Son Blanc

The restoration was led by Parisian studio Atelier du Pont alongside local practice ARU Arquitectura. The brief was precise: honour the original structure, introduce nothing that couldn’t be sourced from the island. Stone quarried from Menorca, clay from Menorcan earth, olive wood from the estate. Rooms were left deliberately unadorned — the arches, the vaults, the play of island light on raw walls were considered ornament enough.

Fourteen rooms, each different, none with a television. Walls are raw stone or whitewash; furniture sparse — a bed, a reading chair, a lamp placed where it casts light rather than fills a corner. Fabrics are undyed linen throughout, exactly right for Menorca in summer. The larger suites have private terraces overlooking the estate; two garden rooms open directly onto the grounds.

A long lap pool within the estate, flanked by dry-stone walls and bordered by the original almond trees. The kitchen garden — herbs, vegetables, citrus — supplies the restaurant, and guests are encouraged to walk it before breakfast. Outdoor dining and a relaxed bar run from afternoon through evening at whatever pace suits.

A daily-changing menu drawn from the garden and the island’s small producers. The approach is Menorcan — simple techniques, exceptional ingredients — served in a vaulted dining room that feels like eating inside the farmhouse itself. Breakfast is long and unhurried, with fresh bread and estate honey. Dinner is lit by candles.

Ciutadella is ten minutes by car — a walled port town of narrow lanes, Gothic palaces and some of the best seafood on the island. The north coast drops to small, mostly deserted beaches through red ravines; Cala Macarelleta, accessible only on foot or by boat, is one of the most beautiful coves in the Mediterranean. Menorca moves at its own pace and expects its visitors to adapt accordingly.