Alex & Susan Terry: Managers of Son Arnau Boutique Hotel

There comes a point where you might actually think 'what the heck' let's change this, let's do something about it! One couple who did just that are Alex & Susan, former London-ites who are now based in Selva running the very beautiful Son Arnau Boutique Hotel..

Tell us a little bit about your business, how it started out and where you're based…

We have recently opened a boutique 6 bedroom hotel in Selva, at the foothills of the Tramuntana mountains, perfect for cycling, walking or just relaxing by our infinity pool. Our idea (more of a dream really) started in the early part of 2012 when we were both working in the City of London. I was an Investment Banker and Susan was a Corporate Sales Manager in a 5 star hotel in Westminster. All sounds great right? Well, in reality we were spending our days commuting to London, spending long hours in the office and client entertaining in the evening. So we hardly saw each other. Although we were earning really good money, we both realised that there had to be more to life than 60 hour weeks in suits, boardrooms and trains! So a seed of an idea developed….. lets start a business together…. but what??? We really loved the idea of working together and starting something that we were very passionate about, so began the idea of a little hotel. Our original idea was to do it in Cornwall, but the summer of 2012 in the UK was a shocker (the wettest on record) and so we quickly realised that we had to move our dream about 1000 miles south! So, the Med became our new preferred choice. We already had family in Mallorca and when we discovered "agroturismo's' it seemed like a perfect place to start looking. Petit Hotel Son Arnau was the 3rd place we found that was suitable and after the first two fell through we were starting to lose hope. However, never ones to give up we decided to check out the property. AS SOON as we saw the view from the infinity pool, we fell in love. With views all the way to the coast we knew we had found the place. Now there was the little matter of negotiating the contract. Nervous times for sure, but the owner was (and is) such a great guy that he made it an easy process. We signed in April 2013 and so began the countdown to opening on the 3rd Feb 2014. There was so much to do but little by little (poc a poc!) we overcame many hurdles…. and here we are today. Bookings are going well and we are up and running!

What were the easiest / hardest things to deal with when setting up the business?

The easiest thing to deal with when setting up our business was choosing the location where we wanted the business, Selva, Mallorca. The hardest thing to deal with when setting up the business was gaining interest and generating business (bookings) in the initial stages.

How easy was it to find your chef? He sounds pretty good…

Luckily the chef was a relatively easy part. Susan has a very good friend who's partner is the chef. He is originally from Spain but having worked 10 years in London restaurants was looking to start something for himself. Timing was perfect and it is great that he is Spanish, so he could really add some authentic concepts and local ideas to the menu. Jere is our consulting chef and has designed the concept of our menu's and comes over every season to teach us new dishes and techniques, it is a fantastic experience as we have learned quite a few new skills including curing, smoking, pickling and many more.

Do you have a say in creating the menus or is that all his doing?

He came up with the initial menu's but now it is more of a collaboration. As we get more confident and try more and more local Mallorquin dishes, we try to get them on to the menu. We change the menu every day and it is really fun in the morning finalising what is going to be on the menu that evening. Sometimes it is a little challenge to get all of the ingredients but its fun adapting them and trying new versions of what we know. The markets of Mallorca really offer seasonal ingredients and sometimes which means that when on the market in the morning we can't get 1 key ingredient we have to find a substitute or replace the dish altogether. At the time really frustrating and sometimes stressful but it brings an element of creative thinking.

What's your favourite thing on the menu?

I have to say that my favourite thing on the menu at the moment is 'poached pear, walnut and blue cheese salad'. Its a starter but the pears are so good at the moment that it is a real favourite. Susan's current favourite is a local white fish in an Asian inspired almond butter sauce (nice and spicy) this goes in a tin foil wrapping in the oven, comes out as a steaming pack of delicious succulent fish …… and I would say that the most popular dish that we have put on the menu so far is 'Eton Mess'…. every time we put it on the menu almost everyone orders it, again it is probably due to the fantastic flavour of the fruit (strawberries in this case) here!

The rooms & furnishings in the hotel are lovely, was it hard to find the right mix of modern to fit with the traditional exterior?

We are so proud to be working in this property. The owner of the place renovated it about 6 years ago and actually the property is 2 houses made into one. He has renovated it brilliantly because in the main part of the property he has made the fixtures & fittings very modern and luxurious but at the same time he has kept all of the original features in the 'older' part of the property. The older part of the hotel used to be a house on its own and is one of the oldest houses in Selva, dating back to 1737 and it still has most of its original features. So the mix of modern and traditional is really down to the owners who did a brilliant job in converting two houses into one property. When we took over we of course did all the decorating and furnishing, although we were left with some fantastic art pieces, the big painting above the reception desk is really a favourite of ours. We spent about 6 weeks redecorating and furnishing the hotel when we arrived, we had great help of our family, we really would not have been able to do all we did without them. Some of our biggest projects have been building the outside bar, a books and DVD's library, painting, painting and painting :) It has been great fun, but also really hard work and long days, our hands are still suffering, Susan is wondering if her nails will ever grow back.

What's the thing you like most about the hotel? And would that be the same thing you think guests enjoy most about it too?

For me (Alex), the thing I like best about the hotel is the view from the infinity swimming pool. Every time I am there cleaning the pool it is a joy…. how many people can say that about cleaning a pool! For Susan, the favourite part is the breakfast terrace, the beautiful palm tree gives you an instant holiday feeling and the views are just stunning, as we are located just on the edges of the village we have a great view towards the church on the top of Selva and next to it the dramatic look of the Tramuntana mountains, they seem to appear different every day, I never get bored gazing at them. So far, I think the best bits of the hotel for the guests are the spacious rooms and modern facilities but also the surprise quality of the food always seems to be mentioned which is very nice. As soon as the weather allows the guests to enjoy the terraces more I am sure many people will join both our favourites as well.

What are the best bits about your job?

The best bit of the job for me (Alex) is doing something that I am passionate about. I don't mind working 15 hour days when it is something I truly believe in. I also love interacting with guests. Susan's favourite part of the job is seeing the guests enjoy themselves, what better place to interact with other people when they are on holiday, enjoying their surroundings. We often have a good laugh with our guests and due to the size of our hotel we actually have the opportunity to spend time with each guest.

And the worst bits?

The worst bits can be trying to find the exact ingredients we need for dinner. For example, it took us 2 weeks to find red chillis. No one seemed to sell them, must not be in season. Also a challenge was getting our telephone line set up, for some reason this took more than 5 weeks and it is hard to find out exactly what is delaying it when Spanish or even Mallorquin is not your first language.

What is in store for the future with your business, any exciting projects in the pipelines that you can share with us?

The exciting thing for us with regards to the future of the business is establishing ourselves as one of the best Petit Hotels on the island. Obviously this requires A LOT of work, so that will keep us going for a few years! We are continuing to improve our 'product', there are plans for year 2 to place Nespresso coffee machines in all the rooms, replace our sun loungers with luxurious Balinese beds and many more exciting additions that we will keep secret for the time being.

What are you personal and professional goals for the future?

Personal goals for me (Alex) include learning the Spanish & Mallorquin language. Professionally I would like to feel part of the local community and to contribute something back to Selva. Everyone has been so nice to us, it would be nice to be able to repay that. For Susan this would be becoming fluent in the language and professionally creating and developing unique experiences for the guests, whether this would be organising yoga retreats, culinary breaks including cooking courses with established chefs, golf holidays, Mallorquin wine experiences and the rest.

What makes Mallorca a special place to be for someone in your profession, or just in general?

Having just moved into the tourism industry I am not really qualified to comment on why it's so special professionally, but from a personal point of view I think Mallorca has almost everything for an outdoors lifestyle. It also has a wonderful gastronomic heritage as well as a lot of very interesting history that we are continuing to discover every day. For Susan it will have to be the diversity of what Mallorca has to offer, as Alex already mentioned Mallorca is rich in culture on every level, it also produces world class wines, olives, olive oils, almonds, etc and on top of all this you have the fantastic variety of landscapes with the mountains, the plains, the coast, the cliffs, the white beaches, the nature reserves, the sea that offers the opportunity to do almost any watersport that exists in the world.

Where would send someone who was after that something 'something special' to eat or drink?

We think Mallorca is a wonderful place to eat out and it has the full range of cuisine from modern fine dining in places like Palma to real traditional Mallorquin food in the countryside and the mountains. If we were to recommend a beautiful modern restaurant we would suggest 'Simply Fosh' in Palma for lunch or Canela also based in Palma. Amazing food, for a great price! If we were to recommend something locally, it would be Miceli in Selva or Ca Na Toneta in Caimari. They are both fantastic! Should the guest be spending their time in the north we enjoy the lunch menu at the golf club of Alcanada. A day at the beach should include a long lunch with your feet in the sand at La Ponderosa on Playa de Muro. Best tapas for me are from Ca'n Punyetes in Port d'Alcudia.

Your favourite place for lunch or dinner?

Our favourite place to eat at the moment would probably be Miceli in Selva, but S'Angel in Inca also has lovely food and a great atmosphere for such good value. A newly discovered favourite restaurant in Palma is Canela, but we are not the only ones who have discovered this, so do book in advance!!

Where will we find the best coffee or hot chocolate?

The best coffee would be in our restaurant in Petit Hotel Son Arnau (we have found some amazing coffee beans locally) and we make a great hot chocolate too, this is due to Susan having a sweet tooth and loving a good hot chocolate herself.

What has been your best ever day in Mallorca?

I think for Me (Alex) It was the drive from Selva to Port De Soller over the mountains. The views are truly breathtaking…. something I really wasn't expecting to see. Its a 'must do' for anyone that comes to stay in the hotel. For Susan it was this day when we had a barbecue in January, although Mallorca is not known for warm weather in January or February it is often the case that the first 3 weeks of January are beautiful and during the day it can easily reach over 20 degrees in the sun, a phenomenon I was not familiar with before … it really confirmed to me we were going to experience that change in lifestyle we were looking for.

What do you do in your time off?

Susan and I love to go walking in the local area. Plus we also love to try new restaurants on the island and discover new parts of the island, it is just so beautiful and there are still so many new things for us to see and do.

Which is your favourite shop in Mallorca & why?

For me (Alex), it has to be the local baker…. and in particular their 'Napolitana pain au chocolate'….. incredible! For Susan it is this little shop in Alcudia that sells all local produce, you can find the Mallorquin salts, olive oils, wines, chutneys, olives, liqueurs, herbs, etc I can spend hours browsing around in this shop and thinking of how to use each ingredient.

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Alex & Susan would be happy to welcome you to their little piece of heaven, and Petit Hotel Son Arnau have some great special offers on at the moment, so take a look at their website to find out more.