If you have watched The Night Manager, Lioness or, more recently, The Last Sunrise, there is a good chance you have already seen one of northern Mallorca’s most extraordinary properties Perched on a private peninsula overlooking the Bay of Pollença, La Fortaleza has become one of the island’s most recognisable filming locations. It has appeared on international television, hosted some of Mallorca’s most talked-about celebrity weddings and, at various points in its history, has been a military fortress, an artists’ retreat and one of Spain’s most expensive private properties. It is also somewhere most people will never get to see from the inside La Fortaleza remains privately owned and is not open to the public.
A fortress built to defend Pollença
Long before Hollywood discovered it, La Fortaleza existed for a very different reason. (Hence the name!!)
The site occupies the Punta de l’Avançada, a strategically important position overlooking the entrance to the Bay of Pollença. Its purpose was to help defend the bay against attacks by sea. The first defensive building on the site was completed in 1628, but it was subsequently replaced. The present fortress was designed by military engineer Vicente Mut, with construction beginning in 1682 and the main structure completed in 1684. Further finishing work continued into the following years.
Its position was carefully chosen. From the peninsula, artillery could control the approach to the bay and the harbour. The threat that had made the fortress necessary eventually faded, however, and by the 19th century its military importance had diminished.
What happened next is what makes La Fortaleza particularly unusual.
From military installation to private estate
At the beginning of the 20th century, La Fortaleza began its transformation from military structure into private residence.
The property became connected with the artistic community that had grown around Pollença, and its transformation included gardens, terraces and residential buildings. According to the Pollença tourism board, the fortress became a residence for artists visiting the area, while later historical accounts document its use by the military again during the Spanish Civil War.
The property eventually returned to private hands, beginning a succession of owners that would eventually turn La Fortaleza into one of Mallorca’s most valuable estates.
In 1989, the heirs of the previous owners sold the property to British businessman John Ogden. By 2008, it had been placed on the market with asking prices reported at around €100–120 million, earning it a reputation as Spain’s most expensive property. James Lupton acquired the estate in 2011 for around €40 million.
Then, in 2022, it changed hands again.
Norwegian property investor and billionaire Ivar Tollefsen acquired La Fortaleza from a British investment fund led by Lupton for approximately 650 million Norwegian kroner, reported at around €61.8 million.
That is a remarkable price history for a property that began life as a defensive fortification.
Then La Fortaleza became a film set
The property’s transformation didn’t stop at luxury residence. Its combination of historic architecture, dramatic coastline, privacy and extensive grounds made it an obvious location for film and television productions And one production in particular put La Fortaleza on the international map.
The Night Manager
In 2015, Mallorca became one of the filming locations for the BBC’s The Night Manager, the acclaimed adaptation of John le Carré’s novel starring Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman.
La Fortaleza was used as Richard Roper’s Mallorca estate and became one of the production’s most recognisable locations. The series went on to win three Golden Globes, while the Mallorca filming helped showcase locations including La Fortaleza to an international audience.
For many viewers, this was their first introduction to the extraordinary property overlooking Pollença Bay.
But it wouldn’t be the last.
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Lioness
La Fortaleza later appeared in Paramount+’s Special Ops: Lioness.
The property was used as a wedding location in the series, once again turning its distinctive architecture and spectacular setting into part of an international production.
It is an interesting coincidence given what La Fortaleza has become famous for away from the screen: weddings.
At the time of writing this, season 3 is currently being released with new episodes on a weekly basis and is well worth a watch if you like a gritty action packed series!
The Last Sunrise
Now La Fortaleza is back on screen.
Released on Amazon Prime Video in August 2026, The Last Sunrise stars Maia Reficco, Fernando Lindez and Eva Longoria and was filmed extensively around Mallorca.
La Fortaleza plays an important role in the film, providing the setting for the luxurious fictional retreat at the centre of the story. For viewers watching the film now, the property is arguably as much a part of the visual identity of the story as the actors themselves.
And there is something particularly striking about seeing it on screen today: what looks like an impossibly glamorous Mediterranean resort is actually a centuries-old fortress built to defend Mallorca.
And then there are the weddings
Film and television are only part of La Fortaleza’s modern reputation. The estate has also become one of the most exclusive wedding venues in Mallorca, with its privacy making it particularly attractive to high-profile couples.
Among those to have married there are:
- Rudy Fernández and Helen Lindes, who married at La Fortaleza in 2015.
- Gareth Bale and Emma Rhys-Jones, who chose the estate in 2019.
- Rafa Nadal and Mery Perelló, whose October 2019 wedding brought around 350 guests to the property.
- Marcos Llorente and Patricia Noarbe, who married there in June 2023.
- Marco Asensio and Sandra Garal, who followed a week later in July 2023.
The Nadal wedding perhaps brought the most attention locally. The couple chose La Fortaleza specifically for its privacy, with the estate effectively allowing the celebrations to take place away from public view.
The two 2023 football weddings demonstrated just how established La Fortaleza had become as a destination for high-profile celebrations, with both Llorente and Asensio choosing the same location within a week of each other.
One property, several very different lives
Perhaps that is what makes La Fortaleza so fascinating.
Over more than 300 years, it has been a fortress, an artists’ retreat, a military installation, a private home, a wedding venue and, more recently, a backdrop for some of the biggest productions filmed in Mallorca.
For those of us who live here, there is something quite special about seeing it on screen. Many of us have looked across the Bay of Pollença and wondered what it is actually like behind those walls, but La Fortaleza remains firmly private and out of reach.
However, with The Night Manager, Lioness and now The Last Sunrise bringing La Fortaleza to audiences around the world, perhaps that isn’t such a bad way to see it.
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