Gran Hotel Maricel

About the venue

Gran Hotel Maricel, Cas Català

Gran Hotel Maricel is a Hospes hotel built on the rocks at Cas Català, on the coast road between Palma and the south-west of Mallorca, about 20 minutes from Palma airport. It opened in 1950 as one of the island's most glamorous hotels, and today pairs the stone arches of the original Palace with the contemporary Natura Building, both looking straight out to sea. Weddings use the sea terrace and the hotel's lounges, the largest of which seats 110 for dinner and holds 200 for drinks, and Wedinspire lists weddings of up to 170 guests from about €15,000 for 60 guests with food and drink. The 51 rooms sleep about 102.

Maricel was designed by the Mallorcan architect Francesc Casas Llompart, whose plans date from 1948, and opened as a hotel in 1950. Modelled on Palma's palaces and the island's 16th- and 17th-century manor houses, it became the meeting place of Mallorcan society, with guests including Errol Flynn and Montgomery Clift, before closing in 1986.

Hospes restored the building and reopened it in 2002, opening up the old walls with sliding glass so the sea is present from almost every corner. A second, contemporary building in local stone and white, the Natura Building, added 22 rooms, each with a terrace and plunge pool, alongside the Bodyna spa.

For weddings, the loggia of sandstone arches on the south façade frames the ceremony, with the Mediterranean behind. Drinks and dinner move between the terrace over the waves and the bright lounges, and the infinity pool and the hotel's private access points to the sea complete the setting.

Menus are built around local produce with a contemporary Mediterranean touch, from sunset cocktails to dinner facing the horizon, and the Hospes events team coordinates the day from the first visit. Couples can also take over the hotel for a two- or three-day buy-out.