Gecko Beach House

"Just the sort of place you always wish you could stumble across, down a dusty track on the way to the bluest sea. Here are three hidden-away, architect-designed angular houses, Can Aire, Can Mar, and Can Terra, each with a handful of rooms. They feel like small apartments in the smartest imagining, with shaded private terraces for hand-delivered breakfasts of freshly baked bread and sticky jams. The three Madrid-based owners hunted and hunted for a property in Formentera, having fallen for it on holiday, but it took them two years to find anything remotely workable. And then, fortuitously, the German owner of this plot decided to retire. Orange, lemon, and olive trees were planted to soften the surrounding fragrant scrubland, a swimming pool was put in, and they called on designer Paty Pombo for her modern-vintage take on island style. Rattan peacock chairs now sit alongside rough-hewn wooden swings, railway sleepers take shape as bed platforms, and woven-straw and rope-strung lamps decorate the corners. It’s a textural riot. Ferns pop out of mini planters and baskets of dried garden lavender make the air sweet. As in Puglia, prickly pear leaves hang like decorations against the outside walls. The white-white sand of Migjorn beach is a 10-minute walk away, and the path leads straight to Kiosko 62, a ramshackle beach shack with sensational sunsets and strong Mojitos. There’s no need to venture any further. Book now at Booking.com Book now at Agoda This article was originally published on Condé Nast Traveller UK." - Lauren Burvill