Menorca, Spain

Vestige Son Vell

Price per night from$437.86

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR396.80), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Vestige Son Vell Photos

Style

Historic sandstone sanctuary

Setting

Farmland of milk and honey

Explore

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An antique agricultural estate lovingly restored, Vestige Son Vell is as elegant as they come; a sandstone jewel in Menorca’s green crown. Built over 200 years ago, its centrepiece – an emblematic Italianate manor – sits surrounded by gardens, olive trees and 143 hectares of working farmland and patchwork fields. It’s quite the scene, and interiors are equally head-turning – a charming mix of original features and custom-made contemporary touches. As for your days, they’ll fly by as you idle by the pool, tuck into super-seasonal Menorcan fare, and as evening draws in, seek out a shaded spot in the garden with a citrusy, gin-slugged pomada in hand, as the scent of the estate’s lemon trees rides in on the back of balmy Balearic breezes. 

 
Please note: Don’t let our enticing gallery deceive you, these images for Vestige Son Vell are in fact computer generated. Apologies, real-life photographs will be with us soon…

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Facilities

Photos Vestige Son Vell facilities

Need to know

Rooms

34, including 28 suites.

Check–Out

Noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

More details

Rates include an á la carte breakfast.

Also

The estate spans a whopping 150 hectares, many of which are still used as farmland, so don’t be surprised to see the occasional horse trotting by.

Hotel closed

In 2023, the hotel is open from 23 June to 31 October.

At the hotel

Dairy farm, citrus groves, yoga platform, spa treatment room, bikes to borrow, yoga mats, open-air cinema, laundry service (at cost), and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: coffee machine, minibar, TV, free bottled water, and Rituals bath products.

Our favourite rooms

Rooms at Vestige Son Vell are big enough to swing a cow in, never mind a cat, so wherever you stay, you’ll not be short of space. For families, the Terrace suite can connect to form a two-bedroom dwelling, but if you’re arriving in-laws-and-all, best to book out one of the new buildings with four-to-six independent bedrooms in each. Our soft spot lies with the romantic Garden Junior Suite, sensitively renovated with wood, natural fabrics and original sandstone – and an expansive private garden – they offer lovebirds a rather romantic nest.

Poolside

You’ll find the main pool out in the garden with sunloungers and parasols dotted around its tiered oval deck. The best bit? It also has its own poolside bar so you’ll never be thirsty for long.

Spa

There’s no spa as such (coming in 2025), but treatments with Rowse products are available in-room and in the treatment room. Just behind the main pool you’ll find an outdoor yoga and pilates deck in the gardens.

Packing tips

Bring trail-ready trainers for conquering the Camí de Cavalls, a novel to accompany your poolside lolling and plenty of room in your case for artisanal cheese and wines.

Also

Guests with mobility issues should enquire about the adapted Garden Junior Suite.

Children

The hotel is more suited to adults, but all ages are welcome on request. Extra beds are available in some room types (on request and for an additional fee).

Food and Drink

Photos Vestige Son Vell food and drink

Top Table

Soak up the sun from the cobblestone patio of Vermell, or curl up under an olive tree in one of Sa Clarisa’s pillowy armchairs.

Dress Code

Go country-casual at Sa Clarisa and save your glad rags for Vermell.

Hotel restaurant

Vermell, which means ‘red’ in local dialect, is a tribute to the island’s cuisine and serves traditional Menorcan recipes with a contemporary twist and a sprinkling of external influences from mainland Spain, Britain and France. In keeping with island tradition, you can bet that all ingredients are either home-grown or plucked straight from the Med. In fact, the estate itself produces much of the restaurant’s dairy products. The building itself retains the charm-factor of a long-standing finca with its arched windows, pitched roof and sturdy wooden beams, but the rest is monochrome and ultra-modern; white tablecloths and flooring, and black everything else. For full effect, opt for the tasting menu with specially selected wine pairings. Sa Clarisa, meanwhile, is an alfresco spot where you can grab casual bites from morning till night. The menu focuses on fresh, summer favourites and Mediterranean sharing plates, best enjoyed, we think, from one of the cloud-soft armchairs, pomada (a refreshing muddle of lemonade and gin) in hand.

Hotel bar

For sun-kissed sipping, the pool comes equipped with its own bar. But for more complex concoctions, the main bar has you covered with fine Menorcan wines and innovative cocktails.

Last orders

Catch breakfast at Vermell between 8am and 11am, or dinner between 8pm and 10.30pm. Lunch at San Clarisa runs from 1pm to 3.30pm. The pool bar is open from 11am to 8pm, after which Bar Son Vell takes over until 10.30pm.

Room service

Round-the-clock room service has everything you need for private, alfresco dining on your terrace.

Location

Photos Vestige Son Vell location
Address
Vestige Son Vell
Cami de Son March S/N
Ciutadella de Menorca
07769
Spain

Vestige Son Vell is set on the island’s verdant south-west corner, just a 20-minute drive from the charming old town of Ciutadella and a stone’s throw away from some of Menorca’s best beaches.

Planes

Mahón Airport is the closest, with flights arriving here from all over Europe. From here, it’s around a 50-minute drive to the hotel. The hotel can help to arrange transfers, though rates are dependent on season and demand.

Automobiles

Wheels make it easy to explore Menorca at your own pace. Traffic is light, roads are generally in tip-top condition and there’s free parking for guests at the hotel.

Worth getting out of bed for

Once you’ve sufficiently stretched on Vestige Son Vell’s yoga platform, exercised precision in a game of pétanque and got your laps in for the day at the swimming pool, you needn’t retire. Instead, head to the outdoor cinema for a movie al aire libre or, get acquainted with stars of a different kind; In 2019, Menorca was named a starlight destination and reserve, and thanks to its low light-pollution it’s one of the best places in the world to observe the cosmos with the naked eye. Have the hotel arrange a star-gazing session – we’ve heard, on a good night you might even catch a glimpse of the Milky Way. Come morning, head out on the Camí de Cavalls, a historical path once used to protect the island that stretches round the whole coast. Depending on your preference you can do an hour, a half-day or full-day excursion by foot or by horse. The best part? You can saddle-up from the hotel’s gardens and trot straight out from there. 

You’re not far from some of the island’s best beaches, either – Son Saura and Macarelleta are both just a short ride away, and the hotel has a fleet of bikes to borrow. Closer to home, Cala de Son Vell is a small unspoilt cove just a 10-minute walk from the hotel. The island is also home to over a thousand megalithic sites (some of which date back to 2000 BC) making it a hotspot for archaeology buffs. Explore the caves of Cala Morell Necropolis, get lost in the ruins of ancient villages of Torre d'en Galmés, Son Catlar and Torralba d’en Salord or observe the impressive dry-stone architecture of La Naveta des Tudons tomb. Discover the island’s more remote and rugged parts on a full-day Jeep safari, or have staff organise a sunset picnic with idyllic country views. Of course, no picnic is complete without a generous amount of queso; pay a visit to Formatges Sa Roqueta and make your own on a local dairy farm before swinging by Ciutadella’s charming old town for a sangria sundowner

Local restaurants

If you fancy yourself as a star chef, restaurant and cookery school Cuk-Cuk is the perfect place to show off your skills and learn a thing or two along the way. Here, diners get hands-on, crafting their own plates of paella, arroz marinero or caldereta (Menorcan fish stew) in groups or as a pair. And to keep you satiated while you sizzle, they’ll throw in a glass of wine, a selection of local cheeses or artisanal cured meats, or a local vermouth paired with marinated mussels. Alternatively, leave the cooking to the experts at Restaurante Smoix, where haute-cuisine is served in a slick, industrial-chic setting. Dishes are hyper seasonal and full of Mediterranean flavour with just a hint of Mexican spice, though there are some signature staples – don’t leave without trying the ravioli stuffed with langoustine in a boletus sauce.

Local cafés

Cafè Balear in Ciutadella is a local favourite, and for good reason. This family-run eatery focuses on fish fresh from their boat, the Rosa Santa Primera (which you may spot bobbing on the water of Ciutadella harbour from one of the alfresco tables out front), and classic Menorcan fare: croquetas, citrusy mussels…and there’s even a dedicated menu for lobster stews. For Menorcan-style breakfasts and brunches, however, head to Bar Imperi and tuck into a mini-baguette filled with sobrasada – a paprika-spiked, cured sausage that's spread like pâté – a swirly ensaimada (a sweet sugar-dusted bread) or a handful of crespells (buttery, flower-shaped biscuits filled with jam, soft cheese or almond paste).

Local bars

You’ll need a car to scope out Cova d’en Xoroi club, but if cliffside capers sound like your idea of a good time, it’ll be worth it. Like a scene from a Mediterranean fairytale, this bar-cum-club hovers 30 metres above the sea on different terraces and balconies carved into a rocky cliff. Head here for low-key daytime drinks and incredible sunsets; stay for the all-star cast of DJs and nocturnal decadence. Oenophiles should make a beeline for Bodegas Binifadet, a family-run winery just outside Mahón. Take a stroll through the vineyards and get an insight into the wine-making process before sampling the fruits of their labour in a private tasting session.

Reviews

Photos Vestige Son Vell reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this lovingly-restored finca in charmful Ciutadella and unpacked their dog-eared beach reads and Mahón-made cheeses, a full account of their Balearic break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Vestige Son Vell in Menorca…

Built in the early 1800s, Vestige Son Vell is a charming heritage hotel in Menorca’s green, palm-peppered west coast. Thanks to the Vestige Collection, this legacy estate has been lovingly nursed back to its former glory, carefully preserving many of its stand-out original features (large, bright windows, high-ceilings and sandy stone walls among them) while adding a sprinkling of contemporary, high-end finishes. Arriving, guests may smell the estate before they see it; there are gardens galore across Vestige Son Vell’s 150 acres, each flanked by fragrant citrus and olive trees. And its sensory pleasures don’t stop there, with a treatment room (housed in an archeological stone hut, no less), an alfresco yoga platform, on-site dairy farm and two restaurants. Tuck into traditional Menorcan fare at super-seasonal Vermel, kick back at casual, all-day-dining spot Sa Clarisa or top up your tan at the pool. And, with the Camí de Cavalls and a splay of unspoilt beaches on your doorstep, as well as Ciutadella’s charming old town just 20-minutes away, you’re never far from the action. 

 

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