art walk in Deià, Mallorca

painting of Deià by Leila Ward

I have two top tips for visiting Deià, a cute stone village on the northern coast of Mallorca.

1. Stay at Belmond La Residentia, truly one of the best resorts I've ever visited. Typical of all Belmond properties, it is an historic property with local flavor and understated luxury. The simple but elegant rooms have simple white plaster walls, splashes of color being provided by original works of local artists. My suite (number 42) is just wonderful, filled with the light of the afternoon sun streaming through its abundant windows — and there's a painting by Leila Ward right over my desk (the same artist who created the picture of Deià at the top of this article).

2. Enjoy the Artist's Walk, a complimentary activity offered to guests every Tuesday morning at 10:30 a.m. This means you should plan to spend Monday evening at La Residentia to take advantage of this opportunity. Otherwise, make plans with the hotel in advance to book a private tour for you. You'd never be able to duplicate this walk on your own. Just finding the studios on your own would be a challenge, and the artists may not be in studio — or prepared to welcome you — unless the visits are scheduled in advance.

Van Gogh and his Apple computer by Arturo Rhodes

I enjoyed meeting some of the most creative souls I've ever encountered, including David Templeton, Leila Ward, and Arturo Rhodes whose picture of Van Gogh (shown above) demonstrates his delightful eccentricity. Van Gogh is working on an MacBook computer, his ear taking the place of the Apple logo and a live "mouse" to move the cursor.

This short summary can only hint at what awaits you. The Artist's Walk more than exceeded my expectations as we strolled the winding streets of Deià and engaged with some of the village's resident artists.

copyright  (c)  2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC.  All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

looking forward to Barcelona and Mallorca

map of southeastern Spain with the location of Mallorca circled

A very popular European holiday destination, a group of Brownell travel advisors is heading to Mallorca in just a week. Our purpose is to learn about Mallorca (sometimes spelled Majorca), its resorts, and what there is to do and see. Oh — and also to have a good time, but that goes without saying! I'm blessed with some of the best colleagues in the travel industry.

My trip begins with a return to Barcelona. I previously visited in 2009 and posted a couple of blog articles. One article, does architecture shape culture?, contrasted the authoritarian church architecture found in most of Spain with the freewheeling, art deco architecture of Gaudi's Sagrada Família. The other article discussed two local restaurants in Barcelona. Mas Bacus is an enoteca (wine store), located at Carrer d'Enric Granados 68, a 15 minute walk from the Mandarin Oriental. Open from 12 noon until 10 p.m., it's closed Sunday and Monday nights, so I'll probably have Saturday dinner here. I learned from the MO concierge that Can Ravell is permanently closed; he has recommended 2254, located at 335 Carrer Consell De Cent.

While in Barcelona, I'll be spending two nights at the Mandarin Oriental, doing a site inspection of the Majestic Hotel, and making a hard hat tour of a new hotel still under construction, the Almanac Barcelona. I also plan to join the El Borne & Gothic Street Art Tour.

Then, six nights on Mallorca, split between the St. Regis Mardavall and Belmond La Residencia. Our itinerary includes excursions to:

Palma — Castle Bellver, Plaza Mayor, old Jewish Quarter, and the town's gothic cathedral
Finca Son Bordils — a winery visit including wine tastings and lunch
La Residencia — a walk on the resort's donkey trail with a picnic lunch in the olive groves
Deià — artists walk

We'll also be doing site inspections of the Park Hyatt, Castillo Son Vida, Hotel Castell Son Claret, and Hotel Gran Melia del Mar. Here is a google map of Ourisman Travel's preferred hotels in Mallorca. When you work through us, you'll receive the best amenity packages available through Virtuoso, Belmond Bellini Club, Starwood Luxury Privileges, and Travel Leaders Select.

copyright (c) 2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.