Son Granot

About Son Granot

Son Granot suits travellers who want Maó harbour and the airport within easy reach without staying in the middle of the capital. The hotel sits on the Sant Felip road at Es Castell, a Georgian village at the mouth of the harbour, 0.6 km from the centre. Couples usually take it as a quiet base for the harbour and the south-east coast; families appreciate the outdoor pool, the garden and the free car park, which makes a hire car straightforward to keep.

Son Granot is a three-star hotel rated 4.5/5 from 179 reviews. It reads as an informal, practical sort of stay: a pool and garden, a restaurant, a bar, breakfast served as a buffet, and a terrace for the evening. Free wifi and a safe are on the facilities list. The tone is unhurried rather than resort-like, which fits a short break, a first visit to Menorca or a night before an early flight from MAH.

Location: Es Castell

Es Castell is a Georgian village built around a small cove port at the mouth of Maó harbour, about 0.6 km from Son Granot. Its low houses and British-era windows date from the 18th century, when the harbour was a naval base. Maó itself is 3 km away, with the cathedral, markets and ferries. Sant Lluís, the white village of windmills, is 3.9 km south. The hotel address is on the Carretera de Sant Felip, the road towards the fortress.

The village centre is walkable from Son Granot, but the harbour, Maó and the southern coves need a car, a taxi or a local bus. Free parking at the hotel makes keeping a hire car simple. High summer brings traffic on the Sant Felip road and a busy harbour; late spring and early autumn are calmer and still warm enough for the pool. Seasonal buses and boat trips wind down between November and April, so check before relying on them.

Rooms and facilities

Facilities at Son Granot are listed rather than promised in detail, so treat the following as what to check when booking. There is an outdoor pool and a garden, a terrace, a restaurant and a bar, free wifi, a safe, laundry and dry cleaning, a picnic area and free car parking. Wheelchair accessibility and horse riding are listed too. Confirm with the property how the riding is arranged and which facilities run all year.

Couples tend to ask for the quieter side of the building and a terrace table in the evening; families ask about cots and pool depths. Breakfast is a buffet, which suits early starts for the airport 6.5 km away. Arrivals after a late ferry into Maó port, 3.1 km away, should tell Son Granot the approximate time in advance. Confirm check-in and check-out times, evening restaurant hours and whether pool towels are provided.

Getting there

Menorca Airport (MAH) is 6.5 km from Son Granot in a straight line, south-west of Maó. The quickest transfer is a hire car collected at arrivals or a taxi from the rank, which puts you on the Maó road and then the Carretera de Sant Felip. Local buses run into Maó, 3 km away, and a taxi covers the last stretch to Es Castell. Check current routes with the island bus operator.

Maó port is 3.1 km from Son Granot, which matters for overnight crossings to Barcelona and ferries to Palma. Ciutadella, the old capital, has its own port for crossings to Alcúdia on Mallorca. From the port, a taxi is easiest with luggage. Flights and sailings thin out between November and April, so confirm times with the operators before planning a winter arrival at the hotel.

Beaches, sights and food nearby

The nearest coves lie on the Migjorn coast beyond Sant Lluís, 3.9 km from Son Granot, where limestone gives white sand under pine. Cala en Porter, Son Bou and Binibeca Vell sit in that southern band and need a car or a bus. Es Castell, 0.6 km away, is the closest place for an evening around the cove port. For history, La Mola fortress at Maó is 1.6 km from the hotel.

A boat trip round Maó harbour starts 2.4 km from Son Granot, and S'Albufera des Grau, the natural park at the core of the Biosphere Reserve, is 8.9 km away with lagoon, dunes and birds. Menorca has been a Biosphere Reserve since 1993, and the Talayotic sites joined the World Heritage list in 2023. On the plate, look for caldereta de llagosta in fishing villages and Mahón-Menorca cheese, which has a protected designation of origin.

A day from Son Granot

Start with breakfast at Son Granot, then drive the 1.6 km to La Mola fortress at Maó and walk the ramparts above the harbour mouth. Continue 3 km into Maó for the market and the Georgian windows, and join a boat trip round the harbour, which leaves from 2.4 km away. Lunch in Es Castell, 0.6 km from the hotel, then an afternoon by the pool. Dinner back in Maó is a 3 km run.

A second morning can go east to S'Albufera des Grau, 8.9 km from Son Granot, for the lagoon, dunes and the Favàritx cape. Take the car, since the reserve is too far to walk from the hotel. Return through Sant Lluís, 3.9 km away, for white streets and windmills, then a southern cove in the afternoon. Keep the evening local: Es Castell is 0.6 km, so the cove port needs no car at all.

Practical tips

Son Granot's opening dates are worth checking before booking, because much of Menorca's tourism business closes roughly from November to April, while Maó and Es Castell stay open all year. July and August fill the harbour and the Sant Felip road; late spring and early autumn suit walking and the pool. The Balearic sustainable tourism tax is charged per person per night by the accommodation, with rates that vary by season and length of stay, so check the Govern de les Illes Balears for current rules.

Questions about Son Granot