Friday, 28 August 2015
Monday, 17 August 2015
Mallorca, August 6 - 17, 2015
We have just been relaxing most days, going to a beach or out on the boat sailing, other than the day I woke up with a burst blood vessel in one eye and had to spend a few hours in the hospital having several tests to make sure nothing more serious had occurred. David said I looked like Dracula! And I will be looking like that for a couple of weeks unfortunately.
On Saturday it rained quite heavily for most of the day, which is not at all typical of the weather in Mallorca for August, but everything looked fresh afterward. Fortunately Sunday had returned to the bright blue sky we are used to seeing and we were very thankful because we had booked into a special hotel, Cap Rocat, shown in the photos below.
The main buildings of the hotel were originally built as a fortress between 1898 and 1930, and that complex of military batteries integrated the original 16th century watchtower. The fortress was considered a necessity to protect the port of Palma from possible attacks, mainly because the Spaniards no longer had a strong naval fleet and Palma was sought after by rivals for many centuries due to its prominent position in the Mediterranean. Because the fortress was built by digging into the soft golden sandstone it could not be seen from the sea. In 2005 the Ministry of Defence no longer used the fortress so the land was given back to the ancestors of the family it was originally taken from. These lucky people found themselves the owners of 300,000 square metres of land at the end of a cape, with two kilometres of prime coastline on the eastern shore of the Bay of Palma, plus all of the stone buildings and pathways of the fortress.
A local architect eventually bought it all and developed it into a luxurious hotel, still mostly unseen from the sea, other than the tops of some of the gazebo type lounge areas that each hotel suite has along the cliffs. Entrance to the hotel and its grounds is only possible if you are a hotel guest or are one of the limited others who have a reservation at one of the restaurants, keeping the hotel quite secluded. This is important for the preservation of the natural habitat of this large area of the environment near Palma, previously kept that way because it was guarded by the military.
Our stay was indeed very special, mostly because of the magnificent setting beside the bay and the beautiful stone buildings, added to by first class service. Each of the military batteries was developed into two large suites, each with their own garden and out door dining and sun lounge areas to the side. The larger areas of the fortress were developed as a large restaurant and several lounge and sitting rooms, with outdoor lounge areas suitable for the dry weather. Additions include a spa, infinity pool, tennis courts and another restaurant at the water's edge, the Sea Club. We had a leisurely afternoon at the pool, reading our books in such a peaceful setting, with the only movement being the sailing and motor boats passing by in the distance.
We had lunch and dinner at the Sea Club - lunch was steamed mussels from Menorca, with local rose, and for dinner we shared a fresh sea bass baked in a crust of salt, after entrees of grilled baby squid served with several flavours of aioli, and beef carpaccio served with basil pesto and a cheese foam, and lastly a shared dessert of chocolate fondant with toasted almond ice cream. Our red was one of our favourite Mallorcan wines, Four Kilos.
The evening temperature was perfect for sitting outside, overlooking the wide expanse of the Bay of Palma, with the mountains of the west coast behind the bay, claiming the setting sun.
We will definitely return for meals in the future now that we know all about this delightful place behind the steel gates and fence of Cap Rocat.
We woke to a cloudy day this morning, but it was still warm, and we loved the idea of our breakfast being brought to us in a large cane basket so that we could enjoy it while still in our dressing gowns in the courtyard of our suite. By 11.30 it was raining! Another unusual August day in Palma, but we returned to our Dream Catcher feeling well rested.
We have just been relaxing most days, going to a beach or out on the boat sailing, other than the day I woke up with a burst blood vessel in one eye and had to spend a few hours in the hospital having several tests to make sure nothing more serious had occurred. David said I looked like Dracula! And I will be looking like that for a couple of weeks unfortunately.
On Saturday it rained quite heavily for most of the day, which is not at all typical of the weather in Mallorca for August, but everything looked fresh afterward. Fortunately Sunday had returned to the bright blue sky we are used to seeing and we were very thankful because we had booked into a special hotel, Cap Rocat, shown in the photos below.
The main buildings of the hotel were originally built as a fortress between 1898 and 1930, and that complex of military batteries integrated the original 16th century watchtower. The fortress was considered a necessity to protect the port of Palma from possible attacks, mainly because the Spaniards no longer had a strong naval fleet and Palma was sought after by rivals for many centuries due to its prominent position in the Mediterranean. Because the fortress was built by digging into the soft golden sandstone it could not be seen from the sea. In 2005 the Ministry of Defence no longer used the fortress so the land was given back to the ancestors of the family it was originally taken from. These lucky people found themselves the owners of 300,000 square metres of land at the end of a cape, with two kilometres of prime coastline on the eastern shore of the Bay of Palma, plus all of the stone buildings and pathways of the fortress.
A local architect eventually bought it all and developed it into a luxurious hotel, still mostly unseen from the sea, other than the tops of some of the gazebo type lounge areas that each hotel suite has along the cliffs. Entrance to the hotel and its grounds is only possible if you are a hotel guest or are one of the limited others who have a reservation at one of the restaurants, keeping the hotel quite secluded. This is important for the preservation of the natural habitat of this large area of the environment near Palma, previously kept that way because it was guarded by the military.
Our stay was indeed very special, mostly because of the magnificent setting beside the bay and the beautiful stone buildings, added to by first class service. Each of the military batteries was developed into two large suites, each with their own garden and out door dining and sun lounge areas to the side. The larger areas of the fortress were developed as a large restaurant and several lounge and sitting rooms, with outdoor lounge areas suitable for the dry weather. Additions include a spa, infinity pool, tennis courts and another restaurant at the water's edge, the Sea Club. We had a leisurely afternoon at the pool, reading our books in such a peaceful setting, with the only movement being the sailing and motor boats passing by in the distance.
We had lunch and dinner at the Sea Club - lunch was steamed mussels from Menorca, with local rose, and for dinner we shared a fresh sea bass baked in a crust of salt, after entrees of grilled baby squid served with several flavours of aioli, and beef carpaccio served with basil pesto and a cheese foam, and lastly a shared dessert of chocolate fondant with toasted almond ice cream. Our red was one of our favourite Mallorcan wines, Four Kilos.
The evening temperature was perfect for sitting outside, overlooking the wide expanse of the Bay of Palma, with the mountains of the west coast behind the bay, claiming the setting sun.
We will definitely return for meals in the future now that we know all about this delightful place behind the steel gates and fence of Cap Rocat.
We woke to a cloudy day this morning, but it was still warm, and we loved the idea of our breakfast being brought to us in a large cane basket so that we could enjoy it while still in our dressing gowns in the courtyard of our suite. By 11.30 it was raining! Another unusual August day in Palma, but we returned to our Dream Catcher feeling well rested.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)