Sleep: Villas Boquer
When you drive up to a villa as plush as this, you know you’re on to a good thing. Contemporary cool, this pad is set back from the town. You wouldn’t stumble across it unless you were staying in one of the impressive neighbouring piles — one of which, turned out to be a hideout for a couple of WAGs and their kids, who invited us over to help drink all their Veuve Clicquot.
I was here with my sister and family (Ameile, 1, and Teo, 9) and my parents. It was one of those classic multi-generational escapes, and with grandparents on tap for babysitting, I actually had time to soak up a few rays and flick through a few mags.
By day, we idled by the gorgeous pool in the suntrap front garden, plonking the babies in those harness-type floats we bought from a shop in town. They loved milling about in the water. When the midday heat became too much, we headed to the upstairs terrace, where there were more sunbeds, sofas and a dining table. It was here we ate most nights with superb views of Puerto Pollensa, the sea and the mountains beyond. It was a great spot for the babies to crawl around while we prepared meals in a kitchen full of gadgets.
Elsewhere, the four bedrooms were all stark white walls and minimalist furnishings — a good thing since the babies wanted to grab anything and everything. Each room was paired with a swish bathroom — think geometric tiles and walk-in rain showers. With travel cots and highchairs provided by the owner, we were all set. For a family break in dapper surroundings, I really can’t fault it.
Villas Boquer is based in Puerto Pollensa, Boquer, Majorca. Rent the four-bedroom villa from £2,933 for seven nights through Homeaway.co.uk
About town
How do you impress a family staying in a villa? “I’d send round a nanny and face painter to take care of the kids, a chef to cook up a storm, and a masseuse to work on the parents,” says Victoria Cooper-Evans of Balearic-based concierge service Deliciously Sorted. The Majorca branch can organise nights under the stars in a national park and private scuba diving lessons. “For families in Puerto Pollensa, I’d also recommend a trip to Formentor. The water is so calm and shallow — perfect for babies. We’d also arrange for an organic picnic lunch to be delivered, as well as a bunch of watersports.”
I had to ask Victoria, what’s the most bizarre thing a client has requested? “We once had a client who wanted a bearded pool boy to move furniture around in front of her with his shirt off while she sat by the pool.”
Eat
Turn a blind eye to the usual resort rubbish and you’ll discover fantastically fresh seafood, quality tapas and cracking local wine. And the best news? The Spanish love kids and will not only welcome them, but attend to them as if they were the bill payer. Start with a coffee at Cappuccino, the town’s prime people-watching spot — even at 7am. For breakfast, head to El Pozo for tostadas — tomatoes, olive oil and salt rubbed on toast. For lunch, escape the heat and wolf down artfully constructed pintxos at Norai Pintxos & Wine Bar (Paseo Saralegui, 6). Cocktails by the beach is the order of choice at Hotel Miramar, while the seafood paired with modern Mediterranean flair at Na Ruixa (Mendez Nunez, 3) is hard to beat. My tip? Rather than cooking every night, order in from Al Fresco Deli (Calle Mendez Nunez, 10) with its Spanish-style dishes such as suckling pig and salt cod.
This has been adapted from my original piece in the 2017 issue of National Geographic Traveller Family (UK)
