Here are the available villas for rental in Balearic Islands.

Holiday fun for the family

From the Daily Mail

The fact that Spain remains by far the most popular destination for British holidaymakers is not surprising: it has the coast, character and climate, it's excellent value, and is only a couple of hours away by plane. In fact, the main problem with Spain is that it is such a familiar destination that it's sometimes too easy to fall back on the obvious choices - the Majorcan resorts, Benidorm or the Costa del Sol.
But there are plenty of alternatives which have just as much going for them in terms of sun, sand and value for money, but which don't dominate the pages of the tour operators' brochures. Here's my selection:
Hot tips
The up-and-coming Costa to watch out for is the Costa de la Luz - the stretch of coast to the west of Gibraltar, facing out towards the Atlantic. It has some of the best, sandiest and least developed of all the country's beaches, and is popular with the Spanish themselves, though more British and German tourists are discovering its scattering of relaxed resorts.
Among the best are Conil de la Frontera, Los Canos de Meca and Zahara de los Atunes. Be aware, though, that because most of the beaches face into the prevailing wind, it can be blustery, and you need to be careful of the surf which rolls in from the ocean.
The other summer destination growing rapidly in popularity is the Canary Islands. For years, they have been thought of as ideal islands for winter sun or an early/late season break. But they are just as good in summer - hotter, of course, but the temperatures are kept in check by cool Atlantic breezes.
Tenerife and Gran Canaria are now too developed for many people's tastes. Lanzarote is a perennial and reliable recommendation because of its good beaches and low-rise resorts, but even here development work continues apace. So if you want to escape a little, try an alternative island - especially Fuerteventura, and the smaller island of La Gomera. ... more

Party town

Back to earth now....what a place to go if partying till dawn is your thing....people all very friendly although I suggest that families stay away from San Antonio due to 24 hour music culture.......lack of zzzzz.

Luxury on the Costner del Sol

From the Daily Mail

Get this. My sister Steph and I were lounging by the hotel pool and I was just remarking that the guy strolling on the rose terrace looked like Kevin Costner and - oh, my God! - it was Kevin Costner - We whipped off our nose shields, switched on our brightest smiles and for the next three hours held our stomachs in and our chests out in the hope he'd glance our way. He didn't.
Our hotel, the fabulous Son Net, was full of surprises. For a start, it's only half an hour by taxi from Palma airport, lying up in the terraced lower slopes of the Galatzo Mountains, overlooking the village of Puigpunyent.
It is so grand, elegant and tasteful we could hardly believe it actually was in Majorca, an island we'd always associated with boozed-up Brits who wear Union Flag swimwear and sing The Birdie Song. In fact, my impression, as I travelled about the island, is that Majorca, in general, has 'poshed' itself up most impressively, probably in a deliberate effort to deter holiday hooligans.
Son Net, for example, is all rustic beams, stone-flagged floors, vaulted ceilings and restored interiors of stunning opulence. The walls are hung with Hockney, Chagall and Warhol originals. There are pure linen sheets on the antique beds. The marble bathrooms are so sumptuous that I could happily have stayed in mine all day, pampering myself with fluffy white towels and exotic bubble baths.
Then there's the pool - 100ft long, very deep and overlooking the olive and orange terraces of Puigpunyent. Swifts and swallows swoop squeaking over the glittering surface. As we lazed on our deluxe sunbeds we witnessed the latest in poolside cool. A German couple were sunbathing at opposite ends. Her mobile phone rang - and it was him, phoning to ask her to bring him the Factor 30 because he was too hot to move. (Another revelation ... these days, Germans use mobiles, not towels, to bag their sunbeds.)
It's the cool thing at Son Net to wander about wearing your white towelling hotel bathrobe, which made us feel as if we were in some sort of exclusive sanatorium. And at any moment, a nurse might pounce. ... more

Majorca turns the other cheek to reveal its charm

From the Daily Mail

Say you're off to Majorca and most people imagine packed beaches, roasting bodies and late-night congas round the streets of some of the liveliest resorts in the Mediterranean. But you don't have to travel far inland to find a different side to Europe's most popular holiday destination. A few miles from some of the biggest resorts is a tranquil landscape of twisted olive groves, centuries-old pine forest and dramatic mountains.
There is great variety, too: Majorca is a large island and those heading for the peace and quiet of the interior have many options. Where to base yourself, and what sort of accommodation to book depends on what you want from a holiday.
But there's little to challenge the region around Pollensa town in the north of the island. It's best to avoid the area between the town and coast, which becomes flatter and more developed the nearer you get to the resort. Instead, head to the south-west of the town, where old stone farmhouses have been carefully restored and converted into comfortable self-catering villas, often with swimming pools.
Prickly pears, orange and almond trees grow in the gardens. The Sierra de Tramuntana foothills which run along the north-west coast of Majorca, rising to more than 4,000ft in places, make a stunning backdrop.
From this area, the coast is still easily accessible for beach trips. A few miles away lie the small sandy coves at Puerto de Pollensa, Cala San Vicente and the vast sweep of sand at Alcudia Bay. It's also an easy day trip to explore the dramatic headlands or travel north to the Formentor Peninsula.
Another advantage of staying here is that you are within a short distance of Pollensa town with its delicious bakeries, bustling market and cobbled streets. It's a great place to visit at night when the main square comes alive with outdoor bars and cafes full of families enjoying the cool, evening air. ... more

The other Majorca

At breakfast on my first day in Majorca, my cafe solo was interrupted by the drizzle of discontented murmurs from the next table.
'Oh, we visited our favourite little fishing village. Hadn't been there for ten years. Well, you know what I'm going to say.'
'Tower blocks. Dozens of them. The harbour was ruined.'
'Shame.'
'Oh, it is a such a shame.'
Then the woman returned to sipping her fruit juice and gazing down beyond the perfect blue rectangle of a 100ft infinity pool into the lush green valley behind the village of Puigpunyent and the towering Galatzo Mountain.
From where I stood - the terrace of the Gran Hotel Son Net, one of the finest on the island - Majorca still seemed pretty damn unspoiled.
The ruination of any place, I suppose, is highly relative - to your income, expectations and previous experience.
Before arriving, I hadn't been aware that there was much to ruin in the first place. My impression was that it had long been an Anglicised/Germanised hellhole of chip shops, beer bellies and tawdry nightclubs.
I was here to see if all that could be avoided - to seek out the sanctuaries, art galleries, scenery and culture of the island. I was there for Miro rather than Magalluf, the Palau d'Almudenia rather than Palma Nova.
My task was rendered considerably easier by the fact that for the first three days on the island it poured with rain.
It eased off in the early evening of the first day, but not enough to allow more than a cursory wander round the shops in Palma.
At one point, the rain - as luck would have it - drove me into El Bazaar del Libro on the Carrer del Sant Crist, an almost-creepy old second-hand bookshop behind Majorca Cathedral (I'd left my novel on the plane). ... more