Why this resort in Mallorca is the dreamiest getaway for Londoners in need of a reset
As someone living in London - where the days blur together and even a trip to the park requires strategic timing - I know how vital it is to find a proper escape.
Not just a change of scenery, but somewhere that lets you breathe again.
That's exactly what I found in Kimpton Aysla Mallorca.
Mallorca has long been a favourite for British travellers, but this hotel isn't your average island resort.
The lobby and stairs at Kimpton (Image: Poppy Huggett)
It's a serene slice of luxury tucked away in Santa Ponsa, less than 30 minutes from Palma airport, and unbelievably just a two-hour flight from Gatwick.
You could leave your flat in south east London in the morning and be lounging in a private hammock by the afternoon.
The stunning gardens and Zayt Pool Club at Kimpton Aysla Mallorca (Image: Poppy Huggett)
I arrived on Tuesday, May 6, and from the moment I stepped out of the airport transfer, it felt like I'd landed in a different world.
Check-in came with a creamy welcome drink - like a milky island twist on a smoothie - and warm, effortless hospitality that immediately took the edge off the London stress I'd brought with me.
My room was a King with a private garden, and it was a dream.
There were multiple seating areas outside, big, cushioned loungers, and even a hammock perfect for an afternoon read (or nap).
Inside, the space was calm and beautifully styled - a massive queen-sized bed with cloud-like feather bedding, a deep standalone tub, a rainfall shower, and all the little luxury touches you want from a five-star hotel.
I especially loved the CODAGE Paris products and the in-room coffee machine.
The garden patio and bathroom in my room (Image: Poppy Huggett)
It felt like the kind of place made for couples, but also for solo travellers like me who just needed quiet, comfort, and space to decompress.
Dinner that night was at SABA Restaurant, which serves Mediterranean food with real flair.
We started with sharing plates - calamari rings, croquettes, burrata salad, bread with aioli, and Padrón peppers - all rich with flavour.
Our sharing starters at SABA Restaurant (Image: Poppy Huggett)
For mains, I had a creamy seafood and shellfish rice that was like the love child of a paella and a risotto, and dessert was a melt-in-your-mouth cheesecake that I'm still thinking about days later.
Breakfast at Orangerie was buffet-style but with real quality.
I had everything from sausages and bacon to hash browns, freshly made omelettes (cooked in front of you with your chosen ingredients), and of course, stacks of pancakes with Nutella and fruit.
The chef cooks your chosen omelette in front of you (Image: Poppy Huggett)
It's the kind of breakfast that makes you want to book another night just so you can have it again.
On Wednesday, we ventured out to Son Moragues (SONMO) for their Olive Oil Experience, which turned out to be one of the most special excursions I've ever done.
The mountains at SONMO (Image: Poppy Huggett)
Picture this: you're riding through the Tramuntana Mountains in a vintage Land Rover, passing ancient olive groves under a clear blue sky, and then tasting oils while learning about sustainability, history, and craftsmanship.
The stunning olive grounds at SONMO (Image: Poppy Huggett)
We even got to see the men at work in the ceramic workshop who were using traditional methods to mould clay into beautiful pieces.
The day ended with a peaceful picnic under the olive trees and it truly felt like something out of a romance novel.
Our olive tasting session (Image: Poppy Huggett)
Back at the hotel, I spent the late afternoon by the adult-only pool (quiet, peaceful, and surrounded by greenery) before dinner at Theatre Kitchen - an immersive dining experience where chefs prepare sushi right in front of you like edible artwork.
It was mesmerising and delicious – my favourite plates of the evening were the steamed chicken gyozas and beef noodles.
The chosen dishes which were prepared in front of us at Theatre Kitchen (Image: Poppy Huggett)
By Thursday, I was already dreading the idea of going home.
I was treated to a massage at Maison Codage with a therapist named Edgar, who offered either a deep muscle or relaxation option.
I chose relaxation, and it was so good I drifted off during the session.
The treatment room (Image: Poppy Huggett)
The lavender-scented oil, soft lighting, and quiet atmosphere were exactly what my overworked back needed.
Later, I wandered into Santa Ponsa, a small coastal town just five minutes away by taxi - or a 20-minute ride on the free electric bikes the hotel provides.
Santa Ponsa beach is a five minute drive away (Image: Poppy Huggett)
It's got a gorgeous beach, plenty of local shops, and a great mix of lively bars and laid-back cafés.
If you fancy a night out, Magaluf is just 15 minutes away, and Palma is around 20, so you're never far from the buzz if you want it.
Before heading to the airport, we had lunch at Zayt Pool Club back at Kimpton, and honestly, it was one of the culinary highlights of the trip.
Zayt Pool Club (Image: Poppy Huggett)
Everything here felt effortlessly chic - from the setting around the pool to the service.
We started with warm olives, a meat charcuterie board, and a chicken Caesar salad that was so fresh and crisp it could have been picked that morning.
My food highlights at Kimpton Aysla Mallorca (Image: SONMO)
For mains, we shared a steak platter served with perfectly roasted vegetables and sweet potato fries — indulgent and satisfying in the best way.
And dessert? A rich, gooey chocolate brownie-style cake with ice cream that brought everything to a decadent close.
This was my absolute favourite dessert of the trip (Image: Poppy Huggett) The food across all the restaurants was consistently 10/10 — each meal felt thoughtfully prepared and deeply satisfying without being over-complicated.
As my trip came to an end, I couldn't stop thinking about how easy it had all been.
Some highlights of the trip (Image: Poppy Huggett)
The short flight, the calm transfer, the quick check-in.
But more than anything, it was how balanced everything felt - luxury without stiffness, peace without pretension, and warmth without being over the top.
Kimpton Aysla Mallorca is the perfect retreat for Londoners wanting to escape the city (Image: SONMO)
If you live in London and you're burnt out, overstimulated, or just dreaming of sunshine, Kimpton Aysla Mallorca is the reset button you didn't know you needed.
It's everything a great escape should be - easy, beautiful, restful, and just far enough to feel like you've really got away.
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Lebanon aims to lure back wealthy Gulf tourists to jumpstart its war-torn economy
BEIRUT (AP) — Fireworks lit up the night sky over Beirut's famous St. Georges Hotel as hit songs from the 1960s and 70s filled the air in a courtyard overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The retro-themed event was hosted last month by Lebanon's Tourism Ministry to promote the upcoming summer season and perhaps recapture some of the good vibes from an era viewed as a golden one for the country. In the years before a civil war began in 1975, Lebanon was the go-to destination for wealthy tourists from neighboring Gulf countries seeking beaches in summer, snow-capped mountains in winter and urban nightlife year-round. In the decade after the war, tourists from Gulf countries – and crucially, Saudi Arabia – came back, and so did Lebanon's economy. But by the early 2000s, as the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah gained power, Lebanon's relations with Gulf countries began to sour. Tourism gradually dried up, starving its economy of billions of dollars in annual spending. Now, after last year's bruising war with Israel, Hezbollah is much weaker and Lebanon's new political leaders sense an opportunity to revitalize the economy once again with help from wealthy neighbors. They aim to disarm Hezbollah and rekindle ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, which in recent years have prohibited their citizens from visiting Lebanon or importing its products. 'Tourism is a big catalyst, and so it's very important that the bans get lifted,' said Laura Khazen Lahoud, the country's tourism minister. On the highway leading to the Beirut airport, once-ubiquitous banners touting Hezbollah's leadership have been replaced with commercial billboards and posters that read 'a new era for Lebanon.' In the center of Beirut, and especially in neighborhoods that hope to attract tourists, political posters are coming down, and police and army patrols are on the rise. There are signs of thawing relations with some Gulf neighbors. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have lifted yearslong travel bans. All eyes are now on Saudi Arabia, a regional political and economic powerhouse, to see if it will follow suit, according to Lahoud and other Lebanese officials. A key sticking point is security, these officials say. Although a ceasefire with Israel has been in place since November, near-daily airstrikes have continued in southern and eastern Lebanon, where Hezbollah over the years had built its political base and powerful military arsenal. Tourism as a diplomatic and economic bridge As vital as tourism is — it accounted for almost 20% of Lebanon's economy before it tanked in 2019 — the country's leaders say it is just one piece of a larger puzzle they are trying to put back together. Lebanon's agricultural and industrial sectors are in shambles, suffering a major blow in 2021, when Saudi Arabia banned their exports after accusing Hezbollah of smuggling drugs into Riyadh. Years of economic dysfunction have left the country's once-thriving middle class in a state of desperation. The World Bank says poverty nearly tripled in Lebanon over the past decade, affecting close to half its population of nearly 6 million. To make matters worse, inflation is soaring, with the Lebanese pound losing 90% of its value, and many families lost their savings when banks collapsed. Tourism is seen by Lebanon's leaders as the best way to kickstart the reconciliation needed with Gulf countries -- and only then can they move on to exports and other economic growth opportunities. 'It's the thing that makes most sense, because that's all Lebanon can sell now,' said Sami Zoughaib, research manager at The Policy Initiative, a Beirut-based think tank. With summer still weeks away, flights to Lebanon are already packed with expats and locals from countries that overturned their travel bans, and hotels say bookings have been brisk. At the event hosted last month by the tourism ministry, the owner of the St. Georges Hotel, Fady El-Khoury, beamed. The hotel, owned by his father in its heyday, has acutely felt Lebanon's ups and downs over the decades, closing and reopening multiple times because of wars. 'I have a feeling that the country is coming back after 50 years,' he said. On a recent weekend, as people crammed the beaches of the northern city of Batroun, and jet skis whizzed along the Mediterranean, local business people sounded optimistic that the country was on the right path. 'We are happy, and everyone here is happy,' said Jad Nasr, co-owner of a private beach club. 'After years of being boycotted by the Arabs and our brothers in the Gulf, we expect this year for us to always be full.' Still, tourism is not a panacea for Lebanon's economy, which for decades has suffered from rampant corruption and waste. Lebanon has been in talks with the International Monetary Fund for years over a recovery plan that would include billions in loans and require the country to combat corruption, restructure its banks, and bring improvements to a range of public services, including electricity and water. Without those and other reforms, Lebanon's wealthy neighbors will lack confidence to invest there, experts said. A tourism boom alone would serve as a 'morphine shot that would only temporarily ease the pain" rather than stop the deepening poverty in Lebanon, Zoughaib said. The tourism minister, Lahoud, agreed, saying a long-term process has only just begun. "But we're talking about subjects we never talked about before,' she said. 'And I think the whole country has realized that war doesn't serve anyone, and that we really need our economy to be back and flourish again.' Kareem Chehayeb, The Associated Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Associated Press
9 hours ago
- Associated Press
Lebanon aims to lure back wealthy Gulf tourists to jumpstart its war-torn economy
BEIRUT (AP) — Fireworks lit up the night sky over Beirut's famous St. Georges Hotel as hit songs from the 1960s and 70s filled the air in a courtyard overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The retro-themed event was hosted last month by Lebanon's Tourism Ministry to promote the upcoming summer season and perhaps recapture some of the good vibes from an era viewed as a golden one for the country. In the years before a civil war began in 1975, Lebanon was the go-to destination for wealthy tourists from neighboring Gulf countries seeking beaches in summer, snow-capped mountains in winter and urban nightlife year-round. In the decade after the war, tourists from Gulf countries – and crucially, Saudi Arabia – came back, and so did Lebanon's economy. But by the early 2000s, as the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah gained power, Lebanon's relations with Gulf countries began to sour. Tourism gradually dried up, starving its economy of billions of dollars in annual spending. Now, after last year's bruising war with Israel, Hezbollah is much weaker and Lebanon's new political leaders sense an opportunity to revitalize the economy once again with help from wealthy neighbors. They aim to disarm Hezbollah and rekindle ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, which in recent years have prohibited their citizens from visiting Lebanon or importing its products. 'Tourism is a big catalyst, and so it's very important that the bans get lifted,' said Laura Khazen Lahoud, the country's tourism minister. On the highway leading to the Beirut airport, once-ubiquitous banners touting Hezbollah's leadership have been replaced with commercial billboards and posters that read 'a new era for Lebanon.' In the center of Beirut, and especially in neighborhoods that hope to attract tourists, political posters are coming down, and police and army patrols are on the rise. There are signs of thawing relations with some Gulf neighbors. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have lifted yearslong travel bans. All eyes are now on Saudi Arabia, a regional political and economic powerhouse, to see if it will follow suit, according to Lahoud and other Lebanese officials. A key sticking point is security, these officials say. Although a ceasefire with Israel has been in place since November, near-daily airstrikes have continued in southern and eastern Lebanon, where Hezbollah over the years had built its political base and powerful military arsenal. Tourism as a diplomatic and economic bridge As vital as tourism is — it accounted for almost 20% of Lebanon's economy before it tanked in 2019 — the country's leaders say it is just one piece of a larger puzzle they are trying to put back together. Lebanon's agricultural and industrial sectors are in shambles, suffering a major blow in 2021, when Saudi Arabia banned their exports after accusing Hezbollah of smuggling drugs into Riyadh. Years of economic dysfunction have left the country's once-thriving middle class in a state of desperation. The World Bank says poverty nearly tripled in Lebanon over the past decade, affecting close to half its population of nearly 6 million. To make matters worse, inflation is soaring, with the Lebanese pound losing 90% of its value, and many families lost their savings when banks collapsed. Tourism is seen by Lebanon's leaders as the best way to kickstart the reconciliation needed with Gulf countries -- and only then can they move on to exports and other economic growth opportunities. 'It's the thing that makes most sense, because that's all Lebanon can sell now,' said Sami Zoughaib, research manager at The Policy Initiative, a Beirut-based think tank. With summer still weeks away, flights to Lebanon are already packed with expats and locals from countries that overturned their travel bans, and hotels say bookings have been brisk. At the event hosted last month by the tourism ministry, the owner of the St. Georges Hotel, Fady El-Khoury, beamed. The hotel, owned by his father in its heyday, has acutely felt Lebanon's ups and downs over the decades, closing and reopening multiple times because of wars. 'I have a feeling that the country is coming back after 50 years,' he said. On a recent weekend, as people crammed the beaches of the northern city of Batroun, and jet skis whizzed along the Mediterranean, local business people sounded optimistic that the country was on the right path. 'We are happy, and everyone here is happy,' said Jad Nasr, co-owner of a private beach club. 'After years of being boycotted by the Arabs and our brothers in the Gulf, we expect this year for us to always be full.' Still, tourism is not a panacea for Lebanon's economy, which for decades has suffered from rampant corruption and waste. Lebanon has been in talks with the International Monetary Fund for years over a recovery plan that would include billions in loans and require the country to combat corruption, restructure its banks, and bring improvements to a range of public services, including electricity and water. Without those and other reforms, Lebanon's wealthy neighbors will lack confidence to invest there, experts said. A tourism boom alone would serve as a 'morphine shot that would only temporarily ease the pain' rather than stop the deepening poverty in Lebanon, Zoughaib said. The tourism minister, Lahoud, agreed, saying a long-term process has only just begun. 'But we're talking about subjects we never talked about before,' she said. 'And I think the whole country has realized that war doesn't serve anyone, and that we really need our economy to be back and flourish again.'
Washington Post
9 hours ago
- Washington Post
Lebanon aims to lure back wealthy Gulf tourists to jumpstart its war-torn economy
BEIRUT — Fireworks lit up the night sky over Beirut's famous St. Georges Hotel as hit songs from the 1960s and 70s filled the air in a courtyard overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The retro-themed event was hosted last month by Lebanon's Tourism Ministry to promote the upcoming summer season and perhaps recapture some of the good vibes from an era viewed as a golden one for the country. In the years before a civil war began in 1975, Lebanon was the go-to destination for wealthy tourists from neighboring Gulf countries seeking beaches in summer, snow-capped mountains in winter and urban nightlife year-round.
