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IF A place "merits un detour", as M. Michelin has it, how far is a detour? That's akin to asking how long is a piece of string but in this case it would seem to depend largely upon the starting point and the motivation.
An island in the Mediterranean would be a heck of a detour for some of our readers (Australians and Alaskans might prefer to return to our Home Page now...) but for a European or a Briton my next suggestion falls into a very special category.
It's aimed primarily at those young-at-heart romantics seeking a gourmet golfing holiday in the sun at a gracious hotel close to a capital city of some style and elegance. The place is "The Island of Calm," otherwise known as Majorca, the largest of the Balearic Islands and Spanish in origin.
The hotel is a short drive from the multifarious attractions of Palma, the capital, and with several courses, old and new, close to hand, all basking in an idyllic climate. This really is Capital Golf, the best of all worlds.
Consider the hotel first; it is one that will soothe the jaded and yet delight those of a romantic bent. It is Read's Hotel (pictured above), a 500 year old former farmhouse that has been lovingly refurbished by its English owner. It is set in nine acres of gardens near the rural village of Santa Maria, some 15 minutes north of Palma.
It offers the ultimate in accommodation and cuisine in a setting of total tranquillity, a country house hotel of taste and style that has set local standards of excellence since its opening nine years ago.
Welcoming, informal and intimate, despite its soaring ceilings and deceptive size, it has 23 bedrooms, including 11 suites, 17 of them in the main house and six in an adjacent courtyard. Each is different in style and decor and all are of handsome proportions, with timbered flooring, expansive bathrooms and full length windows overlooking the gardens and the outdoor swimming pool.
There's also an indoor pool, of 100 square meters, with a sauna and sun room, in fact there are all the facilities of a major hotel but to a higher standard and all complimented by impeccable service by the Read family members.
The public rooms, a plethora of antiques and objets d'art, are enchanting; the dining room (pictured left), with beamed ceiling supported by arched pillars of mellowed stone, offers cuisine of the highest order in a compelling ambience. It oozes romance. All hotels should be like this.
Read's is owned by a wonderfully eccentric Englishman -- he delights in impromptu recitals on the saxophone -- a retired lawyer who had a holiday home nearby and was smitten at first sight of the then-derelict farmhouse.
In a labour of love perhaps without equal in the industry and reflected in every corner of his creation, Vivian Read spent six years and a personal fortune in restoring the house and furnishing it with antiques and paintings collected over a lifetime.
The end result, when it opened in 1995, was a haven of good taste and tranquillity set deep in the Majorcan countryside. It is unique, in my experience, and it merits a detour from virtually anywhere.
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