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Mallorca has long attracted a big German and English crowd, but more recently Palma has been invaded by hipster Swedes, several of whom have opened some of the city’s top boutique hotels. One example is Hotel Tres, which has a great location in the middle of the Old Town, friendly and efficient service, and forty-one rooms that are designer-chic but comfortable. Decorated in a minimalist and uncluttered style with wood floors and lots of glass and white surfaces, the rooms are scattered among two buildings—one an old mansion, the other a ’60s build. The two sandwich a romantic stone courtyard, complete with a towering palm tree. This is where the hotel’s sophisticated thirty-something crowd lingers over breakfast or, in the early evening a glass of wine—when they are not exploring the city or sunbathing on the hotel’s two small roof terraces. Rooms from $220 for a single to $375 for a suite.

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For more than a decade now, it’s been all the rage for Mallorcans to buy and renovate the ancient, decayed palaces found throughout the city’s beautiful Old Town. One of the pioneering properties is the Palacio Casa Galesa. In 1995 this 16th-century palace was transformed into a grand, sophisticated five-star hotel with five rooms and seven suites, each dedicated to a different famous musician, with a small indoor pool (one of the only pools in Palma’s Gothic district). Museum-quality antiques and artworks are scattered throughout the rooms and exquisite public areas—the plant-filled courtyard with a fountain, the rooftop garden—offer many tranquil corners to relax and escape. Rooms from $404.