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Reclaiming the history
The identity of our estate is inseparably linked to its history. Thus, in the process of recovery, one of the cornerstones has been its trajectory, which we expand with the experiences that, as diners, visitors, and guests, you contribute to making it grow.
Sant Joan de Binissaida is a rustic estate, known as "llocs" in Menorca, originating from the ancient Alquería de Binissaida, in the municipality of Es Castell, which we find mentioned in the early documents written by Jaume II a few years after the Catalan conquest of Menorca in 1287.
The ancient cavalry of Binissaida, a name with clear Arab roots, "Bani Said" (from the sons of Said), was subject over the years to numerous divisions that generated a series of independent rustic estates, which, however, maintain a connection through the toponym.
As a consequence of the economic, commercial, and maritime expansion experienced by the island of Menorca (especially the city of Maó) during the 18th century, a new economic class emerged—the ascendancy—with distinctly bourgeois roots. They invested part of their surplus in the purchase of rustic estates, where they built manor houses such as Sant Joan de Binissaida.
In 1994, the Quintana Seguí family acquired the Sant Joan de Binissaida estate, which required urgent maintenance and renovation.
In fact, the house was in a deplorable state, with uninhabitable spaces, minimal facilities, and deteriorated structures. Many of the ethnological assets of the estate, such as the sínia and the bouer, also needed to be recovered. Finally, the cultivated fields had never been cleared, and the dry stone walls surrounding them had not been reconstructed, requiring a significant investment to turn them into mechanizable fields.
Determined to restore all the built structures and prepare the lands for agricultural, livestock, and forestry use, the property initiated the reforestation of six hectares. The rest were dedicated to olive cultivation, planted between 2013 and 2021. In total, from 1994 to today, more than 3000 trees have been planted on the estate, creating a natural landscape of great beauty. Since 2021, the agricultural operation has obtained the qualification of "organic farm" from the Autonomous Community.
Regarding the built structures, after deciding to turn this estate into a charming hotel, the property commissioned the renovation of the building to the young architect and landscaper Elisabet Quintana Seguí. The house was reconstructed between 1998 and 2002.
In 2000, the sínia was rehabilitated after studying the ethnological elements with which it had been initially built. Today, it contains water and operates as it did in ancient times. Additionally, the old bread oven was restored and is currently usable.
