The Terminus Comes Back to Life: History, Coffee, and a City in Motion

Dic 17, 2025

There are places that explain a city better than any archive.

The Hostal Terminus is one of them.

From its very beginnings, closely linked to the Sóller train, the Terminus was born at a decisive moment, when Palma was starting to grow beyond its walls and to imagine itself as a modern city. For decades, it was the gateway to Palma, a place where everything began or came to an end.

It was not just a place to stay. It was a space of transit and encounter. Travellers arriving for the first time, merchants, people from the heart of the island, Mallorcans waiting for or saying goodbye to someone. It was said that simply sitting there for a while was enough to understand the city, because Palma passed right in front of that table. For years, the Terminus was the true barometer of what was happening in Palma.

Long before the idea of the urban hotel as we know it today existed, the Terminus offered something remarkably forward-thinking for its time: stepping off the train to find coffee, conversation, and shelter right across the street. A place to wait, to observe, and to stay.

Today, that history is not preserved in silence. It comes back to life.

On December 15th, we had the honour of attending the official opening of the iconic Hostal Terminus, now reimagined as a café and restaurant. A project that does not imitate the past, but instead interprets it with sensitivity and a contemporary perspective.

The interior design, signed by Marga Comas, is rooted in calm and coherence. Natural tones, terracotta hues, wood, and gently undulating walls that add texture and movement. Rounded forms, pendant lights, and an enveloping atmosphere that invites you to slow down. Everything is conceived so the space flows effortlessly, without excess, with a sense of serene elegance.

The concept is completed with specialty coffee, where respect for origin, time and every stage of the process becomes a conscious, sensory experience. A place where history is not only observed, but breathed in, shared and tasted. And where the kitchen follows the same philosophy: don’t miss the brunches or the lunchtime menus, designed to be enjoyed without haste.

The Terminus becomes once again what it has always been:

a place to meet, to observe the city, to stay.

History, culture, and contemporary life coexisting in the heart of Palma.

At MallorcaSite.com, we believe in projects that understand the past and know how to bring it into the present with discernment, sensitivity, and vision.