The Donna Portals – Review

The Donna Portals is a contemporary boutique design hotel on a sandy cove in southwest Mallorca. Marcel Wanders, the Dutch designer behind Moooi and the Mondrian hotels, has created unapologetically bold interiors which are enhanced with urban art. Cabinets are filled with Bearbrick collectibles and rooms feature signature design like an illuminated iris the size of a dining table. There’s a bistro restaurant with bay-view terrace, a destination spa and an elevated pool with beach club vibes.

The Arrival

You are greeted at the car, not at a desk. Someone takes your bags, as you are led inside, and within a minute you are sitting on the terrace with a drink of your choice, looking out over the Caleta de Portals Nous, a small crescent of golden sand framed by wind-twisted pines. That is my kind of check-in.

The welcome amenities in the room reinforced the first impression, with fresh flowers, a bottle of 12 Volts, the characterful Mallorcan red by 4 Kilos Vinicola from Felanitx, a handcrafted cake from the pastry chef, and a branded baseball cap as a souvenir from the hotel boutique. Lifestyle magazines sat on the desk, looking out to the Mediterranean, together with coffee table books on the designer, Marcel Wanders.

The Suite

Marcel Wanders is the Dutch designer behind Moooi, the Mondrian hotels, and the Andaz Amsterdam, among many others. His style is maximalist, theatrical and playful, combining classical references with bold contemporary gestures. At The Donna Portals, the aesthetic is striking and highly distinctive.

My corner suite was flooded with light, the walls and linens entirely white, clean and uncluttered. At the entrance was an illuminated iris, easily over a metre in diameter, glowed like a giant human eye. Acting as a partition, dividing the all-white bathroom wit the suite, it was a bold focal point.

The glass balcony had a panoramic corner position with views across the cove, and the surrounding residential villas. Late at night, with the sound of Mediterranean waves rolling in and a completely star-filled sky overhead, it was cinematic.

The Art

The owners of The Donna Portals are serious collectors, and the hotel functions as a proper gallery in collaboration with 2B Art Gallery. Works by artists including Ben Eine, Nick Walker, Kaws and Javier Garló appear throughout the public spaces, from installations in the lobby to prints and photography in the corridors. There is also a significant collection of Japanese Bearbrick figures, the highly collectable art toys by Medicom, displayed in cabinets around the hotel, with smaller editions available for sale in the hotel boutique.

The hotel offers a weekly guided art tour with an in-house curator, and for those who prefer to enjoy at their own pace, there are QR codes beside each piece linking to the full catalogue.

The Restaurant

The Donna Bistro occupies the lower level of the hotel under high arched ceilings, opening onto a large terrace with views over the cove. The menu is Mediterranean with Mallorcan touches. We started with the vitello tonnato, which was excellent, before the prawn ravioli in lemon sauce with spinach and grilled prawns, also very good. Mains run from a Mallorcan beef smash burger with Manchego and a Madras curry BBQ sauce to black hake and free-range chicken with red corn polenta.

There are thoughtful complimentary touches throughout the day. Each afternoon, tea and cake are served in the lobby using T’Estim infusions, organic teas blended in Mallorca by Estel de Llevant, a social enterprise that provides employment and training for people living with mental health challenges on the island. From 5.30 pm, a cocktail happy hour, with every guest enjoying a complimentary drink on the day of check in. And at turndown, handmade artisan chocolate appears, with mine being a creamy milk chocolate with toasted Mallorcan almonds.

The Spa

The Donna Portal’s spa is larger than you might expect for a boutique hotel. Treatment rooms are pared back and minimal in white. There is also a wet area with a hydrotherapy circuit, sauna and steam room. Outside, a Mediterranean garden with an olive tree provides a place to sit and relax after treatments, or there is a dedicated quiet area with loungers. I had a massage and light facial using Nyneskins, a German bioengineered skincare brand that produces professional-grade, science-backed formulations free from harmful chemicals and focused on hydration and rejuvenation. Afterwards, I was offered a Proceanis marine collagen shot, another German brand that uses sustainably sourced cod collagen from Norwegian waters. A 24-hour Technogym fitness centre is also available for guests wishing to maintain their exercise routine.

The Location

The Donna Portals sits on the Caleta de Portals Nous, a small, charming cove surrounded by pines. A coastal path winds through sea-breeze-twisted trees, Mediterranean scrub and cactus, with the chance of spotting a Eurasian hoopoe among the branches, and brings you within ten minutes to the main beach of Playa de Portals Nous and the marina of Puerto Portals beyond. The port is where Mallorca’s smart set moors up, and the restaurants and bars reflect that: polished but relaxed, with superyachts as a backdrop. Beyond the port, Palma is fifteen minutes by car for culture, galleries and the old town, and the beaches of the southwest coast are equally close.

Final Thoughts

The Donna Portals is a hotel with a strong, visually led personality and a very attentive and friendly team.