For the owners, Sue and Nick Guthrie, acquiring Ca'n Reus and living in Fornalutx is the realisation of a dream. Sue first came to the village when her father rented a villa here when she was 14 and she has remembered the village with huge affection ever since. Nick too had a connection. His godfather owned the house which Sue and Nick now live in (next door to the hotel) for 20 years. Before they bought the hotel, Sue and Nick used to rent the house and look down with envy onto the elegant terrace and the tempting pool in the hotel next door. When it came up for sale in 2003, they grabbed the opportunity and soon learned to enjoy the life of Spanish hoteliers - the privilege of living in the prettiest village in Mallorca, learning about local wines and cuisine, getting to know the locals and enjoying the company of the hotel guests, many of whom have been back every year for the past eight years and are now personal friends.
Sue's great passion is walking in the mountains of Mallorca. The hotel is filled with walking guides and maps and she arranges walking weekends (check the website for details) and is happy to take guests on her favourite walks.
They both hold down two jobs. Every Friday, Nick flies back to London where he produces and edits his weekly current affairs programme for the BBC, 'Dateline London'. He is back at his post at Ca'n Reus by Sunday. During the hotel�s low seasons, Sue works as an investigative reporter for BBC TV News, as Sue Lloyd-Roberts. Since taking over Ca'n Reus, she has taken time out to make films in Romania, India, North Korea, Burma and Zimbabwe, among others. It is hard work for the owners but this schizophrenic existence has some compensation for the guests. At their weekly dinners, you will find yourselves as likely to be talking about traditional Mallorquin cooking as the future of Zimbabwe!