Barceló Illetas Albatros — a spring escape on the Majorca coast

A quiet April week on the southwest coast of Majorca: warm spring days, calm coves, and an adults-only hotel that feels worlds away from the island's busier resorts.

We landed in Palma in late April, when the island is just waking up from winter. The airport was busy but the roads west were calm, and within twenty minutes we were pulling into Illetas, a small coastal settlement that sits on a rocky headland between Palma and Portals Nous. The Barceló Illetas Albatros is perched above a quiet cove, with the sea visible from almost every terrace.

The hotel is strictly adults-only, which gives it a noticeably calmer rhythm than the family resorts further along the coast. Our room had a generous balcony overlooking the water, and we made a habit of breakfast out there with the morning sun on our faces. The buffet is excellent: fresh fruit, local cheese, cured meats, and warm ensaïmadas. The pool area is the real heart of the place — a long terrace with loungers, a saltwater pool, and steps down to a tiny beach where the water is clear and swimmable from April onwards.

The little cove below the hotel became our default hangout. It's sheltered enough to feel calm even when there's a breeze, and the water is astonishingly clear — we could see fish darting around the rocks without even bothering with a snorkel. A handful of locals turn up in the mornings for a swim, and the pace never feels rushed. We took a paddleboard out on one of the still afternoons and worked our way slowly around the headland.

Illetas itself is compact. There are a handful of restaurants along the seafront, a small supermarket, and a bus stop that will take you into Palma in under twenty minutes. We walked the coastal path towards Portals Nous one evening, stopping for sunset drinks, and spent another day in Palma exploring the old town, the winding backstreets and the cathedral. April is a lovely time to visit: warm enough for the beach and terrace dinners, but not yet crowded.

Palma deserves at least a full day. We wandered the old town in the morning, stopped for a long lunch in one of the courtyards near Plaça Major, and spent the late afternoon at the cathedral watching the light shift through the stained glass. The waterfront at dusk, with La Seu lit up above the harbour, is one of the best free shows in the Mediterranean. A short taxi ride back to Illetas and we were on our balcony in twenty minutes.

We also did a half-day drive out to the Tramuntana mountains, stopping at Valldemossa and taking the winding road down to Deià. The whole coast is spectacular in spring, with wildflowers on the verges and the sea a hard, bright blue below. Back at the hotel each evening, the pool bar had a decent short cocktail list and the sunsets over the bay were reason enough to skip going out for dinner. Only the smallest quibbles: a few beach clubs were still gearing up for the season, and the beach beneath the hotel disappears at high tide. Otherwise, hard to fault.