Vista Alegre is a gated residential estate on the hillside between Es Cubells and Porroig, in the south-west of the island. It is houses and nothing else: no shop, no bar, no square. What it has instead is height, quiet and an open view south over the sea.
Whether that suits you comes down to how you feel about driving five or ten minutes for everything. We have set out what sits below it and how far the useful things are.
What it is
A private estate of modern houses on terraced ground, with a gate, shared grounds and a good deal of space between one house and the next. The plots face south and west, so the sea is in front and the sun goes down across it.
The ground is steep and the roads inside wind, which is what gives so many of the houses an unbroken view. It also means walking anywhere is a climb.
What is below it
Cala Jondal is about ten minutes down the hill, the pebble bay where the boats stop, with a run of beach restaurants along it. Porroig and Es Torrent are closer still, small and rocky, with a fish restaurant at the bottom of the track.
Fifteen to twenty minutes west brings you to Cala Vadella, Cala Tarida and the sunset coast, and the same distance east is the airport and the salt flats.
For anything resembling a village, San Jose is the nearest, about fifteen minutes inland, with the shops, the Saturday market and most of the restaurants.
Good to know before you book
Bring a car, one per couple if you can. There is no shop, no bus and nothing within walking distance.
The gradients are real. Houses here are built into a slope, so terraces and pools tend to sit on different levels with steps between them. Worth asking about if anyone in the party finds stairs difficult.
It is quiet in a way the coast is not. No passing traffic and no music, which is the point.
Quick answers
Where is Vista Alegre? On the hillside between Es Cubells and Porroig, in the south-west.
Is there anything in the estate itself? No. It is residential, with no shops or bars.
What is the nearest beach? Cala Jondal, about ten minutes down the hill.
How far is the airport? About twenty minutes.
Is it good for families? For a group with cars and older children, yes. For toddlers, the slopes and steps are a consideration.
Is it walkable to anything? No.
Who it suits
Vista Alegre suits groups taking a house for a week and treating it as the base rather than somewhere to walk out of: the view, the space and the quiet, with the south coast beaches and the airport both close. It suits anyone wanting a village on the doorstep least.