August 29 - September 5 review

Big Al

Member
Apologies for the length (never had to say that before!!)

Saturday
So we flew on time out of East Midlands on the Saturday without issues – was a pretty well behaved flight although I think Ryanair limited the amount of alcohol they took on board as they were out of Prosecco by our row (12). Considering some of the horror stories about flights to Ibiza this year I’m not surprised. We landed, grabbed our bags and were checking in at La Noria within an hour of landing. We were originally set to pick-up a car but as our flight time was pushed back 3 times leading up to the holiday we decided to collect a car Tuesday rather than incur the out of hours charge we’d have to pay picking up after 10pm. The hotel had a hot shower, cold air con and a comfortable bed so we were happy
After dumping our bags we popped in to The Sports Café in to catch up with friends and have a couple of drinks, then grabbed some food from Ciao Ciao – never eaten here before, nothing spectacular but a tasty pizza and portion of stuffed ravioli with a nice bottle of red was had and it was pretty cheap. Popper in to Déjà vu (on the Sankey’s strip) on the way back to the hotel as we know they guy that owns it, had a quick drink and then got an early first night.
Sunday
Was up for 9 on the Sunday morning which was a first for us, grabbed a quick breakfast from the bakery round the corner and down to the beach. We’re not used to being up at this time and I think we were just about the only people about who had actually been to bed so there were some right messy sights to be seen and early morning offers of supplies going around. We camped out near Ushuaia as opposed to Bora Bora as the sea is a bit better at that end but to be honest it was still a bit dirty and full of loads of seaweed. Enjoyed some sleep and then hit Ibiza Rocks Diner for lunch – cannot fault this place for good honest decent food at very good prices and HUGE portions. Grabbed some cans after lunch and then just walked the length of Bossa beach, from the far end past Coco’s down to nearly Figueretas and then back to the hotel to get ready for Rumours at Beach House. We’d booked a table for 6 and really enjoyed the food and thought the service was excellent, the bottles of Prosecco at €45 were a bargain in relation to the rest of the wine – so we got through 2! We were supposed to only have the table until 8 but were there until just after 9 and then moved closer to the DJ booth for a dance. I thought the music was ‘ok’ but the night as a whole was great, the drinks were reasonably prices and the crowd inside were fun. It was busy but you could still dance and get to the bar. The only gripe was the toilet queue, even with some mobile toilets the wait was 20mins plus!! The plan was to then go back to the hotel, change, grab some more money and go to Sankeys as we had guest list before 1am – however we made the stupid mistake and lying down (after a bit too much ‘fun’) and then woke up about 4am so decided to go back to sleep.
Monday
Woke up bright a breezy on the Monday so started off with breakfast at The Sports Café and then headed to Nassau for a day of pampering and relaxation. We took 2 of the individual beds and just spent the day chilling and enjoying cocktails – I advise anyone to try the Hendricks Cucumber Sorbet, amazing! We grabbed lunch inside and again thought the service was really good, we shared a Thai beef salad and Grilled Hake and both dishes were good. Spent the afternoon enjoying wine in the sun and then headed back to change and get cleaned up to meet friends in Ibiza Town. We had a table at S’Ametler booked for 9 and would advise anyone to try this place out. It’s off the beaten track but the food, wine parings and level of service is superb. They ran 2 menus, one 4 course with wine for €39 or a 3 course with a drink for €25 and they’d let you swap dishes about if you wanted. The guy running the place took the time to explain every dish (literally every one!) on the menu and we had a really relaxed meal before moving on to the Plaza del Parque for drinks and then a few other bars finishing up at about 5:30am grabbing a taxi back to the hotel.
Tuesday
The 9am alarm to go and pick the car up came around far too quickly. We’d used ‘OK’ car rental and got a taxi to their place near the airport. I have to say I’ve never had to wait so long to pick a car up before. The queue was huge and each person was dealt with so slowly. You were told to check the car yourself for scratches and mark them down and were charged for a full tank of petrol (€82 for a Nissan Micra!!) – and then you had to wait again as almost everyone made complaints when they found half tanks provided, meaning re-joining the queue to get refunds!! Anyway after an hour we got the car and headed to Salinas for the day. We were supposed to be meeting a friend for lunch and had planned to eat at The Jockey Club but just after 2 the heavens opened which meant the entire beach attempted to get a table at the same time. We waited around for 15 minutes and then decided to make a dash for the car and it’s a good job we just had our beach gear on as the storm lasted about an hour. Our friends who we were supposed to meet were having car trouble anyway so we decided to head to San Jose to Destino for lunch. I’d been here once about 8 years ago and kept meaning to go back to take the wife so this was a good excuse to do so. There’s no menu here, you just wait your turn to go up to the counter and have the range of tapas explained to you and choose your dishes that way. The food was as good as I remembered; the curried prawns and cod stuffed peppers being the highlight. Again, reasonably priced and a great way to spend time out of the rain. We popped back to Bossa and had a few drinks with our friend whose car was still not for moving and then went to get ready for our night at Pikes. This was the night I was most excited about and if the weather had been better we’d have headed over much earlier but in the end arrived just after 9. My Pikes experience had been limited to the Wham video but after the rave reviews from the parties over the last couple of years we wanted to try it out. There were only a few people milling around when we arrived so we grabbed a drink and then decided to grab some food and were seated at a table overlooking the pool which was brilliant. It was a limited menu (burgers, hot dogs, wraps) but was decent enough, but the service a bit sketchy. After midnight the music went in doors and we followed the crowd to see who the secret guest DJ was to see Fatboy Slim on the decks. Never seen him before but he played a really good set, upbeat party music with lots of Queen covers thrown in. Lots of hands in the air moments and smiles all round. Doorly followed and continued with the same vibe and kept the dance floor moving. Junior Sanchez was on last and again just continued where the others left. Lots of old school classics were being played and at one point he started passing run around the crowd at the front of the DJ booth. Left about half 6. For me this was the best night of the holiday, I loved the set-up at Pikes, much more intimate then some clubs, lots of nooks and little spots to find and get messy in. Also, the crowd was really good. A mixed age but just people who were up for a party. Will defo be back to Pikes next year (hopefully to see DJ Harvey)!
 
Wednesday
Woke up on the Wednesday and the heavens were pouring down on PDB so happily went back to sleep without feeling guilty. Got up just after 1 and decided to head to Calla Tarida for lunch. Chose to eat at ‘Yukas’ (basically the second place you come to on the walk down to the beach). We shared a lightly fried sea food starter (prawns, squid, sardines, octopus) and then I had the tagliatelle with king prawns and the wife the sea bream with roast potatoes – both were really good, especially the pasta. Had a lovely sleep on the sand after in the gentle afternoon sun. Headed back to the hotel to shower and change and managed to get a table for 11:30 at Balafia. We drove past this place once and almost missed it coming back but so glad we didn’t. Between us we had the tomato salad, chips (amazing), a rabbit and a T-bone steak and a great Rioja. This place gets so many good reviews and now I know why – would go back in a hear t beat. Even the bread and aioli were on another level. We even made room for dessert, one homemade ice cream and an Ibizan dish beginning with a G that I cannot remember the name of, which is a shame as it was amazing. Had a quick drink back in PDB and an early night – great chilled day spent mainly eating.
Thursday
We were up for 9 on the Thursday in order to get to Aguas Blancas while it was in the sun. Picked up breakfast from a new (I presume) organic bakery on the way out of PDB if you’re heading for the motorway. This place was brilliant, if I had an apartment of villa I would have stocked up big time. We took spinach and goat’s cheese pastry and a fruit croissant plus two coffees and set off. Really enjoyed this new beach and even though it was busy there was room and the sea was beautiful and clean. We had planned to meet a friend in Santa Eulalia for a drink at 7 and toyed with the idea of lunch in San Carlos but instead chose the bar on the left if you’re heading back up the steps to the car park. The service was very slow and not the most friendly, the food was OK, not bad but the least impressive of the holiday. Stopped off at Calla Pada for an hour on the way back and caught the last of the sun before meeting up with our pal. We were in a rush as we had to get back to get ready as had guest list for Enter but needed to be in for 12. This tight time frame meant dinner was had at Ibiza Rocks Diner and as we weren’t really hungry just shared a chicken pitta and sides with a bottle of wine. We only just got in the guest list queue for midnight and it was about 12:20 before we got to the front but there was no issue getting in (apart from the fact that my ticket could not be found on the system straight away, luckily they checked a pile of tickets already printed off and I was in there!). Got in and headed straight for the toilet and spotted a couple of guys who were absolutely wasted – big time face pulls going on. As normal I had to wait outside the gents for the Mrs and one of the guys from the toilet comes staggering out and just wanders around a bit, then out of nowhere starts throwing up behind a plant – it’s been a while since I’ve seen someone that sick. He then has a sit down and is just swaying form side but before long a security guy walks past just as he starts to heave again and that was his night over. Fair do’s to security, they were just looking after him and were very gentle in taking him away. As you’d expect, his mate comes staggering out the toilet two seconds later looking for his pal and I had to point out where he’d been taken. Back to the main event, we started on the terrace and managed to find a bit of space right at the back on one of the raised areas. The music was OK but a bit flat for me so we moved in to the Disco about half 1 – can’t remember who was on but he was wicked, really banging music so we stayed put until Richie Hawtin came on. To be honest, it got very busy and I wasn’t really feeling his set so we moved back in to the terrace and found a spot back where we were before. Though Solomon was really good, harder than expected but I presume that was because of the night and crowd. Really enjoyed the night but was struggling by about quarter past 6. Must say this was a really busy night (as expected) but getting across the terrace could take 20 mins, going to the toilet took 20 mins and getting a drink not much less.
Friday
Up for about 12 on the Friday (found that a Valium before bed worked wonders) and felt much better than anticipated. Headed off to Calla Vadella and planned to eat somewhere on the beach but checked in to Trip Advisor who recommended ‘Can Pa’, a restaurant you pass on the drive to the beach next to a super market on the right hand side. I’ve drove past here so many times and never thought of stopping but so glad we did. We shared calamari, chorizo and the best goat’s cheese salad I’ve ever had. We shared some wine, took two coffees and I had a Hierbas and the bill was about €45! Really good service and I will defo be going back here the next time we’re over. Hit the beach after lunch and just got our head down for a few hours. We’d planned a gentle romantic night out for our last night but as the week progressed and plans to catch up with friends kept changing we ended up meeting a friend for dinner in Figueretas. Can’t remember the name of the place but you had to go down a few steps to the tables and were basically sat on the rocks with the sea lapping at your feet. However, it started to rain almost instantly so we quickly moved back and under their very tight terrace where tables were quickly assembled to ensure we didn’t all get soaked. The food was good without being outstanding and they did a very reasonable three course offer (about €24pp) too. We were treating our friend to dinner as she had sorted guest list out for Enter and we started to talk about Glitterbox and before you knew it we were dropping our friend off for work and out searching for cheap wristbands for our final night in Ibiza. Managed to pick up wristbands for €20 entry before 1pm so for the second night running we found ourselves in Space. As you can expect a much smaller crowd with only the terrace and one side room open. This wasn’t a problem for us; it was nice actually after the crowds of the night before. The music was as expected, good uplifting vocal house, disco and some funk. Again, a really good crowd in there, a bit more dressed up, slightly older but all up for fun. Had a great time moving freely between both rooms, enjoying the music in both equally. We finished off the night on the terrace with Kings of Tomorrow closing with ‘I can’t go for that’ by Hall and Oats which was great (although the Mrs was upset we didn’t get to hear ‘Finally’). Staggered out as the lights came on and walked back to the hotel picking up some beers on the way.
Saturday
Had to be out of the room for 12 which we managed and then went with a friend for lunch in Ibiza Town. We’d wanted to go to Bodega but found it shut when we arrived so San Juan instead – love this place, so reasonably priced. Shared a few plates and some wine and then went on got some ice-cream and headed back to Bossa as out friend was working at 3. Grabbed a t-shirt for my nephew and chilled at The Sports Café with friends until it was time to set-off for the airport about 8ish. A no fuss bag drop and passport check, a quick beer and before you knew it we were heading home.
Overall another great trip, the weather wasn’t great 100% of the time but it we didn’t let the rain ruin any fun when we had it. Had some great food and nights out and managed to catch up with friends. Really enjoyed finding new places to eat and swim.
On the pickpocket/safety issue in Bossa; we saw no trouble at all while we were there whether first thing in the morning, midday around Bora Bora or when walking home from Space. I’m sure shit does go off but then it does everywhere so it’s just about being a bit clued up and keeping an eye out.
Presently trying to get a gang together to hire a villa for 2016!
 
Great review mate, some good tips for food. Ibz rocks diner is a guilty pleasure of mine too. Chicken pitta is great pre club food, Andy the brummy waiter is very helpful and pleasant.
 
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