WHERE TO GO FOR… AUTUMN HEAT
MISSING the SUN ALREADY? IT’S NOT OVER YET if YOU HEAD south…
Missing summer? Escape to warmer climes with our guide to the places where the sun is still shining
SON BRULL Pollença, Mallorca
A former 18th-century monastery, reborn as a boutique hotel, Son Brull sits on a hill looking over pretty Pollença in northern Mallorca, and is 15 minutes’ drive from Cala Sant Vicenç bay. Honey-coloured stone walls, wooden beams and high ceilings across the 23 rooms and two villa suites nod to its monastery origins, and through tall Juliet balcony doors you can see the Tramuntana mountains and a rural landscape of citrus trees. Their sweet scent wafts through the spa, which has an indoor pool, steam bath, sauna and gym, and there are outdoor yoga classes at sunrise. Hungry? No problem. Go casual with cocktails and tapas at the poolside bar, choose a lighter menu at Bistró or try the seafood risotto, chicken croquettes and vanilla bourbon ice cream at the more formal 365 Restaurant.
After all that, what you really need is one of their complimentary electric bikes to ride into town along the idyllic country back roads. Doubles from £215, B&B (sonbrull.com). British Airways flies from London Heathrow to Palma from around £12O return (ba.com)
ME TERRAMAR Sitges, Spain
Sitges is a LGBTQ-friendly town set on 4km of white sand divided into 17 beaches, five of which are gay, nudist or both. Just 32km from Barcelona, it’s the perfect mix of beach and city. You’ll find ME Terramar right on the seafront, surrounded by palm trees. Its
213 rooms are minimalist in style – some with terraces – and a rooftop bar for scenic cocktails. Sitges has plenty of cool places to eat but, if you’re too chilled to go out, try the hotel’s main restaurant, Beso Sitges, go for shellfish and champagne at the Oyster Bar or tunes and tapas at its Beso Beach Club. But mostly you’ll be stylishly lounging – the sceney pool, with its four-poster, curtain-draped day beds, is the kind that makes you glad you upgraded your beachwear. Doubles from £124, B&B (melia.com). British Airways flies from London Heathrow to Barcelona from around £1OO return (ba.com)