La Residencia, A Belmond Hotel, Mallorca

As someone with a background in hospitality who has had the opportunity to stay at many luxury properties, I expected a higher level of service and personalization given the exclusivity and price point of this resort. While the property itself is beautiful, several aspects of the experience fell short. We encountered a few less-than-welcoming interactions at both Miro and Tramuntana, there was no service available at the adults-only pool, and beverage pricing felt very excessive ($30 for NA pool drink) —particularly for non-alcoholic drinks and cocktails. I was also surprised that no one from the concierge team reached out prior to arrival. Simple pre-arrival touches such as assistance with dining reservations, local recommendations, or room preferences would have helped create a more thoughtful and personalized experience. I've provided the resort with a detailed survey outlining my feedback in the hope that these observations can help improve the experience for future guests. Overall, the resort did not deliver the level of hospitality and attention to detail I would expect from a luxury property. Sadly I don't think we would consider ever returning.

Deia is stunning and the hotel has a unique artistic charm. The buildings are authentic, and the gardens and views very beautiful. Staff are helpful and add to the happy vibe. A minor grumble is a shower over a bath at this price is a throwback to then1980s, but obviously a first world problem. This is a very special place and we will be back.

This Belmond Hotel is excellent. Its setting provides stunning views with scenic walks and access to the beach. The staff are top notch and the food offering is varied across three top restaurants and of excellent quality. Prices reflect the standards and quality of the offering.

If you want true luxury and a restful hotel this is the place to go. Exceptional staff great restaurants that suit all expectations.

This hotel was the best hotel we’ve stayed it in and exceeded our expectations from the moment arriving checking in the staff was lovely and friendly giving us a complimentary welcome drink to a tour around the hotel and our room was unbelievable had everything you needed. Waking up to breakfast in the morning with the most beautiful views of the mountains Everything was perfect

This is an amazing hotel in a beautiful location. The staff are friendly and nothing is too much trouble.

We had the most amazing time. The hotel and setting were beautiful. Staff so helpful. Everything was wonderful, we will be returning.

Check In/Arrival: We stayed at La Residencia in the Executive Junior Suite for 4 nights. We organized a private transfer from the airport in the luxurious Mercedes S Class sedan organized by the resort. The transfer was seamless, but very pricey at 265€, we decided to take a taxi (booked by the hotel) on the way back that was only 70€ and worked out great at a fraction of the price. Upon our arrival to the hotel, we were provided with a welcome drink on the terrace while they checked our passports. The terrace was very peaceful with flowers, hummingbirds, and impressive views of Deia. The AMEX perks were honored as this is a fine hotels and resorts property and we were provided with a tour of the property. The entire property is gorgeous with flowers, olive trees, and beautiful historic stone architecture. The groundskeepers did an amazing job of keeping the property very well groomed during our entire stay. It was very impressive. Grade A+ Room/Amenities: The hotel is located on the hillside and does require you to walk up some flights of stairs to reach your room which for some people might be difficult, but they do have elevators you can use. Our Executive Junior Suite was located at the very top of the resort. The views from the room were breathtaking overlooking the town of Deia. You can see the mountainside, the church, and some distant views of the ocean. The room has a private terrace with an umbrella, two chairs and a table which we used frequently during our stay for breakfast and to enjoy the views. There was also a large hot tub with two lounge chairs. We didn’t use the hot tub very much because it wasn’t very hot and we couldn’t find a way to easily adjust the temperature. Also at night time there isn’t lighting around it so we really didn’t utilize it much but it was cleaned daily and nice to look at. The suite itself is massive and very clean. You have a large bed which was one of the most comfortable beds we have ever slept in while traveling. There is a TV with some English speaking channels. The TV had chrome cast which you can use to stream, but I couldn’t easily connect so we just watched the cable channels. It was a huge bathroom with Dyson hair dryers and a nice safe. They had a mini fridge with soft/cold drinks and a coffee machine which was just okay. The room had euro adapters we could use for the electronics which was nice. The room was very well stocked with free bottled waters which I feel that a lot of European hotels don’t always prioritize. They have his and hers sinks with lots of counter space. Large walk in shower and bath tub. Nice toilet with bidet if that is your thing. There was a lot of closet space and drawers. Overall room was spectacular and the housekeeping did a wonderful job. Grade A Food/Dining: We were not impressed with the dining at La Residencia. We did not care for the food at Cafe Miro or El Olivo. At Miro, while it appears that they use very fresh high quality ingredients, we did not find that the food was appropriately seasoned or flavorful and wouldn’t recommend it other than for the views. El Olivo is also a very beautiful restaurant with great service and views, but we did not enjoy the food there at all. We have had the pleasure of dining at many Michelin star fine dining restaurants throughout the world and the food just did not measure up. The dishes had maybe too much focus on creativity and less on taste, one dish included a single noodle made of fish collagen that had a horrible gummy texture and to this day is one of the worst things I’ve ever eaten in a restaurant. We did not finish most of the dishes of the tasting menu. Great spot for taking pictures, but felt more like style over substance. The food at Traumantana Grill was delicious, however we waited 30 minutes after being seated to be approached to order a drink. It appeared there was only one waitress for a full restaurant so needless to say the service was very slow. One of the best meals of our trip was off property at Trattoria down the street. We were also not impressed with room service. We ordered snacks to our room upon arrival that took over an hour and a half to arrive which was frustrating as we were very hungry after traveling for so long. One morning we tried to call room service repeatedly and there was a frustrating phone issue where we could not get through and kept getting redirected to the front desk. On the last morning of our stay, we ordered breakfast which did not arrive until just a few moments before we had to leave for the airport. When we opened the dish it had mushrooms which we repeatedly told the hotel my wife had a mushroom allergy. We did not have time to order a new one so she went without breakfast for our day of traveling. Very disappointing. Grade D Location: Very nice property. Walkable to the small town and easily can commute between the different cities of Mallorca. Grade A *Activities/Spa: They offer daily complimentary activities. We really enjoyed seeing the on-site donkeys “Chico and Carlos” and feeding them carrots/cucumbers. We were disappointed that the hotel offered a private bee tour on the brochure but when we asked about it we were told it wasn’t possible and that we could do the group tour only offered on Monday (we left Monday morning). We were also disappointed that when we asked the concierge one day if we could do their “tea with Miro” experience he said we had to give advanced notice of at least 24 hours so we weren’t able to do that either just timing wise. Concierge: After booking our stay, the concierge did not reach out to us to ask about assisting us with dining reservations or activities. As we got closer to our arrival date we reached out to them to ask about organizing a boat charter and dinners. We were not impressed with our interactions with the concierge team. The responses were delayed and the team felt disorganized. We have stayed at many Fine Hotels and Resorts properties in the past and have always felt that being hotel guests we would be prioritized over the general public. This was not the case at La Residencia. They were very limited on dining reservations and communications were often confusing. I don’t know if they are understaffed and it is off season still, but with a price of ~1800€/night you expect better. For example, we were told a week before our stay that there was only one date and time available at El Olivo for our whole stay. Luckily we were able to make it work although the time was not preferred, but it later became apparent from empty tables in the restaurant that we probably could have come later in the evening which was frustrating. We had a lovely day on the boat, but were 30 minutes late due to a miscommunication between the concierge and the taxi to pick us up. After the fact they told us they don’t recommend taxis and that we should have used their overpriced private transfer. We were told that we would be reimbursed for the time lost, but after following up with the concierge team (speaking to about half a dozen different people) they didn’t honor that. Overall Impression: Come for the views, beautiful grounds, the spa, and the comfortable rooms. If you are a foodie maybe choose another destination. Overpriced for what you get and seem to be catering to Instagram rather than to the guests of the hotel. Overall Grade B-