There still seem to be a vocal minority of cynics who believe Trip Advisor reviews are all either from the owners (praising) or their competitors (criticising) - and maybe if they total 10 or less, it might have a ring of truth. Get above 20/30 reviews and you know they come from real people. On being told that a) Mallorca was no longer Majorca and appealed even to English not in football shirts and b) that Soller was a lovely town, it was obvious from TA that Hotel Salvia was the only place to stay. Just six rooms (plus a self-catering top floor) and in a devil-may-care moment, we booked the Salvia Suite, which has a bedroom larger than the total space in many good hotels, a comfy two sofa sitting room, a long airy wide corridor with windows overlooking the garden and the pool and two chaise beds ("for napping" said chef Ling...and she was right), at the end of which was a twin basin bathroom with open bath and separate shower room. All the rooms were enhanced by furniture that looked as if it lived in the house forever. So far so brilliant, and, despite our flight from Gatwick arriving nearly five hours late (not Easyjet's fault, as it happened), a text correspondence with Pierre, the driver manager Patrick had arranged for us, was at the airport to greet us. You reach the hotel up a tiny street...There still seem to be a vocal minority of cynics who believe Trip Advisor reviews are all either from the owners (praising) or their competitors (criticising) - and maybe if they total 10 or less, it might have a ring of truth. Get above 20/30 reviews and you know they come from real people. On being told that a) Mallorca was no longer Majorca and appealed even to English not in football shirts and b) that Soller was a lovely town, it was obvious from TA that Hotel Salvia was the only place to stay. Just six rooms (plus a self-catering top floor) and in a devil-may-care moment, we booked the Salvia Suite, which has a bedroom larger than the total space in many good hotels, a comfy two sofa sitting room, a long airy wide corridor with windows overlooking the garden and the pool and two chaise beds ("for napping" said chef Ling...and she was right), at the end of which was a twin basin bathroom with open bath and separate shower room. All the rooms were enhanced by furniture that looked as if it lived in the house forever. So far so brilliant, and, despite our flight from Gatwick arriving nearly five hours late (not Easyjet's fault, as it happened), a text correspondence with Pierre, the driver manager Patrick had arranged for us, was at the airport to greet us. You reach the hotel up a tiny street and from the front you don't know what to expect - a nice front door but no feeling of what lies within. Apart from easy access by train/tram to Palma or Port Soller, the town square is an easy five minute walk. However, like almost all our fellow guests, the atmosphere and the lure of the garden and the pool (enhanced by 80 degree late September sunshine) meant that most thoughts of active exploration were put on the back burner as, with sun beds and large umbrellas for all, most of us spent more time at the hotel than not. The breakfasts were absolutely perfect for us - a lovely fresh fruit salad, local bread and jams and fine coffee. Bacon & eggs is an option we declined, as we did the lunches, and the barbecue was fine if a little dominated by meat. However our overall feeling was of complete comfort, complete ease and complete relaxation, as much down to the staff as to the surroundings.
With the notable exception of a small hotel in St. Lucia we make a point of not returning to the same place twice or more. For Hotel Salvia we will be making an exception!More
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