Puro Hotel

An unashamedly cool and contemporary concept hotel in Palma’s historic Lonja district

Puro is pure 21st-century chic in an 18th-century shell: designer décor, urban art, candle-lit courtyards and a buzzing bar where DJs play to the young and beautiful. Tourists who escape off crowded Apuntadors into little Calle Montenegro stop and stare into the lobby: all sleek whites and earthy tones, backed by a vast wood-carving of intricate circularity. This is the mandala flower, hand-carved in Burma as a symbol of life and repeated on walls and sliding doors throughout this former palace building.

You’re drawn inside through the bar, where mojitos are served beneath huge light-boxes and striking paintings, up a flight of stairs bordered by cannonballs and spaceship LEDs to a courtyard, where square candles glow on square tables under a spot-lit palm. The sophisticated style is set, and the 40 bedrooms (many added after a 2010 expansion) do not disappoint. But be warned: it’s about fashion, not function. If you want to look cool, feel cool and meet cool, then book here. If you want old-fashioned comforts at old-fashioned prices, then look elsewhere.

Highs

• This place comes into its own at night, with futuristic lighting, funky vibes and great cocktails
• There’s a large roof terrace and chic beach club (the latter a short drive away on the edge of the city) for chilling out
• The great in-room entertainments include huge plasma TVs, a digital library of films and music, iPod docks and Bose sound systems
• It’s in a fantastic location in the heart of old Palma (though not good for parking!)
• The in-house Mediterranean-Asian restaurant, Opio, gets rave reviews
• This is the ideal place to stand out from the crowd, to impress your partner or to indulge yourself on the coolest of city breaks

Lows

• The hotel is growing (a further wing is likely to open in March 2011) and we have not yet seen the new rooms
• It’s not for technophobes: it took us two days to work out how to cancel the morning alarm (through the plasma TV, of course)
• The design-led décor means limited wardrobe space, uncomfy bathtubs and no blankets in winter
• There’s some evening noise from the bar and the streets - but if you’re a Puro type, chances are you’ll be part of it
• It’s quite expensive for what it offers, but you're paying to see and be seen