Hotel Petit Maó

About Hotel Petit Maó

Hotel Petit Maó suits travellers who want a small, quiet base in the Menorcan capital rather than a resort. The address on C Infanta puts the harbourfront and the working streets of Maó within a few minutes on foot, so the port, the buses and the old town are all close. Couples taking a long weekend, solo travellers and independent travellers touring the island fit here best; it is less obviously a place for a beach-and-pool fortnight.

Hotel Petit Maó is a three-star hotel with a guest score of 4.9/5 from 123 reviews. The scale is small and the layout is calm: a garden, a terrace, an outdoor pool and a lounge with a fireplace give the day some shape beyond the room. It is a place for unhurried mornings and short walks into town, not for organised entertainment or a full resort programme.

Location: Maó (Mahón)

Maó sits above one of the longest natural harbours in the Mediterranean, about 5 km of water from the town down to the mouth. The centre is compact and workday in feel, with Georgian windows left by the 18th-century British period and a life that carries on outside the tourist season. Hotel Petit Maó stands 0.1 km from the town centre and 0.2 km from the port, so the harbour and the shopping streets are on foot.

From Hotel Petit Maó the harbour and the town need no transport at all, and the boat trips round the harbour start about 0.5 km away. Es Castell is 2.4 km off, Sant Lluís 4.2 km and the La Mola fortress 4.1 km; a bus, a taxi or a car makes those easy, and a car is the practical choice for S'Albufera des Grau at 7 km. In July and August the town is busy without ever feeling like a resort; in May, June, September and October the terraces are quieter and the walking is easier.

Rooms and facilities

Rooms at Hotel Petit Maó are listed with air conditioning, a refrigerator, a hairdryer, toiletries and slippers, which covers the practical side of a summer stay. Couples can settle into a routine of the garden, the terrace and the lounge with its fireplace once the evening cools. Families should ask about the sofa bed and cribs before booking, since room layouts vary and only the hotel can confirm what fits a given party.

Late arrivals will want to confirm reception hours with Hotel Petit Maó before travelling, because check-in and check-out times are set by the property. The listed extras that matter on a short break are free wifi, free car parking, luggage storage, a free newspaper, the library and the bar. Breakfast, housekeeping and laundry service are listed too, and massage appears among the facilities; ask the hotel how each of these runs across the year.

Getting there

Menorca Airport (MAH) is 4.8 km south-west of Hotel Petit Maó in a straight line, which makes the transfer short whichever way you travel. A taxi is the quickest option, buses link the airport with Maó, and a hire car collected on arrival suits anyone planning to tour the island. Check current times with the island bus operator, since the timetable changes with the season.

By sea, the ferry port is 0.2 km from Hotel Petit Maó, a few minutes on foot with luggage. Maó has overnight crossings to Barcelona and a link to Palma, while Ciutadella at the western end of Menorca runs the Barcelona and Alcúdia services. From the port, Es Castell is 2.4 km and Sant Lluís 4.2 km by taxi or bus. Flights and ferries are fewer in winter, so confirm operators and the hotel's own dates before a late-autumn trip.

Beaches, sights and food nearby

Hotel Petit Maó is a town base rather than a beach one. Menorca's sandy coves are mostly on the south coast, the Migjorn, where limestone holds white sand under pine: Cala en Porter, Son Bou, Cala Galdana, Cala Macarella and Cala Turqueta. Reaching any of them from Hotel Petit Maó takes a car or a summer bus, and the car parks at the popular coves fill early. Binibeca Vell, the whitewashed hamlet, lies beyond Sant Lluís.

Closer in, the La Mola fortress at 4.1 km guards the harbour mouth, and S'Albufera des Grau, the core of the Biosphere Reserve with its lagoon, dunes and birds, is 7 km off. Es Castell, the Georgian barracks town at the harbour mouth, is 2.4 km from Hotel Petit Maó, and a boat trip round the harbour leaves about 0.5 km away. On the plate, look for Mahón-Menorca cheese with its protected designation of origin, and the lobster stew of the north-coast fishing villages such as Fornells.

A day from Hotel Petit Maó

Breakfast at Hotel Petit Maó, then the 0.1 km walk into the centre of Maó for the shopping streets and the harbour edge. A boat trip round the harbour starts about 0.5 km from the hotel and shows the scale of the inlet the town is built around. In the afternoon, a taxi or bus covers the 4.1 km to the La Mola fortress, whose 19th-century walls look down the harbour mouth.

Carry on 2.4 km to Es Castell for the Georgian barracks town and an hour on the waterfront, then return to Hotel Petit Maó for the pool, the garden or the library. Keep the evening simple: 0.2 km down to the port as the light goes, dinner in town, and the short walk back. With a car, swap the town afternoon for S'Albufera des Grau at 7 km, where the light and the birds are better early.

Practical tips

Much of Menorca's tourism business closes roughly from November to April, so check Hotel Petit Maó's own opening dates and reception hours before booking outside the main season. July and August are the peak, when the town is at its busiest and the southern coves fill early; May, June, September and October are easier for walking and for the harbour. The Balearic sustainable tourism tax is charged per person per night by the accommodation, at rates that depend on the type and category of accommodation and the season, reduced in low season and for longer stays, with children under 16 exempt; check the Govern de les Illes Balears for current rates.

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