The hotel was built in 1890 by the famous architect Joaquin Pavia Birmingham, who designed the Council of Majorca and who was in charge of the restoration of the Palma Cathedral. At the time, the hotel was a private mansion. After serving as the residence of the Casanova family, it was turned into a tanning and shoe-making factory. It was given life as a hotel in the 1960's, when Majorca suddenly became a major tourist site. The present owner, originally from Soller and former owner of the American company Medieval Times, was the one who supported the transformation of the mansion into a luxury hotel. In the centre of the lounge located on the ground floor, a beautiful large fireplace made out of carved wood looks like an article of furniture. While the reception holds a sculpture by Lorenzo Quinn, the walls of the corridors and of the rest of the hotel are adorned with paintings by Julio Ramis; a lithography by Miró; and a painting by Norah Borges (in the spa), the sister of the famous Argentine writer who used to live in the village of Valldemosa close to Soller in the 1920's. The Gran Hotel Soller has two pools, a small spa with a sauna, a hammam and a jacuzzi. Mei Hong, the specialist at the hotel, performs massages, reflexology and acupuncture treatments.