"Pretty" should come second ...

Comfort is more important than what a hotel looks like. I used to have to travel around and around the world and I've been uncomfortable and unsatisfied in some of the so-called leading hotels of the world. (Even if the beds were acceptable, they never got the pillows right).

So our first consideration in creating our hotels was to find the best beds that money can buy. We have ours especially handmade to order for us and people fall in love with them.

And in soft contrast to all those hotels that buy cheap foam or chicken feather pillows, we buy the best goosedown pillows we can find.

Our sheets, too, are meticulously selected from the few brands of long-staple-pure-cotton-high-thread-count sheets that match our stringent criteria. The last ones that passed inspection were Ralph Lauren's best.

Holiday hotels are for sleeping in – for resting, relaxing, recovering from stress and recharging your system. Comfort is paramount. Comfort isn't something to just passively hope for when you go on holiday; it's the underpinning of any successful break from your everyday life and deserves your most careful consideration and investigation. What's the point going on holiday if you're not going to relax and sleep peacefully?

If I can guarantee you anything with regard to my hotels, it's that you simply will not find - anywhere – more comfortable beds, linens and pillows. That's a promise.

But pretty does count ...       

What style do I decorate in? It depends on the room. We have elegant 18th century rooms with painted ceilings and I've tried to make them attractive but formal in a historical townhouse style. We have other rooms that are less grand and I've gone for a more country house feel. We have other rooms – the majority – that are done with a sophisticatedly rustic touch. I try for stylish but understated, subtle and thoughtful, but never, ever pretentious.

The nicest compliment we get paid is when someone walks into one of our rooms, pauses for a moment in the doorway and then just gives a little unconscious sigh, as though they'd just come home, as though they'd never known where home was before.

Delicious breakfasts until noon ...

Another one of my bugbears in my travelling days used to be rolling off a transatlantic or transpacific flight, waking up at 9 a.m. and having to make a decision – because breakfast was only served until 9:30 – between a languid shower to hold the jetlag at bay or a hot cup of coffee to jumpstart my system. Holidays should never pose such a dilemma – why should you have to keep to a workday timetable?  Do you want to get up late? Fine, get up late. Breakfast will still be there for you. 

Are we beginning to sound like your kind of place?  I hope so.

Are we even a hotel?

One famous travel journal doesn't think so. "Not like any standard hotel you've probably ever stayed in. More like having good friends with taste and a wonderful staff lend you their beautiful house for a few days. You have your own key to the front door, you make yourself completely at home, pour your drinks the way you like them, luxuriate in the big handmade beds with down pillows and top quality sheets, enjoy late breakfasts, eat well at their new grill on the corner and allow your hosts to give you insider tips on places to go, things to see, secret beaches, off the radar pleasures. Think B & B in the upmarket American style - sophisticated, civilised and thoroughly satisfying."

We agree with that review, not because of the praise, but because we don't consider ourselves to be like a typical hotel - someone even called us "a refuge for people who hate hotels."

And oh, and did I mention – we're pretty much a smoke-free and TV-free zone. Most of our rooms are non-smoking, and although we can put a TV in your room, most guests seem to prefer not to have one. We have one in the bar so guests can catch up on the news.

Service, but not "too much" service ...            

How much service is the right amount of service? Personally, I'm allergic to what passes for "luxury" in so many hotels – a profusion of obsequious uniformed minions who tug their forelocks and extend their palms for tips, having done little to deserve one. Service to me is when I can apply to someone competent – preferably in my own language – if I need something done for me, something brought to me, a booking made, a restaurant recommended, or a flight confirmed. I really don't need a bartender; I'm perfectly capable of pouring a drink for myself. I don't want room service (at least not usually) since I think it's uncivilised to eat in most hotel rooms. I don't need twee shops or cheap souvenir racks or a huge marble lobby. I'd rather the management spent more of their money on my well-being rather than in trying to impress me with gilt chandeliers and rococo mirrors.

Did I mention trust?

For almost twenty years we've maintained an honesty bar. Our guests sign up for what they take and settle up at the end of their stay. For all that time, our expectations have only rarely been abused. I've found that if we treat people as grown-up and responsible, they respect it and return the compliment by being worthy of that trust.

Value for money ...

Which brings me to the subject of price.  If you check prices, you'll find that we charge less than any other hotel on Mallorca in our category. (That's a sweeping assertion, as I haven't checked every single last one, but it's certainly true that we charge less than any of the other "usual suspects" in the small luxury hotel category). It may be true that we're really not a hotel at all, more a private home that offers lovely rooms and serves good breakfasts until late, so perhaps we don't qualify for comparisons. We certainly don't pretend to offer as many facilities as some places – a spa, shops, tennis courts. No, what we do is offer you is great comfort in gracious surroundings, warm and helpful attention when you want it, and a fine breakfast until late. We do only a few things, but we aim to do them exceedingly well

Why we have two places – and how that's an advantage for you ... 

Scott's Townhouse is our original place, celebrated for – well, all the things I've been talking about: comfort, taste and unpretentious sophistication. Perfectly placed for exploring the island, Scott's "original" is in an unspoilt, untouristed medieval wine village 12 miles from Palma and convenient to virtually everything you might like to see, all no more than 20 to 30 minutes away.  Still, we used to get calls asking if we had an outdoor pool (Townhouse has a non-chlorinated Roman spa indoor pool with massage jets) and many people asked if we had views of the sea, private terraces, or kitchens. We reluctantly had to say no.

So a few years ago we bought a stunningly placed little artists colony complex designed by Pedro Otzoup (who designed Claudia Schiffer's last house) and have turned it into Scott's Galilea – named for the tiny, pretty hamlet it overlooks. Several guidebooks say it has the best hotel view on Mallorca – a breathtaking vista down from almost 2,000 feet, over the village and across the sweep of a green valley to the sea. And so you can truly enjoy the view, there are individual private South-facing terraces outside every accommodation. A holiday at Scott's Galilea offers absolute tranquillity, plus our hallmark beds and even little kitchens to make snacks for your between-meal convenience.

Tailor-make your own bespoke holiday ...    

The end result of our having two places in two different styles is that you can choose, mix and match, combine or alternate our accommodations depending on your mood, needs, or time available and available energy.  To explore the island, or visit Palma, or enjoy a romantic weekend away, or an intimate dinner in a fine restaurant, our Townhouse may suit you down to the ground. For utter peace and quiet, the chance to take long walks with extraordinary mountain and sea views, or sit on your terrace and read and relax, then Scott's Galilea could be just the ticket.

Combining and saving ...

To spare you a difficult decision, we'll try to make things simple. Book both hotels and spend 4 nights in one and 3 nights in the other and we'll offer you a 5% discount.  Or spend a week in one hotel and a week in the other and we'll give you a 10% discount on both. That might make your decision just a tad easier.

Those five vital considerations I promised you ...

These are the five vital criteria by which to judge any holiday you may plan. In the course of writing, I've already touched on some of them, but let me express them succinctly in review. 

1)    Know that you'll be comfortable during your holiday. Without comfort and relaxation, your holiday will be worthless.
 
2)    Don't buy a pig in a poke. Woe unto those who buy last minute magical mystery tours, or those who buy just on price, or those who fail to find out as much as possible about their intended destination, and most especially their hotel. The Internet is a great source of information – use it to your advantage. And remember TNSTAFL -- there's no such thing as a free lunch. By and large, you get what you pay for. "Cheap" usually means shoddy.

3)    Staying with the animal theme, don't go for a one-trick pony. If you head for a destination in search of sun, choose somewhere that also can offer you something to do if it rains. This is so obvious that it almost doesn't merit mention, but many destinations have only one thing going for them, and even sunshine can get pretty boring after a few days. Many of the new destinations are cheap and sunny, but have little infrastructure to back them up.

4)    With holidays, shorter and more often is better than fewer and longer. We all like to have a leisurely long holiday in an exotic locale, and once or even twice a year that can be a fine thing. But it's also good to find a place you like that isn't more than a couple of hours away, where you can get away easily for a long weekend on short notice, and where you can become known and familiar and be welcomed back as one of the family. Like our own hearts beating, we do best on a work, rest, work, rest regime.

5)    Prudence isn't overrated. Careful is smart. Even something as relatively minor as a broken ankle can be serious if you're on a remote Greek island. Choose a destination with some back-up just in case you run into trouble, like an island with some of the finest health care in the world. Good doctors, too, like living in a sunny, friendly place.

Taking all of the above into consideration, we think there's a case for a holiday on Mallorca – the "other Mallorca" – the beautiful and still unspoilt Mallorca, not the Majorca of ill repute. And we trust and anticipate that we've made a case for you to come and visit us at one or both Scott's Hotels. We hope you agree.

What to do now ...

Go deeper into this website. Look at the photos of our rooms, read comments from former guests, get details of prices, terms and conditions, and make a safe and secure reservation on line using our encrypted booking pages.

Or talk to a real person ...

Ring 0871 717 4227 any morning from 8 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon. You'll get an English person who can counsel you, answer your queries, check availability and make a booking. Our afternoon staff all speak fluent English, too, but aren't of English nationality and are marginally less experienced in the counselling area. If you're clear on what you want, however, they can check availability and make bookings for you. The office is closed after 7 p.m.

A final thought – we're run for your convenience, not ours ...

Unlike many hotels, we run our places for the convenience of you, our guests, not our staff or what suits us personally. Actually, I take that last comment back, I'm pernickety and demanding – "discriminating" is what I like to call it – hard to please, anyway. Our hotels were designed for my pleasure. So in a way, if I like them, then you might, too.

SPECIAL OFFER, SEASON 2008: ALL OUR PRICES NOW THE SAME AS SEASON 2001 PRICES

Open	All year
Accommodation	6 suites, 12 doubles/twins, two available as singles at a 25% discount
Facilities	2 sitting rooms with self-service drinks tray, bar with satellite TV, breakfast room (classical background music) Swimming pool with swimjet and massage jets Patio, courtyard, 2 sun terraces Air-conditioning, heating, individually controlled Free parking adjacent Unsuitable for disabled
Location	Historic town centre 20 km from Palma Sandy beaches 20 minutes drive Mountains 10 minutes
Restrictions	Smoking on the outdoor terraces, the bar and patio only Children welcome from 12
Credit cards	Visa, MasterCard, Amexco
Terms	Minimum stay 3 nights Breakfast included Singles 131--154 Euros Doubles/twins 175--205 Euros Suites 225--330 Euros Plus local taxes of 7%