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The Serra de Tramuntana, which runs the full length of the island's northwest coast, was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in 2011 — one of only a handful of cultural landscapes in Spain to receive the designation. The mountains are threaded with ancient paths, dry-stone terraces built by Arab settlers over a thousand years ago, and isolated hilltop villages like Deià, Valldemossa and Fornalutx that have changed little in character over centuries. The coast below is some of the most dramatic in Europe, with sheer cliffs dropping into water of an extraordinary, almost impossible blue.

The south and east of the island offer a different kind of beauty. The beaches at Es Trenc, Cala Mondragó and the bay of Alcúdia are among the finest in the Mediterranean — long, white-sand stretches with shallow, warm water that is safe for children and spectacular for snorkelling. Between the coasts, the interior is a quiet landscape of almond groves, windmills and market towns, best explored by car on a slow Tuesday morning with no particular plan.

Palma, the island's capital, punches well above its weight as a European city. The old town — with its maze of honey-stone streets, independent restaurants and boutique hotels in converted palaces — could occupy several days on its own. The Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró, the contemporary art galleries on the waterfront, and the covered market of Santa Catalina are all worth unhurried visits. The city's food scene, anchored by a deep local tradition of market cooking, has become one of Spain's most interesting in recent years.

What makes Mallorca genuinely special for villa holidays is the density of the experience on offer. Within an hour's drive of virtually any point on the island, you can be swimming in a remote sea cave, eating at a Michelin-starred restaurant, hiking in mountain pine forest, or exploring a Bronze Age megalithic site. The island rewards return visits — guests who come back year after year consistently say they feel they have only begun to scratch the surface.