The Place
The former manor house, situated on a hill, offers a bewitching view over the wild, craggy western coast of Mallorca. Opposite lies Deia, still described as an artists’ town today, even though the bon vivants and artists have had to retreat to the island’s interior because of spiralling housing costs. But peace still returns each evening to this much-frequented tourist town, with its picturesque alleys, and the magical church of John the Baptist, in whose churchyard novelist Robert Graves is buried. If you visit, be sure to make your way down to Cala Deia, its romantic little bay.
The history of the Pedrissa, once the property of Archbishop Ludwig Salvator of Austria, stretches back to the early 16th century. It has been lovingly restored with an eye to detail. Rooms have comfortable four-poster beds with turned mahogany posts, trousseau chests, stately cupboards with antique metal fittings – in other words, all the trappings of bourgeois wealth. Bathrooms have charming handmade tiles and some are painted with floral friezes.
The ancient olive press has been converted into a restaurant; menus major on regional specialities made with home-grown produce. An ample breakfast is served under shady pine trees.