LA RESIDENCIA Perhaps the island’s best, this Orient-Express property is gloriously nestled in 30 acres of olive and citrus groves within the town of Deia. Home to artists and poets (Robert Graves lived here for the last 50 years of his life), Deia is so perpendicular as it clings to the mountainside, with so little flat land, that villagers are buried standing up. Designed to complement the surrounding village, La Residencia’s 76 rooms are clustered within four stone buildings; two are ivy-clad manor houses, dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries, set around a large inviting pool. Persian carpets add warmth to red stone floors, original oil paintings adorn the walls, fresh-cut flowers are delivered to your room after check-in, and turndown chocolates come in mesh jewellery bags. But for all its splendor, La Residencia isn’t stuffy – a yellow rubber duck greets you in the bathtub. Don’t miss dining in its brilliant, Michelin-recommended El Olivo restaurant (try the lamb with aubergine caviar in rosemary sauce). Cool activities nearby: walking with donkeys to a mountain picnic and swimming at the hidden pebble cove of Calle Deia. CRUISE HOLIDAYS 19