The Place
Almost everything about the Residencia is out of the ordinary. Set above the road at the north end of the fashionable village of Deia, is a cluster of creeper-covered stone buildings in beautiful tiered gardens. The core of the hotel is a 16thC manor house; the original olive mill is now the restaurant. There is also an annexe above the swimming pool behind the main hotel, built in the same pink stone with white shutters.
The interior of the hotel is exquisitely furnished with antique pieces, colourful rugs and fascinating modern art. Bedrooms vary in size, from smallish singles to an enormous suite in a separate building. All have lovely wooden furniture and many have antique or four-poster beds. There are bars and breakfast rooms in both parts of the hotel, though most people eat out on the terraces overlooking either the swimming pool (surrounded by elegant cypresses and silver birches) the front lawns.
Another highlight is the hotel’s acclaimed restaurant, El Olivo. Its lofty ceiling, dripping candelabra, cane furniture and elegant tables, set among relics of the olive mill, make a wonderfully romantic setting for an excellent four- or eight-course dinner.