Travel Its Balearic big sisters Mallorca and Ibiza might make all the noise, but Lucy Tobin finds Menorca to be the perfect multi-generational break for fun in the (short-haul) sun Even the air smelled sweet in the cool white lobby of Villa le Blanc, on the sunny south coast of Menorca . It could be the trailing lavender plants framing the vast central pool, or the just-squeezed lemonades handed out to my kids at reception, but the sweetness lasted for our whole week on this calm, child-friendly island. Menorca, the grown-up older sister to its party animal siblings Mallorca and Ibiza, revealed itself to be a version of Maldives-like tropics, only a two-hour flight from London.
We came for an inter-generational holiday: my husband and I shared an ocean-facing suite with my two youngest kids, whilst my mum was next door with my eldest son in this new hotel from Spain’s family-owned Gran Melia group. The rooms were ideally connected via a large sun-drenched terrace that wraps around vast windows, the sea showing off its glittering varying shades of turquoise at every angle. The sand glints too: Menorca has more beaches than Mallorca and Ibiza put together — and because it’s more of a Balearic secret, there’s plenty of room on them too.
Our spring break at the end of May revealed just how family-friendly Menorca is. We took the €5 bus from right outside the hotel to Ciutadella, with its glistening port, historic bridges, shoe-filled market, museums and miniature street.