Pula Golf Resort, Son Servera

Pula Golf Resort sits right on the golf course in Son Servera on eastern Mallorca, ten minutes from the beach at Cala Millor and an hour from Palma airport. The resort is built around Ses Cases de Pula, an old Mallorcan finca where stone and wood have kept their patina, and the course spreads out in gentle waves towards the sea with the mountains around Artà in the distance. The first tee is so close you walk there with your bag – and early in the morning, when the greens are still wet with dew, you'll have it almost to yourself.

The apartments are in their own building next to the hotel with a separate entrance. Superior Apartment is approximately 40 square metres and Deluxe Apartment approximately 50, both with their own kitchen with fridge and coffee maker, dining area, living room, bedroom, bathroom and terrace overlooking the course or garden. The décor is light and modern in natural materials, with air-conditioning, free Wi-Fi and television – designed for living in during a longer stay, not just sleeping. You can make breakfast whilst the first fourballs pass outside, and in the evening you sit on the terrace with a glass of Mallorcan wine as the sun sets behind the mountains.

The facilities are the hotel's, a hundred steps from the door. The restaurant S'Era de Pula has served Mediterranean cuisine since 1969 and grows vegetables and herbs in its own kitchen garden of 6,000 square metres; there's also a bar and café, breakfast buffet and room service. The spa has a heated indoor pool, bubble pool, sauna, steam room, experience showers and massage, and the gym has machines and free weights for those who want to keep in shape. Outside there's a pool and sun terrace for the days when golf takes a break, and for playing there's a pro shop, driving range with Trackman and a golf academy with PGA coaches. Free parking, electric car charging, bicycle rental and pet-friendly.

Cala Millor, ten minutes away, is the real beach resort of the east coast: an almost two-kilometre-long sandy beach and a beach promenade that runs all the way to the fishing harbour at Cala Bona. Life moves at a different pace than on the Palma side – a coffee on the promenade in the morning, a long lunch with fresh fish in the harbour, a stroll at sunset. In the restaurants you'll taste authentic Mallorcan cuisine: tumbet, sobrassada, frit mallorquí, grilled fish and ensaimada with your coffee. The markets set the week's rhythm – Artà on Tuesdays with crafts and cheese, Sineu on Wednesdays with the island's largest farmers' market and Cala Millor on Sundays along the promenade.

Excursions are close by: the castle at Capdepera and medieval Artà in a morning, the Dragon Caves at Porto Cristo in an afternoon, the lighthouse at Cap de Formentor for a full day. The old railway Manacor–Artà is now a 29-kilometre cycling route past the resort. Palma with its cathedral, market hall and tapas bars in the old town is an hour away, and the train to Sóller through the orange groves is a classic in winter when the almond trees bloom. We recommend a rental car for the courses and beaches around about. Pula Golf Resort is our first accommodation on Mallorca, and we're expanding with apartments in Cala Millor going forward. A golf host is on site during the season and gathers the group for shared tee times, competitions and dinners.

Pula Golf is an undulating parkland course with wide fairways, water in play and sea views from the higher holes. Son Servera Golf is the island's second oldest course (1967), eighteen holes amongst hundred-year-old pines near the beach. Capdepera Golf offers elevation changes and mountain views, Canyamel Golf sits in a verdant valley above the beach, and Vall d'Or Golf winds between pines and the Mediterranean. Four of the courses lie within twenty minutes, Vall d'Or around 40 minutes.