The Fomento del Turismo should have given out its awards last November... | MDB files

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Covid has managed to disrupt all manner of things, including the Majorca Tourist Board’s annual awards. The Fomento del Turismo should have given out its awards last November, but the pandemic intervened and they were cancelled.

A year on, and the tourist board is catching up, not least where Puerto Pollensa’s Hotel Illa d’Or is concerned. This splendid hotel is to be recognised because of its ninetieth anniversary, which was actually in 2019.

How time flies, as it seems like no time since there was a special do for the 85th anniversary. But time has flown by - seven years rather than five. On that occasion, there was a menu inspired by the inaugural menu in 1929 - Bella Vista lobster salad; partridge à la flamande; Henry VI beef timbale; Maria Brizard cream with caramelised fruits.

It sounds as though Agatha Christie would have dined well when she stayed at the Illa d’Or in 1932, just one of many distinguished guests down the years. Among the most recent were a number of top Spanish tennis players.

The last time I was at the Illa d’Or, there was a paparazzi scrum to get photos of tennis-playing guests who were on their way to Rafael Nadal’s wedding at the modest pile that is La Fortalesa on the Formentor peninsula.