Picture-perfect Palma: historic palaces in Majorcan capital's glorious Old Town are being reborn as boutique flats and hotels

Palma de Majorca is booming and it’s easy to see why.

The beautiful waterfront city, capital of the Balearic Islands, has glamorous marinas, traditional boutiques, a magnificent Gothic cathedral and a truly wonderful food scene.

Along with weekend visitors on a city break, wealthy investors are moving in, persuaded by an easy Mediterranean lifestyle. Palma has Spain’s fourth-biggest airport, several international schools and a modern infrastructure that keeps improving.

The harbour promenade is being upgraded with an £18 million investment to make it more bike and pedestrian friendly, while £45 million is being spent in the marina’s Club de Mar.

Husband-and-wife architects Jaime Oliver and Paloma Hernaiz are happily raising their three children in the city.

“Palma has a great lifestyle, living and working by the sea,” say Jaime. “You don’t need a car, the city is safe and convenient and there’s plenty to do. Palma has one of the largest medieval Old Towns in Spain which even 10 years ago was mostly ignored.”

Today large parts of the Old Town have been beautifully restored with 17th- and 18th-century palaces turned into flats or boutique hotels.

Jaime and Paloma are co-directors of architectural firm OHLAB and their projects in the Old Town include Can Bordoy, the latest of about 20 independent boutique hotels there.

Their new project in the Old Town is Can Santacília, the refurbishment of a 17th-century noble building into 16 flats with one to three bedrooms, priced from £350,000 to £2.67 million.

The building has clear Arab and Renaissance influences in its architecture while its location is wonderfully central yet surprisingly quiet.

OHLAB’s aim was to combine history and heritage with contemporary and comfortable design.

Can Santacília will have underground parking and large common areas including an indoor pool and gym, all highly unusual in Palma.

Apartments have sold well to German and British buyers, says Terence Paton of selling agents Engel & Völkers. The project is due for completion in 2021.

“Developers are paying great attention to historic detail, something buyers are generally very sensitive to,” comments Paton. “They want a comfortable and efficient home but also want to feel the history of the building and often ask to meet the designers and architects behind these beautiful restorations.”

Living among the stone houses and narrow lanes of the Old Town means homes can be dark with no views, so head high for the best light.

Five minutes’ walk from the cathedral on one of the best streets of the Calatrava district of the Old Town, a one-bedroom penthouse with terrace and views on the third floor, but no lift, is £387,000.

The renovated and bright penthouse has been well refurbished with wooden ceiling beams and has air-conditioning.

A little further from the cathedral but still in the Old Town, a four-bedroom flat with balcony and a communal rooftop terrace is £662,000 for a generous 1,485sq ft.

Refurbished throughout four years ago, the attractive home retains original wooden ceiling beams, parquet floors and some original tiles and wooden doors, yet has a modern kitchen and utilities — the very best of old and new Palma in the city centre.

A jewel in the Old Town, Can Bordoy, a grand 15th-century family house lovingly restored into a 24-suite five-star hotel, has caused quite a stir since opening last December.

It has one of Palma’s largest private gardens, a relaxed, friendly atmosphere and expansive velvet-draped rooms, all different, some with elaborate chandeliers, fireplaces, terraces or frescoes.

There’s also a basement spa, a rooftop terrace and a heated outdoor pool.

Palma-based architects OHLAB worked for three years with the Swedish owner to do a “respectful renovation, to celebrate the wrinkles and the history and to keep the patina and romanticism of the original house”, says the practice’s Jaime Oliver.

The result is a cinematic ambience with a superb mix of old and new. The cocktail bars in the rooms are among many covetable furnishings throughout the hotel.

After 15 years lying abandoned, Can Bordoy has begun the next stage of its 500-year life.

Double rooms at Can Bordoy start from £495 a night.