While landscaped gardens sweep you down a maze of pathways to the sea, the cobalt-blue views that you garner from standing in the midst of them sweep you off your feet. It’s rare to find a villa in Ibiza with its own staircase to the sea – and you almost stumble upon this hidden luxury by accident.
High above the pine treetops, looking out over the sea, this villa manages that heady combination of tranquil seclusion and soul-spoiling luxury. You really are on top of the world here; every evening you get the sense that the sun will set just for you. Yet, as isolated as you may feel, the villages of Portinatx and San Joan are, handily, both nearby. A flour-soft sandy bay or a top table in a gorgeous restaurant is never too far away.
Both the main three-bedroom house and the ancient finca, which offers another three bedrooms, are a melange of Moorish-inspired doorways, alcoves and huge wooden furniture pieces. And the breeze that floats along the terraces and diffuses throughout the house is the perfect antidote to the searing Ibizan sun. The scale is huge, but still homely; the enormous chair in the living room seems to represent the soul of this place – super-sized and super-comfortable.
A candle-lined, semi-Art Deco-style fireplace dominates the huge living room, from which wooden shuttered doors lead onto a cool terrace. Walk up a private staircase and you’ll reach the master bedroom. On its own floor, this is the ultimate in four-poster privacy. An en suite bathroom and a dressing area with enough wardrobe space for dedicated fashionistas. Close the heavy doors, which lead to a private terrace, and you will block out the bleaching sun and make this room a dark, sultry space that’s difficult to wrench yourself away from in the morning.
Outside, 140,000sq m of gardens, forest, fruit trees and lawns close in on the house, while a door opening onto a secret garden hides a large rectangular pool with sloping sides that are just perfect for basking on, and a mattressed chill-out area that’s ideal for sinking into with a ice-cold gin and tonic.
Walk across the courtyard to the 800-year-old restored finca and the coolness afforded by its metre-thick rough walls draws you in like a magnet. The living room has an inglenook fireplace so cat-swingingly huge that it even has its own door leading through to a bedroom. In true finca style, this cavernous medley of high, timbered ceilings and low doorways creates the illusion of being underground when the shutters are closed; cool respite from the hot Balearic sun.
Private, luxurious and with a discreet history of celebrity guests, Can Tiruit Veil is the kind of villa you make plans to return to – before your holiday is even over. The only dilemma is who to choose to bring next time…
Reviewed by Charlotte Crisp
