What are the best hotel points redemptions in the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca)?

Two weeks ago I headed down to Spain as the guest of Marriott Bonvoy to take a look at some of their properties across the islands. It was a tough job but someone had to do it.

In this introductory article, I wanted to briefly look at the points options across ALL of the major hotels chains across Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca. It is a weirdly thin list, once you get beyond Marriott and Melia, but there are some gems.

With Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera officially on the Green List, I will also take a look at what the current entry requirements. If you are not fully vaccinated, the Balearics are one of the few places you can visit this Summer without having to quarantine on your return.

Mallorca is quickly shedding its reputation as a cheap and cheerful holiday destination from the 70s and 80s. In recent years a number of five star hotels have opened across the island, including St Regis (review to follow), Belmond, Jumeirah and a soon-to-open Four Seasons.

Ibiza, on the other hand, is not the party island you think it is. The White Isle also has a reputation its laid-back hippy lifestyle, especially in its northern parts. Outside of Ibiza Town the island offers beautiful sandy beaches, great food and, yes, some excellent nightlife! (Currently closed/restricted, of course ….)

If you are heading to Ibiza I can also highly recommend taking at least a day trip to Formentera, the smallest of the four main Balearic islands. It’s a short ferry from Ibiza Town and has some absolutely stunning white sand beaches with crystal clear water. You’ll think you’re in the Caribbean. The Platja de Llevant is particularly stunning:

What are the current entry requirements for UK citizens?

Whilst for a few Halcyon days anyone from the UK could travel to Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera test-free, the islands introduced a new set of regulations on 7th July.

Anyone travelling from the UK now has to have a certificate or document validating a full vaccination against Covid-19 with a period of at least 14 days since the final dose.

If you are not double vaccinated, you can still travel to the Balearics but must take a Covid-19 test up to 48 hours before your arrival. Whilst Europeans are allowed to use a lateral flow test, anyone arriving from the UK MUST take a PCR test.

All travellers must also complete a health check form for the Spanish authorities, which you can find here.

Where can you use your hotel points in the Balearics?

Later in this series we will be reviewing a number of Marriott hotels across the Balearics, including the St Regis in Mallorca and the W Ibiza.

Before that, we thought we would take a look at all the possibly hotels you can redeem points at across the major hotel groups.

Marriott Bonvoy

• St Regis Mardavall (Mallorca) reviewed here
• Sheraton Arabella Golf Hotel (Mallorca) reviewed here
• Castillo Hotel Son Vida, a Luxury Collection hotel (Mallorca) reviewed here
• AC Hotel Palma (Mallorca)
• W Ibiza reviewed here
• Hotel Riomar (Ibiza, opening this week!)

Hilton Honors

There are no Hilton hotels in the Balearics (!). Hilton Sa Torre is no longer part of the Hilton family – with terrible timing it defected to Thomas Cook just before it went bankrupt.

The Curio Collection hotel in Ibiza, Gran Hotel Montesol which Anika reviewed here, has also left the chain.

IHG Rewards

• Six Senses Ibiza (opening in August)

There is also a Kimpton hotel under development in Mallorca, due to open in 2022.

IHG also has access to a large number of Mr & Mrs Smith properties across all four Balearic islands.

MeliáRewards

Meliá is Spanish-based hotel group and is understandably the best represented in the Balearics.

Melia is currently running a 25% off sale if you take a look at its website here – bookings must be made by 31st July and are fully cancellable.

In Mallorca you have:

• Meliá Calvia Beach (Mallorca)
• Meliá Palma Marina (Mallorca)
• Hotel del Mar Gran Meliá (Mallorca)
• Sol Cala d’Or Apartamentos (Mallorca)
• Hotel Palma Bellver Affiliated by Meliá (Mallorca)
• Hotel Victoria Gran Meliá (Mallorca)
• Meliá Palma Bay
• INNSIDE Alcudia
• Sol Katmandu Park & Resort
• Meliá South Beach
• INNSIDE Palma Bosque
• Sol Barbados (Which is in Magaluf, bizarrely!)
• INNSIDE Palma Center
• Sol Palmanova All Inclusive
• INNSIDE Calviá Beach
• Sol Wave House All Suites
• Sol Lunamar Apartamentos
• INNSIDE Cala Blanca
• Playa Esperanza Resort Affiliated by Meliá
• Meliá Cala d’Or Boutique Hotel
• Sol House The Studio – Calvia Beach
• Sol Guadalupe

In Ibiza:

• INNSiDE IBIZA
• ME Ibiza (pictured above)
• Sol Beach House Ibiza

In Menorca:

• Sol Milanos Pingüinos
• Meliá Cala Galdana
• Sol Falcó All Inclusive
• Sol Beach House Menorca

World of Hyatt

7Pines is a very exciting addition to World of Hyatt this year, as this HfP article explains. It is exceptional value for points on peak dates.

It is a good replacement for Park Hyatt Mallorca which was deflagged last year.

There are also some Small Luxury Hotels of the World properties which are bookable via the Hyatt website, for cash or points.

Accor Live Limitless

There are no Accor hotels in the Balearics, oddly.

Next steps

Tomorrow we kick off our Balearics reviews with a look at the hugely impressive St Regis Mardavall in Mallorca.

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Hotel offers update – December 2021:

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Want to buy hotel points? There is currently a special offer running with IHG Rewards (80% bonus to 4th January 2022) and World of Hyatt (30% discount, equivalent to a 43% bonus, to 30th December 2021).