New Home, New Calm: Marco and Tamara Gülpen Move into Mallorca Dream House

New Home, New Calm: Marco and Tamara Gülpen Move into Mallorca Dream House

300 square meters, five bedrooms and views as far as Palma – and yet everyday worries when buying furniture

On the edge of the bay, somewhere between Cala Blava and El Arenal, Marco and Tamara Gülpen have now established their long-term home. After more than a year of searching they found a house in the municipality of Llucmajor: around 300 square meters of living space, five bedrooms and an open view across the bay to Palma. Quite a lot of space compared to their previous, smaller apartment – and that was exactly the decisive point for the couple, who otherwise spend their days at the Hostal Playa de Palma and the Despacito cocktail bar.

"Today we are actually sleeping the first night in the new house," Marco wrote according to a statement. The sentence sounded simple, yet behind it was the usual mixture of relief and box chaos: four years living on the island, moves, accumulated belongings – in the end what began as a quick change of wallpaper became a full moving weekend. Friends helped pack, there was hauling and hard work until the rooms were habitable.

Furnishing was no piece of cake: the Gülpens spent a lot of money on furniture – Tamara, according to her own posts, was in a strong buying mood, Marco joked half-laughingly that the credit card was really smoking. But anyone who sits on the terrace on a windless morning, with the smell of sea and pine in their nose and Palma's skyline on the horizon, will find it easier to let go of spreadsheet thinking.

The choice of location says something about reality in Mallorca: the housing market is tight, the search can take months, and often private contacts determine what is hardly available officially. The Gülpens obtained the rental property through private channels – and describe the price as still 'in the green zone', a privilege these days; similar private solutions are reported in At the Finca near Llucmajor: How Talia Is Putting Down New Roots in Mallorca. That a couple who commuted for years and now live permanently on the island can find such solutions is a small sign of how flexible the local market operates.

For the neighborhood, the settling-in of a well-known hotelier couple also brings something positive: operators stay on site, continue to invest in their businesses and give the season a longer perspective. The hostal that Marco took over in 2012 and renovated with a six-figure sum is an example: such houses are part of the tourist infrastructure, provide jobs and encounters between locals and guests. The Despacito cocktail bar, opened in 2021 and famous for its namesake drink served in a hollowed-out pineapple, remains an attraction in the hotel's ground floor.

On a small scale, this is a welcome piece of normality: evening walks, the distant roar of the highway toward Palma, gull cries over the bay and in the evenings lights slowly coming on in the orange groves. For the Gülpens this means more space for the family – not least for their son, whose school was the reason for the permanent move – and the possibility to live the hotel and bar business in the rhythm of the island.

There is inspiration in this for others: anyone coming from Germany and wanting to stay here permanently needs patience, a network and often the willingness to make compromises, a dynamic also explored in When Space Becomes a Luxury: Why a Family Left Mallorca. A new house is not just a home but a signal: the island is not just a summer vacation, but a daily life that can be re-established – with friends, furniture, a hot credit card and the sea at your doorstep; similar fresh starts are described in Emigrants on the Island: Two Couples Start Anew – How Mallorca Benefits.

Outlook: The coming months will show how the couple integrates the house into the annual rhythm – wintry evenings with candles, guests from the hotel, perhaps new small events in the bar. For the island it remains important that people who work and invest here also put down long-term roots. That is good for the neighborhood and brings a bit of reliability to a market that is currently in flux.