The fortress, the full name of which is La Fortalesa de Albercutx, is something with which the people of Pollensa closely identify, so much so that they will let you know if you get the spelling wrong. It is never 'Sa' but always 'La'. There is no 'z'; it's an 's'. They identify with it, and they have never ceased in calling for permission to visit. Strictly speaking, there should be public access, even if on a limited scale, as the fortress is an asset in the cultural interest. This status, which requires maintenance of heritage, also entitles access.
But it has been off-limits to the general public, a sore point made that much sorer by the fact that it is a venue for high-profile weddings, such as that of Rafael Nadal and Mery Perelló in October 2019, as well as a film location. La Fortalesa arguably acquired its greatest international fame courtesy of the BBC's The Night Manager.
The current owner is Norwegian Ivar Tollefsen, who paid Briton James Lupton 63 million euros to acquire the property in 2022. He has seemed more amenable to requests for access than was previously the case, and there is now to be a pilot scheme which is due to start in February. Pollensa's mayor, Martí March, says that the town hall has been holding talks with the company that manages the property and that these have led to the pilot scheme.
Three associations representing senior citizens in Pollensa are involved with the pilot. Draws are to be made that will result in groups of 25 people (all from these associations) being given guided tours by a local historian with specialist knowledge of La Fortalesa. At present, four tours are expected to be offered in February. Under the terms of being an asset in the cultural interest, four visits per month is the minimum access requirement. While this has solely been in theory until now, in February it will be in practice.
March explains that the company indicated a willingness to have tours for senior citizens a month or so ago and to examine a more ambitious plan in the future. The February pilot will be an important first step, and the town hall will be seeking to ensure that there is future progress. Perhaps there will be.
La Fortalesa is on the Formentor peninsula, the exclusive character of which is also represented by the hotel. Now of course under the management of the Canadian Four Seasons hotel group, the controversies surrounding its redevelopment seem to have finally passed, though given the history, one can never be entirely sure of this.
The new hotel is a fact, and so is it now not just best to let it fully reactivate as a hotel, the reopening having been in August last year? In this regard, whereas La Fortalesa is taking first steps to opening the doors (if not literally, as the visits will be the grounds only), the hotel flung them wide open some days ago for a job fair. Four Seasons are still seeking new employees, the promise having been that the Hotel Formentor's staff will be among the best paid, if not the best paid in Mallorca. At the risk of repeating myself, I have consistently argued that people's jobs, especially those of existing staff, should have been uppermost in trying to avoid all the delays that dogged the redevelopment.
A further example of Formentor's exclusivity is La Quinta Mercedes, a mansion where a cousin of Venezuelan fashion designer Carolina Herrera used to live. Mercedes Herrera de la Sota was from the same privileged background as her cousin. Her father bought the mansion; it was for Mercedes.
This acquisition, so the story goes, came about following a meeting with Enrique Garriga in the 1950s. Garriga was a very prominent Catalan businessman who was instrumental in the building of luxury properties in Formentor. So prominent was he in fact that he acquired no small amount of fame for what happened during the reception that Prince Rainier of Monaco and Grace Kelly threw for their honeymoon at the hotel in 1956. Garriga asked the actress for a dance. The offer was accepted and there was to be considerable debate as to whether protocol had been observed. Much opinion was that Garriga had been a very lucky man.
Anyway to come to the mansion, Mercedes passed away in 2020. Her son Jorge is the current resident. There had been concern that he wouldn't be living there for very much longer. It had appeared that the mansion would be put up for auction at an initial asking price of 7.7 million euros. This was because of an outstanding debt. With time running out, the debt was paid, thus securing the future family ownership of a mansion with roots linked to the hotel's glamorous past.
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I look forward immensely for the chance to visit. In the 70's I got through the military section to the gates of the property but no further. Hopefully it will be a long term wish fulfilled. Another is a visit to the summit of the Puig Mayor. Again I was part of an organised visit which was cancelled by the military at the last moment. When are they going to give the citizens of this island the right to visit its highest spot. There are no military secrets up there now, that all finished years ago as satellites took over. Controlled visits if they must, but visits nonetheless.