The Casita bedroom with a sea-view private terrace.
JACK HARDY
During my stay, the weather was rather less accommodating. Clouds gathered and the crystalline blue broke often for ominous gray. But it turned out to be an excellent opportunity to discover what makes Punta Negra compelling beyond the usual pursuits—or the want to do very little at all. Art once again plays a particularly significant role here. The property has partnered with Villa del Arte, an international contemporary gallery, to create an exhibition program that extends from a dedicated indoor space into the gardens and terraces. Sculptures, paintings, and installations—like captivating large-scale bronze sculptures by Coderch & Malavia, or Vanessa Barragão’s tufty, tactile tapestries that use ancestral techniques which I fell in love with, admiring one above the spa reception—sit alongside the hotel’s permanent, fresh-feeling collection. (Guests can enjoy private tours, like I did, and buy pieces, which I did not—but I did pick up a locally made plate and fan.)
Beyond the hotel grounds, I had the opportunity to explore more of the local scene that the hotel has already crafted some meaningful connections with. One morning, we traveled inland to Vidrios de Arte Gordiola, the historic glassworks whose centuries-old practice remains one of Mallorca’s most extraordinary artisanal traditions. They are the only ovens on the island working with local wood, and it remains UNESCO-protected. Watching the glassblowers at work is utterly hypnotic, as molten glass, pulled from the furnace in a glowing orange and almost liquid mass, is coaxed into shape through an astonishing combination of breath, speed, and practiced movement to form delicate, beautiful objects. Multi-generational families man the ovens using otherwise lost techniques, and their topaz and turquoise glasses are used at the hotel’s restaurants and bars. (Later, I’m pointed toward the work of Mar Bermejo Aldeguer, who grew up surrounded by her family’s historic glass factory and launched her own modernist glass objects brand La Bermeja in Madrid—including ultra chic glass blown bridal bouquets.)
