The eighteenth-century stone farmhouse was lying derelict on a hilltop among the farmers’ fields of northeast Mallorca. Local architect and designer Toni Esteva spotted it and invested many years converting it into one of the island’s most alluring small hotels. Son Gener is now a chic ten-room finca, surrounded by rolling hills of olive groves and orchards. It has its own organic fruit and vegetable gardens, and there are views of the Mediterranean sparkling in the distance.

The nearest day trip is to the historic little town of Arta, where you can wander along stone alleyways to a hilltop chapel. Son Gener is also close to some of the island’s least spoiled beaches.

Inside the hotel, Toni has created a showcase of uncluttered design. Explore the maze of exposed stone walls and old wooden beams, amid plenty of whitewash, limestone floors, and antiques. It is neither fussy nor opulent, just quietly understated with large rooms decorated in pale neutral colors, stone stairways, and the occasional bouquet of fresh flowers to lighten the mood.

Big bedrooms come with private terraces, four-poster beds, high wooden ceilings, and creamy linen-covered armchairs. Bathrooms are swathed in limestone. Some rooms offer roof decks with sea views. The small spa furnished in stone, glass, and dark wood has indoor and outdoor pools, a sauna, steam room, whirpool tub, and massage room. There is no fine cuisine there, though: The food is tasty, fresh, and rural, and you can eat outside among the bougainvillea.

It is very quiet there, sometimes silent. As you lie, totally relaxed on your terrace, occasionally you will hear a goat’s bell jingling in the fields.