Spain

Why we chose it

A nineteenth-century fortress on the bay of Palma, cut into rock and converted so carefully the intervention barely registers. Not a house for people who need a beach — one for people who want silence.

Best for

Couples who want to be twenty minutes from Palma and still entirely alone.

Our favourite room

A Sentinel Suite with its own pool inside the old defensive wall.

When to go

May, June, September and October.

Why we chose it

A 1672 country estate in the Tramuntana, run after long restoration as a house rather than a resort. Art on the walls, terraces under old trees, almost no noise.

Best for

Travellers who want the island inland, with occasional runs to the sea.

Our favourite room

A room in the main house over the valley; the garden suites are more contemporary.

When to go

April to June and September to October.

Why we chose it

A seventeenth-century town house in the quiet south-east, with sandstone, cool courtyards and a walled garden. More restrained than almost anything on the island.

Best for

Couples who want to stay on foot in a real town rather than inside a resort.

Our favourite room

A suite with a terrace onto the garden; the street-side rooms are smaller.

When to go

May, June and September. Santanyí holds its market on Saturdays.

Why we chose it

Two sixteenth-century manor houses above the artists' village of Deià, among olive groves and citrus. The combination of art collection, Tramuntana light and long house history exists nowhere else on Mallorca.

Best for

Families and couples who want to move between walking, painting and doing nothing.

Our favourite room

A room with a valley-facing terrace, above the pools.

When to go

April to June and September to October; Deià is quiet in winter but much is shut.

Why we chose it

An Andalusian estate between Marbella and Sotogrande with unusually generous rooms, mature trees and one of Europe's more demanding golf courses. Quiet, despite the Costa del Sol address.

Best for

Families and golfing travellers who need space and still want privacy.

Our favourite room

A suite in the garden wing with its own courtyard — even the entry category runs to fifty square metres.

When to go

April to June and September to November.