interviewed Martin Xamena and his elegant English-born wife Lorraine, many years ago, he spelled out the essentials of his tourism philosophy as it relates to the family business, which now includes their son Alejandro (who was a polite schoolboy when we first met); he’s now a seasoned Director. Martin intoned, in his impeccable English, one of the many languages he uses to converse with guests on his nightly circuit of the restaurants: “Sunshine for the body. Artistry and serenity for the spirit. Good sustenance for the soul. Warm welcomes for the heart.” It sounds even better in his native Catalan, language of the Balearics. This Customer Care formula certainly works — most of the guests are multiple returners, some for more than 40 years and at least one for over 50!
Martin’s dedication to delivering excellent service goes hand in hand with an overriding commitment to Sustainability. He proudly told me about major developments over the dinner table in October when he stressed that the family has always had a deep desire to ensure that the resort’s carbon footprint is neutral. For example, they were among the first in Mallorca to use waste almond-shells from local nut-oil production as a renewable energy source for heating hotel water in the 1950s. His farsighted parents, hard-working Antonio and his beautiful bride Roger, also became the earliest pioneers of solar panels in 1968! Over the years the hotel has grown far beyond Antonio’s dreams, but it still fits discreetly into its island environment which is distinguished by the abundance of native trees, exotic flowering shrubs and wildlife.
Two tunnels and lift-shafts under the roads now connect the buildings which hug the cliff down to the cove, making it accessible for people of limited mobility — like me — to swim in the Med without having to cope with 200 stone steps through the breathtaking gardens. This major engineering project took many years, because noisy work — using environmentally-friendly, water-powered jet drills — was confined to the off-season. I was impressed to discover that Bonsol’s wider commitment to reduce global warming reaches far beyond Mallorca. Following extensive research, the Xamena family selected Costa Rica as the ideal place to launch their inspirational ‘carbon offset’ initiative.
They calculated how much CO2 their resort was producing annually, including their guests’ return flights, and worked out how many trees needed to be planted to offset this. On waste land where a vast expanse of the Central American rainforest had previously been destroyed, the family bought the equivalent of 240 football pitches and started planting trees. Half of them were teak and the rest native rainforest trees. Having acquired more land as and when required, the family now have the equivalent of 520 football pitches, newly-planted with nearly a quarter-million trees! What’s more, with their famous concern for the welfare of employees (many of whom spend decades at Bonsol), in doing so, they have provided work for 30 Costa Rican families. Three euros per guest per day is dedicated to the upkeep of this project.
WHY COOKING TO ORDER HELPS CREATE TOP DISH OF THE DAY
HEALTH WARNING! This story contains details of delicious Bonsol food that may cause my fellow-gourmands to drool over this page! Dinner in the main Las Antorchas (Torches) Restaurant is always treated as a special occasion, with ladies in their M&S holiday best earning a big personal greeting from maitre d’hotel, Vincente Hernandez and his ever-smiling professional waiting staff. Because the Bonsol does not believe in self-serve dinner buffets congealing in warming pans, Chef Jesus Egea and his busy brigade make just about everything to order. There are two different set four-course menus every night — a broadly-based one offering a large selection of seasonal dishes (always including a Mallorcan speciality) and four multi-choice courses, typically featuring popular cosmopolitan fare like gazpacho iced soup; prawn salad; sweet&sour chicken with vegetables plus an eye-popping dessert. This menu-carte always includes an unchanging section headed ‘Always Favourites’, featuring Ribeye and Fillet steaks, Grilled chicken, pork and fresh fish plus chips and veg.
Every night in the main restaurant, Karen and I chose to eat from the Gourmet Menu which featured ‘fine dining’ dishes that chefs in pursuit of awards enjoy creating. Here’s a sample of just one night’s meal: we began with an ultra-smooth Terrine of Foie Gras with Port-wine jelly and sliced fresh fruits, served with toast. What a classy starter! The soup course was a double concentrated, yet delicate Celery Consommé that was a tribute to the soup-chef’s patient simmering of marrow-bones. Star of the show was a perfectly-cooked chunky Loin of Hake with prawns and clams. No wonder most of our own locally-caught hake goes to Spain where gourmets ‘wolf’ it down ( the Spanish name Merluza means sea-wolf). For dessert, my Peach Melba was a skinned and poached fresh white peach served with ice-cream and (somewhat surprisingly), chocolate sauce. On all other evenings I chose three sweet-and – sharp scoops of lemon, raspberry and green apple sorbets.
Karen often had a nice little carafe of a decent Mallorcan rosado (€8 per 25mg) with her meal, leaving her teetotal husband to enjoy the big bubbles in the fizzy water. Younger couples prefer the Beach Restaurant —not only for its romantic twilight views of the Med, but for its simpler, informal dinners starting with a tempting salad bar featuring gourmet items like shell-on prawns. We were invited to join our new friends, Edinburghers Fraser and Anne Pottie (no surname jokes, please, they have heard them all) at the Beach on our last night. Perfect steaks and service were immaculately prepared while we were being serenaded at table by brilliant guitarist Pablo. When he invited requests, I asked: “Do you know the second movement of Concierto de Aranjuez, by Joaquin Rodrigo?”. “Yes,” said Pablo, “But I am going to sing an Elvis number we can all enjoy.”
Breakfast is in the white summery room (mysteriously known as the Winter Garden) overlooking the heated pool. Alongside familiar platters of cheeses, meats and piles of fruits, cereals and home-made yoghurt, are the largest selection of gluten-free goodies I have ever seen in a hotel buffet. A uniformed chef prepares any cooked breakfast you fancy. Uniquely, there’s also a full size Honeycomb dripping with honey and beeswax, together with instructions on how to cut and savour lumps of it for yourself. I discovered this lightly-flavoured honey is delicious with local goats-cheese and I relished it every morning before we buzzed off to our favourite sun-trap on the other side of the pool. Happy days!
