This is karma for the Yorkie – a new hotel has opened in Mallorca… and it’s not for men.
Som Dona Hotel, near Porto Cristo, is the first hotel of its kind in Spain, offering a getaway holiday location for women aged 14 years and above.
According to the hotel’s website, it’s a ‘new space for women who are looking to disconnect from the stress of daily life that offers personalised care tailored to their needs’.
It’s a luxurious place to stay, equipped with 39 rooms, a wellness area, a pool, free WiFi, a bar lounge and a ‘unique atmosphere designed for women’.
The rooms themselves are stunning; large, well-lit spaces with great ocean views that are ‘carefully designed for women’, with high-quality hair dryers and straighteners as well as anti-fog mirrors.
Women who decide to stay at the Som Dona can also enjoy massages, body beauty treatments, a whirlpool, solarium and library.
One of the hotel’s major focuses is its local and flexitarian gastronomy, offering up ‘a sensory experience of local and international cuisine created with seasonal products’.
They call it the ‘perfect balance between healthy and delicious food’ – so don’t be expecting chicken nuggets, burgers and chips by the pool à la typical all-inclusive resorts.
If you’re not one to hang around the pool all day, fear not – part of the Som Dona’s philosophy is to offer a comprehensive experience, allowing its guests to fit in excursions around the island.
Let’s say you’re out with your pals at night. You meet a guy, you get on quite well, and you think about asking him back to your room – well, think again. Their no men rule applies to visitors as well.
The only exception is the employees – in line with Spanish gender discrimination laws, men are still hired by the hotel. However, Som Dona hires women wherever possible.
According to Som Hotels president, Joan Enric Capellá, surveys showed that women were keen on the idea of an exclusive hotel, just for them.
As reported by Lonely Planet, Capellá said:
One of our objectives is also to give a certain visibility to women doing traditionally masculine jobs.
The hotel is open to all women: it doesn’t matter if you’re a solo traveller, a couple, a family or a larger group of friends.
The innovative escape comes as female travel is flourishing. A British Airways study in 2018 of almost 9,000 18- to 64-year-olds across Europe found that more than 50 per cent of women have taken a holiday by themselves.
According to the study, 75 per cent of women are also planning a solo trip over the next few years.
If you fancy a stay at the Som Dona, rooms start at €72.50 (£64) per night.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.