byHannah Banks-Walker|Published on11th June 2026 at 10.40am
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Picture your dream hotel in the perfect setting, where comfort and luxury is paramount. You have just imagined La Residencia, a Belmond hotel that offers an idyllic getaway in the heart of Deia, Mallorca. The historical Balearic island has been a holiday haven for so many Brits for decades, but I must confess I had never yet visited Mallorca. After discovering La Residencia on Tripadvisor, however, I decided it was time to pack for my inaugural trip.
I had always turned to Tripadvisor to check for the best dining option in an unfamiliar town, or to scroll through reviews of dodgy bars and bad service. I was surprised to learn that it offered me so much more; a travel agent in the palm of my hand, providing incredible recommendations and the ability to book an entire holiday, with no extra charges.
The Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards: Best of the Best Hotels, is one of the most helpful lists and precisely where I found La Residencia listed as one of the winners. Tripadvisor’s curated inventory of the world’s best hotels allows you to browse the most beautiful, exclusive places to stay, according to your recommendations. Wherever you’re looking to stay, you can easily narrow your search by continent, country or city. The Best of the Best Hotels winners are among the top 1% of establishments reviewed on Tripadvisor, the reviews of which are based over an entire year, so you can rest assured you’re accepting great advice.
Let me set the scene: in the mid 1980s, four 16th-century manor houses nestled in the Serra de Tramuntana mountains were converted into Mallorca’s first luxury hotel. Having been acquired by Belmond in 2002 – a major player in the premium hospitality market – La Residencia sits in the heart of Deia, once just a quiet fishing village in the northwest of the island. A place of remarkable beauty and tranquillity, Deia became a hub for artists over the course of the 20th Century. Writer Robert Graves left England behind to live among the olive groves cultivated on terraced fields that wind down steep hills to the Balearic Sea. Many were to follow in his footsteps as Deia and the surrounding area has become a wildly popular holiday destination for day trippers, celebrities, cyclists and art lovers alike.
As soon as I arrived at the hotel, it was clear why it had received such rave reviews. I was greeted by a host of incredibly friendly and polite members of staff; my bags were whisked away and within a minute, I was sitting on a shaded terrace with a welcome drink of delicious local Cava, gazing out onto a stunning panorama of green mountains and cerulean sea.
Before booking, I was concerned that a large luxury hotel based in the centre of a small and intimate town like Deia might feel overbearing and intrusive – this was not the case. Despite having three restaurants, two pools, a fully equipped spa and gym and 67 rooms, La Residencia has managed to maintain the spirit of a boutique hotel. The entrance is discreet, with the simple entrance gate standing next to a local bus stop, opposite a small deli offering refreshment and supplies to residents, tourists and thirsty cyclists passing through town.
The small drive leads up to one of the beautiful buildings, home to the reception, bar and terrace restaurant. It’s calming, sophisticated and dripping in Spanish charm; everything in the hotel mirrors the spirit of the island. The furnishings and colours of the rooms are thoughtfully selected and pristine in quality, while the creaking wood of the old stairs in the villas are offset with solid stone and attractive tiles, where 33 lithographs of Joan Miro proudly adorn the walls.
There are several dining options at ‘La Residencia’. ‘El Olivo’ is a Michelin-starred restaurant offering tasting menus of creative mediterranean dishes by candlelight. For more informal options, the Restaurante Miro provides a wide range of more accessible fare on the terrace overlooking the mountains, while the Tramuntana Grill offers lighter lunches that can be enjoyed by the pool and boasts Balearic cheese, local meats and olive oil from La Residencia’s own grove of trees.
Whether you choose to luxuriate in the hotel and enjoy its unparallelled facilities or enjoy the hike to and from Ca’s Patro March, a rustic restaurant perfectly placed on the sea – famously featured on the first series of the BBC’s The Night Manager – Deia offers a truly magnificent location in which to lose yourself for a few days. Visit the former house of Robert Graves, stroll through the meandering streets or snorkel in the crystal-clear waters. Whether you want an active break or a stunning place in which to unwind, Tripadvisor certainly wasn’t wrong: La Residencia is one of the best hotels in the world.
Hannah Banks-Walker was Grazia’s head of fashion commerce. She has previously written for the likes of Harper’s Bazaar, The Financial Times, Glamour, Stylist, The Telegraph, Red, i-D and The Pool on everything from fashion to curly hair (hi!) to the patriarchy. Not necessarily in that order. Find her on Instagram and Twitter. But please don’t look for her MySpace profile, which until now was the last time she wrote about herself in the third person.
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