Gran Hotel Margalida, Annua Signature Hotels’ fifth Mediterranean destination, has opened in the cliffside village of Banyalbufar. Spanish architect Alvaro Onieva and interior designer Virginia Nieto have reimagined the historic building with a quiet contemporary sensibility that honors its original character while introducing a brighter, more fluid Mediterranean identity. Natural textures, local materials and thoughtful detailing define the interior world, while a soft, sun-washed yellow created specifically for the hotel brings warmth and cohesion to the spaces. With only 29 ocean-facing rooms, each shaped to capture the island’s shifting light and unhurried rhythm, the hotel offers an intimate retreat centered on atmosphere and connection. The fitness and wellness center boasts Technogym machines, Pilates reformers, baths and saunas while the pool is luxurious and showcases uninterrupted viesws. Banyalbufar itself is one of the Mediterranean’s most distinctive enclaves: terraced vineyards, cliffside paths and a golden evening light that seems to reorder the landscape daily. For many, it represents the purest expression of Mallorca; for others, it becomes an unforgettable first encounter with the island’s quieter west coast.
Gran Hotel Margalida
DuJour spoke with Annua Signature Hotels’ co-founder and CEO, Alvaro Sasiambarrena, to learn more about what makes it special.
What is the most requested room at the property?
The Margalida Suite
What makes it so special?
It occupies the original tower of the house, the oldest part of the building, with sweeping 360-degree views over the village of Banyalbufar, the terraced Serra de Tramuntana and the Mediterranean. Its elevation and position make it the most dramatic vantage point in the hotel. It’s where the hotel’s story began. From the tower you don’t just see the sea, you command the full landscape, from the UNESCO-listed Serra de Tramuntana down to the water. It feels like the heart of the house and it embodies the spirit of the hotel: cinematic, elemental and deeply connected to place.
What is the nightly rate for this room?
€1,850
A guest room
What’s an interesting tidbit about the hotel that speaks to its status as an icon?
Every single room faces the sea, ensuring the horizon is always present. The hotel also debuts Annua’s first fully integrated spa and wellness concept, alongside a panoramic fitness studio, reformer Pilates space and outdoor yoga platform overlooking the Mediterranean. Add ocean-facing dining led by Mallorcan chef Joan Escalas, and you have a place where nothing is generic: every object, from furniture to ceramics and lighting, has been designed exclusively for the hotel.
What is your personal favorite room and why?
The Margalida Suite. It’s impossible not to be drawn to the tower, the light and the sense of perspective it gives you over the landscape.
What special perk or amenity do you offer that no one knows about?
Private guided hikes directly from the hotel into the Serra de Tramuntana, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape. Guests can step out of the property and immediately enter one of Mallorca’s most extraordinary natural environments.
The pool
What’s your favorite design element on property?
The lamps—handwoven plant-fibre pendants made by artisans in Yucatán that are embedded throughout the rooms and public spaces. They give the light a softness and texture that ties into the hotel’s wider material palette of natural stone, artisanal finishes and handcrafted detail.
How about one more fun fact about the property?
The hotel is named after Margalida, the remarkable elderly woman who once owned the house. During the restoration, the team found the building’s original key—a small sign, we like to think, that the house approved. Spaces that once belonged to the old estate have been given new life, but its soul remains intact: Margalida marks the rebirth of a Banyalbufar landmark, a place whose quiet magic you feel the moment you arrive.
