Hotel of the Week: A Restored 18th-Century Menorcan Finca Is Breathing New Life Into the Balearic Islands
The first of a duo of boutique hotels on a 2,000-acre, olive grove-blanketed estate, family-run Spanish hospitality brand Vestige transformed Son Ermità’s stables into 11 rustic-chic rooms adorned with local gallery-curated art and hand-selected antiques
When Victor Madera and his wife, Maria Obdulia Fernández, first came across the dilapidated Palacio de Figueras in Asturias, in northern Spain, the couple wanted to extend their passion for antique collecting into the restoration of the 16th-century palace. “They saw this beautiful building in their area that was slowly dying and, over the course of 11 years, they fell in love with restoring,” says daughter Marta Madera, co-founder of her family’s rapidly expanding hospitality brand, Vestige Collection. “It took six years just to find a beam from the 16th century in the same style [to match the property].”
Since Palacio de Figueras debuted in 2022, the family’s portfolio has grown to include nearly 25 projects across Spain, the most recent opening being the 11-room Vestige Son Ermità and sister spot Vestige Binidufà, slated to debut in spring 2026. Crowning 2,000 acres in the untouched northern part of Menorca, crisscrossed by the legendary Camí de Cavalls hiking trail, hilltop Son Ermità’s neoclassical-influenced, white sandstone facade takes on a chameleon-like appearance at sunset, radiating a golden glow. Pockets of olive groves and forests spill down the rambling estate to rust-colored rock-framed calas and coves best reached by the hotel’s buggies (the team will even pack a cava-fueled picnic for the beach).
Divided into two sections, the former stables of Son Ermità’s original boyera (farm building) have been transformed into four rooms lined with original beams, polished stone-tile floors, and vintage-style soaking tubs, while suites in the main house are outfitted with decorative stone fireplaces and expansive, arched wood-framed windows opening to the hotel’s terrace and tiered infinity pools.
The family’s architecture and interior design studio, Vestige Estudio, respected the former 18th-century finca’s bones (working with traditional lime plaster, for instance) while incorporating signature touches like Menorcan-inspired earth-toned shades, locally restored furniture, and contemporary art exhibited in collaboration with nearby NUMA Foundation. Hokkaido-born, Catalonia-based artist Hiroshi Kitamura’s nature-inspired wooden sculptures “fit perfectly with our search for sustainable, harmonious pieces made from natural materials that integrate with our philosophy,” explains Obdulia Fernández.
Nearly 90 percent of the furniture and decor were designed in-house by local artisans in Menorca and Asturias to match the style and period of the building, with gauzy linen throws fanning around beds like a wedding dress train. Each room is outfitted with a piece of contemporary art or an antique hailing from the family’s private collection, which they’ve been curating for more than 15 years.
“Inspiration always comes from the surrounding landscape and the characteristics of the building—from there, we think about creating a personalized atmosphere for the whole space,” says Obdulia Fernández. “Sometimes we have pieces from our collection that we can see in a specific corner from the very first moment, and we adapt the rest of the atmosphere to that piece.”
Obdulia Fernández places a particular importance on doors, sourcing and restoring antiques to fit the existing openings. And, in an effort to match materials as close as possible to the original ones used, stonemasons and carpenters employed ashlar masonry, a stonecutting technique with roots in ancient Greece. “Once we start the [restoration] process, we find a lot of gems hidden behind the plaster,” adds Marta. “The challenge is preserving what’s there and the atmosphere while bringing it into the 21st century.”