The Lodge Mallorca

AN AUTHENTIC MEDITERRANEAN RETREAT

The Lodge is a new concept in luxury retreats, created to build on the success of our first hotel in Mallorca, Finca Serena. Finca Serena is an exclusive five-star resort and spa, opened in 2019. Located inland, among centuries old olive trees and native vineyards, where a profound sense of calm contributes to guests’ happiness.

The new project is in a 157-hectare private nature reserve in the heart of the Sierra de Tramuntana, an exceptional location and a UNESCO protected area. Its keynotes are elegance, tranquillity and respect for nature. The Lodge is in an area of great historical interest and natural beauty, surround by extensive fields of lavender, almond and carob trees and ancient olive trees, kitchen gardens and fruit orchards.

The main building contains common areas, the restaurant and reception area, with rooms distributed strategically to ensure peace and privacy for our guests. The remaining 24 suites are easily accessible, in carefully chosen positions around the estate. For guests who are looking for total privacy, the Private Pool Suite is the ideal solution.

The Lodge is firmly committed to protecting the environment and our sustainable practices are detailed in our programme We Care by Único Hotels. 40% of the electricity we use is solar powered and 100% of the water we use for irrigation is recycled. We also make our own craft products from honey and lavender, which guests can enjoy during their stay, or take home as an attractive souvenir.

ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

The Único Hotels design team, directed by leading interior designer Pilar García- Nieto, was responsible for the project. Pilar García-Nieto, whose work on Mas de Torrent Hotel & Spa and the Finca Serena Mallorca has been internationally acclaimed for its exceptionally comfortable, minimalist, Mediterranean design, has created a series of spacious, welcoming and attractive areas for The Lodge. In order to create an elegant design with a fresh, warm look, natural and organic materials have been combined with earthy colours and carefully designed lighting to create private terraces, traditional Mallorcan patios and spaces with natural light whose atmosphere reflects the tranquillity of the resort, showcasing the views of the Mallorcan countryside.

The exceptional natural surroundings and the relaxed, elegant atmosphere created by the interior design project ensure the comfort and privacy of our guests.

The landscaping project includes a private 157-hectare natural estate in the heart of the Sierra de Tramuntana. It is an ideal spot for nature lovers, where guests can wander through fields of lavender covering 12 hectares, extensive groves of fruit trees, and kitchen gardens.

***

How old was the original farmhouse on the estate and what was its condition before the renovation?

The main house has been built more than 500 years ago. Many generations have gathered behind those walls. It is this spirit of a family home that we have tried to preserve at The Lodge.

The house was habitable before it became The Lodge, but it has been completely renovated and the whole distribution of the space has been changed.

What were the main elements you changed in the renovation of the original farmhouse?

In our hotels we love to preserve the essence of the original use of the spaces where they are located. In this case we have remodelled a typical Mallorcan "Casa granja" , farmhouse, to make it comfortable and in accordance with the times in which we live, without losing its authenticity.

We have created cosy and polyvalent spaces, where the client can enjoy a cup of tea by the fireplace, work remotely, browse through different types of available coffee table books books, all in a very comfortable Mediterranean and countryside environment.

We have maintained existing and lovingly recovered elements, such as a part of the old kitchen, now transformed into a fountain to welcome the client, located at the entrance of the reception, and reminiscent of the history of the building.

What is the old farming equipment in the lobby and why did you want to integrate it into the design?

Many Mallorcan estates, especially those in the “Sierra de Tramuntana” where olive trees were predominant, had their own "Tafona".

The “tafone” is the place where the olives were pressed to make olive oil. That is why it was essential and important for us to preserve the one we have , and to give it the great protagonism it deserves. Aesthetically it is unbeatable and inimitable, either you are lucky enough to have one or it is impossible to replicate it. So we are very happy to be able to have it so that our guests can enjoy its beauty, that coexist with other elements of the Mallorcan countryside.

What was your main inspiration for the design of the hotel, what did you want to achieve?

The stunning location of The Lodge, at the foot of Sierra de Tramontana, and at a short distance from such emblematic villages as Pollensa, has influenced the decoration and atmosphere of the hotel. The fact that the property is surrounded by nature, olive trees, carob trees and centenary almond trees has marked/inspired us how the decoration should be. We cannot forget that it is a country house in the countryside and we want our guests to enjoy that feeling of being surrounded by nature and with the comforts of a 5-star hotel.

What are the predominant materials you used throughout the design?
The vegetation that surrounds us and the place where it is located again determine the materials used in the hotel. Wood, a noble material par excellence, is very present throughout the estate and of course also in its interior. Textures and colours of the earth must also be taken into account when thinking about the experience we want our guests to enjoy.We want to achieve a serene, harmonious and elegant style/type of luxury where we find and enjoy a balance between the old and the new, a timeless environment.

Why was the focus on ceramics important and where were they sourced from?

Ceramics, so present on this island, is a very present element in this hotel. We love what pottery represents, an element so closely linked to the earth that man has used since ancient times, to turn it into essential pieces for his way of life. Moulding mud has become one of my favourite hobbies and we are looking forward to setting up a workshop in our installations so that our guests can enjoy a pleasant and relaxing experience with us, such it is the contact with the mud, and create their own pieces.
Many of the pottery pieces that we found in the hotel were already in the house, and we are delighted to have them back in the house.

Another of my hobbies is to visit antique fairs and accumulate objects for the projects I do, we are lucky that very close to the hotel, specifically in the village of Consell, every Sunday there is a fair of brocanters. We have found some wonderful pieces and I am sure that whoever visits the fair it will also acquire some of them.

What are some of the key furniture pieces in the lounge and in the restaurant?

On one of my visits in search of antiques, I found in the south of France the main piece of furniture of the Lobby. It was clear that we had to acquire it and that it would be one of the fundamental pieces of the project. Its size and its antiquity, probably the same age as the house, did not make us hesitate and we immediately imagined it full of stone or marble mortars, all the houses had mortars in the kitchen, in fact one of them is original from the old farm house.

Throughout the hotel, antique and modern pieces coexist in harmony, we love to mix styles, such as French bronze wall lamps from the Napoleonic period with a contemporary art painting, which we found in Singular Restaurant, or the French tapestry, from my family heritage, with a completely modern console in the entrance.

What is the partition behind the sofas in the lounge? 

It is a ceramic screen,( biombo) what other material could it be? In the area of la Costa Brava where our other hotel, Mas de Torrent hotel & Spa, is located, as in the whole island of Mallorca, ceramics is a very traditional craft. Both areas, la Costa Brava and the island of Mallorca, are full of wonderful manufactories of the mentioned material. Looking for pots I found these pieces made to assemble a screen. It was a lot of fun to assemble it, it was like playing tetris between five people. We think the result is very spectacular.

How does the architecture of the new suites reference the original farmhouse?

The original country house must have had adjacent buildings all over the estate, and the memory of some of the walls still standing is what allowed us to obtain the qualification to build the "new suites". It is not easy to create new constructions that coexist in harmony with the existing, but I think that the materials and forms used have achieved it. Some people say that it reminds them of Marrakech, because of the colours and textures used, but let's not forget that Mallorca, like southern Spain, has a lot of Arab influence.

What are the key furniture pieces found in the guest suites and why did you choose them? .

The experience of our guests is the most important thing for us. We want them to enjoy, rest, disconnect, relax and return to their home with renewed energy. The decoration of the rooms has to achieve all of the above, which is why we once again use noble materials, colours present in nature, without stridency, which provide peace and relaxation to our guests. And also an experience of having been on a Mediterranean island, surrounded by nature, fields, centenary trees.

We would like to highlight the black decorative vases in each room. They are all different, handmade with black clay by a master potter.

How many suites are in the main building and how many are on the grounds?
To be able to enjoy a 500 year old house is a privilege, we can find in it 6 suites, all different since the structure of a country house does not allow equality.
There are 18 more rooms distributed throughout the estate. All of them are accessed through a patio that provides the room with natural light and privacy. In order to access the main building, from these rooms scattered around the estate, guests can request our Buggie service or they can use bicycles, which can also be used to move around and visit our spectacular lavender fields, a visual and olfactory spectacle if you are lucky enough to coincide with the flowering season.

We also recommend that you follow the different routes that we have traced within the estate, you will reach some viewpoints where you can see the sea, from Puerto Pollensa to Alcudia, another visual spectacle and recommendable to do without leaving The Lodge.

Did you work with local manufacturers/craftsmen?

Of course, we always like to rely on local people, manufacturers & craftsmen. there are great potters and traditional pottery companies that use Mallorcan clay to make pots and other marvellous objects. Our suppliers are also renowned producers of the typical Mallorcan Sobrasada and the famous ensaimadas. Our gastronomic offer includes the products of the island, as well as the wonderful oil and wine that we produce in our other sister hotel in Mallorca (Finca Serena) and I also recommend the delicious Lavender ice cream, which we make with the plants from our fields from the lodge . And I forgot the honey, we also elaborate our own honey. A real country experience!

Pilar García- Nieto