thejudge2k
Active Member
After many years of going to Ibiza and reading reviews on here I’ve finally got round to writing one of my own – hope you enjoy it! 
We usually stay in hotels & apartments when visiting Ibiza, but this year we decided to try something different and booked one of the Ibiza Icon apartments owned by Charlie Chester & Jo Mills.
Sunday - After the usual anticipation-filled last week at work, involving many an hour switching between the Ibiza Spotlight message boards and the met office website, the day arrived. We met at Gatwick on a dry but windy Sunday night and quickly passed through the ghost town that is the North Terminal at 10pm, before boarding our half-empty BA plane to the white isle. Our group were soon enjoying a few G&Ts and pondering what the week ahead may hold - the combination of 2 Ibiza virgins and 2 more experienced Ibiza goers providing some contrasting views. A short and uneventful flight later we touched down, collected our bags and climbed aboard our black Hummer for the short transfer to Playa d'en Bossa, where we hit the sack straight away.
Monday - awoke early afternoon, had a lunchtime snack at Jo & Darren's on the promenade in PdB, then headed back to the airport to pick up our rent a car from Hertz. Chilled out by the pool in the afternoon, then headed over to San An for sunset at Cafe Mambo to get the week started properly. There was no Circo Loco to keep us entertained so we arrived relatively early (around 8pm) and found sunset strip rather quiet. Although it did get much busier by sunset (9:20pm), it certainly wasn't packed, but a nice spot on the decking & the tunes of the S man certainly sorted us out. After a couple more drinks we headed up to Sa Capella for another gorgeous dinner. Whatever people say about this restaurant, imo it's still one of best on the island - great food, chilled atmosphere, and the view from the outside tables of the old monastery is beautiful. About 1am we headed back to base for a quick change and then a cab straight to Pacha – skipped the queue and arrived in the main room with Roger Sanchez already in full flow - quality. Club wasn’t full, but a good selection of people were in attendance, including a very wasted Mike and Clare Manumission. Happily danced our asses off in the main room, chilled on the terrace and generally soaked up the Pacha atmosphere until 5am, when we headed home - it's good to be back.
Tuesday - late start again, but another glorious sunny day, so straight in the car and down to Salinas. Late lunch of fresh fish at the Jockey Club, looking out across the blue Mediterranean sea at a collection of luxurious looking boats. Plenty of Jellyfish about, so passed up on a swim from the beach and wandered through the trees over towards Es Cavellet, where we found a crystal clear natural pool down from the rocks - very peaceful and refreshing. Headed back to the apartment for a quick change, then off on a mission to find the San Rafael Hippodrome for Ibiza Rocks. Some spot-on directions from Mr Chester got us there just as the sky was turning a beautiful shade of orange. Great venue, if a little strange - plenty of room, good organisation, ample parking and truly in the open air. The Wombats rocked - plenty of energy, great fun tunes and a really good up-for-it crowd. There really is something special about live music outdoors! Closing time of 11:20pm was strictly enforced, so we headed to Ibiza Town for some post-party refreshment. Had some snacks near the port, then headed to Base bar for a couple of drinks and enjoyed watching the world go by, as well as seeing a rather large and out of it Brandon Block make an arse of himself.
Jockey Club:
Wombats:
Wednesday - decided to pay a visit to Formentera, given it had been many years since my last visit. Got the fast Cat across and sauntered up towards Illetes. Found a suitable spot on the white sandy beach, looking out across the turquoise water towards Ibiza and soaked up the peace and quiet. Instantly remembered why I love this place - a world away from hedonistic Ibiza, undisturbed natural beauty and a general freedom to let yourself go. After a wonderfully relaxing day we headed back to Ibiza Town as the sun began to dip over Dalt Vila and enjoyed some tasty tapas in the narrow streets. Decided to finally get a closer view of the mysterious rock that is Es Vedra, so drove over to Cala d'Hort. Arrived a little after sunset, but still a great view, so had some drinks at the restaurant on the beach before heading back into Ibiza Town. We’d booked a table at La Olivia in Dalt Vila and had a delicious dinner as always, whilst watching the weird and wonderful people of Ibiza wander through the ancient streets. Once again it was off to Pacha, this time for Subliminal. Great production for the Carnivale theme, although once again the Pacha dancers' outfits were somewhat below par when compared to their usual high standard. Was very impressed by the Martinez Brothers (especially given their tender ages of 16 and 19) - played some good party tunes, although not sure they'll ever progress beyond good warm-up DJs. Then came the main attraction - Mr Morillo - who played a selection of old classics and new tunes as always - really enjoyed his set - fun party atmosphere as always.
Formentera:
Ibiza Town:
Pacha:
Thursday - decided to try out something new today and pointed our car towards Cala Jondal and the highly regarded Blue Marlin. Got on the phone to our host Mr Chester who sorted us out with a "day bed" for the afternoon at a very reasonable price. After reading many good reviews and having already reserved a bed for the day we were all slightly apprehensive as to what it would actually be like. We weren't to be disappointed, however, as everything that had been said and written was true. Best points: huge comfy white bed (easily big enough for 4), delicious food, reasonably-priced drinks, great bar staff, good DJ playing chilled housey beats and a collection of sexy, relaxed, fun people. Add all that to a great view of the boats moored in the bay and a jetty from our bed to the crystal clear Mediterranean sea, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience - I'll definitely be heading back soon. We wanted to make the most of our clubbing evening, so skipped sunset watching and a decent meal and instead grabbed some food near the Jet Apartments and headed to Space for midnight. I hadn't been to Space for 6 years, so the place was almost unrecognisable given the refurb of a few years back. Only 2 rooms were open - El Salon and the inside terrace, but with few people at the beginning it was ideal. We chilled out in El Salon for a while, before hitting the terrace to hear Wally Lopez play a blinding set - the pinnacle being Laurent Garnier - Man with the Red Face (MK & Funkagenda re-edit), which truly raised the energy level and provided one of those brilliant terrace moments. We waited for what seemed like ages before Danny T finally took to the decks at around 2:45am. With his customary baseball hat, handheld flashlights and heavy beats he got a great reception. The club filled up noticeably and the terrace was feeling much much busier. We eventually left at 3:30am with the party in full swing and some suspect looking dancers patrolling the stage!
Blue Marlin:
Friday - we spent our penultimate day wandering the streets of Ibiza town, soaking up the atmosphere and browsing the shops. Had a late tapas dinner, then headed to Benirras for our final sunset. It was a great way to spend our last full evening - a perfect sunset, the relaxed atmosphere and sounds of people mingling and bongos playing, and a chance for us to meet up with some new friends we made at Blue Marlin. The only annoying thing was that the little bar on the beach was closed - think the establishment need to use a bit more common sense when they deal with licensing issues in the future. We headed back to Dalt Vila and the wonderful Italian La Torreta for a tasty meal of meat, fish and pasta, then did the walk around the port to Pacha, arriving at 2am. The place was buzzing already and Cassius soon took to the decks for a storming set – they never fail to deliver. They were followed up by Axwell, who played some great new tunes, and made it impossible for us not to stick around on the balcony and have a right good dance before calling it a night. Overall Pure Pacha was quite full from start to end and had a really good atmosphere - it appears the absence of Mr Tong isn't affecting them too much!
Benirras:
Saturday - nothing of note to report - packed, had late lunch at Darren & Jo’s, checked out, returned hire car and preceded to spend ages checking in for our Thomas Cook flight home. We then spent a fair while in the airport due to the baggage handlers "go slow" which resulted in a 2.5 hour delay. We finally arrived back in London in the early hours of Sunday morning feeling rather depressed and very tired.
In conclusion – the weather was ace, we met some great people as always, the parties were fun, numbers on the island were lower than last year but without having a detrimental effect on the atmosphere, prices were roughly the same, we only saw 2 Guardia vans in the whole week and the change in opening hours had little visible impact on our enjoyment of Ibiza
Overall another big thumbs up - Ibiza changes every day, but you can still have some of the times of your life there - can't wait to go back in August!
We usually stay in hotels & apartments when visiting Ibiza, but this year we decided to try something different and booked one of the Ibiza Icon apartments owned by Charlie Chester & Jo Mills.
Sunday - After the usual anticipation-filled last week at work, involving many an hour switching between the Ibiza Spotlight message boards and the met office website, the day arrived. We met at Gatwick on a dry but windy Sunday night and quickly passed through the ghost town that is the North Terminal at 10pm, before boarding our half-empty BA plane to the white isle. Our group were soon enjoying a few G&Ts and pondering what the week ahead may hold - the combination of 2 Ibiza virgins and 2 more experienced Ibiza goers providing some contrasting views. A short and uneventful flight later we touched down, collected our bags and climbed aboard our black Hummer for the short transfer to Playa d'en Bossa, where we hit the sack straight away.
Monday - awoke early afternoon, had a lunchtime snack at Jo & Darren's on the promenade in PdB, then headed back to the airport to pick up our rent a car from Hertz. Chilled out by the pool in the afternoon, then headed over to San An for sunset at Cafe Mambo to get the week started properly. There was no Circo Loco to keep us entertained so we arrived relatively early (around 8pm) and found sunset strip rather quiet. Although it did get much busier by sunset (9:20pm), it certainly wasn't packed, but a nice spot on the decking & the tunes of the S man certainly sorted us out. After a couple more drinks we headed up to Sa Capella for another gorgeous dinner. Whatever people say about this restaurant, imo it's still one of best on the island - great food, chilled atmosphere, and the view from the outside tables of the old monastery is beautiful. About 1am we headed back to base for a quick change and then a cab straight to Pacha – skipped the queue and arrived in the main room with Roger Sanchez already in full flow - quality. Club wasn’t full, but a good selection of people were in attendance, including a very wasted Mike and Clare Manumission. Happily danced our asses off in the main room, chilled on the terrace and generally soaked up the Pacha atmosphere until 5am, when we headed home - it's good to be back.
Tuesday - late start again, but another glorious sunny day, so straight in the car and down to Salinas. Late lunch of fresh fish at the Jockey Club, looking out across the blue Mediterranean sea at a collection of luxurious looking boats. Plenty of Jellyfish about, so passed up on a swim from the beach and wandered through the trees over towards Es Cavellet, where we found a crystal clear natural pool down from the rocks - very peaceful and refreshing. Headed back to the apartment for a quick change, then off on a mission to find the San Rafael Hippodrome for Ibiza Rocks. Some spot-on directions from Mr Chester got us there just as the sky was turning a beautiful shade of orange. Great venue, if a little strange - plenty of room, good organisation, ample parking and truly in the open air. The Wombats rocked - plenty of energy, great fun tunes and a really good up-for-it crowd. There really is something special about live music outdoors! Closing time of 11:20pm was strictly enforced, so we headed to Ibiza Town for some post-party refreshment. Had some snacks near the port, then headed to Base bar for a couple of drinks and enjoyed watching the world go by, as well as seeing a rather large and out of it Brandon Block make an arse of himself.
Jockey Club:
Wombats:
Wednesday - decided to pay a visit to Formentera, given it had been many years since my last visit. Got the fast Cat across and sauntered up towards Illetes. Found a suitable spot on the white sandy beach, looking out across the turquoise water towards Ibiza and soaked up the peace and quiet. Instantly remembered why I love this place - a world away from hedonistic Ibiza, undisturbed natural beauty and a general freedom to let yourself go. After a wonderfully relaxing day we headed back to Ibiza Town as the sun began to dip over Dalt Vila and enjoyed some tasty tapas in the narrow streets. Decided to finally get a closer view of the mysterious rock that is Es Vedra, so drove over to Cala d'Hort. Arrived a little after sunset, but still a great view, so had some drinks at the restaurant on the beach before heading back into Ibiza Town. We’d booked a table at La Olivia in Dalt Vila and had a delicious dinner as always, whilst watching the weird and wonderful people of Ibiza wander through the ancient streets. Once again it was off to Pacha, this time for Subliminal. Great production for the Carnivale theme, although once again the Pacha dancers' outfits were somewhat below par when compared to their usual high standard. Was very impressed by the Martinez Brothers (especially given their tender ages of 16 and 19) - played some good party tunes, although not sure they'll ever progress beyond good warm-up DJs. Then came the main attraction - Mr Morillo - who played a selection of old classics and new tunes as always - really enjoyed his set - fun party atmosphere as always.
Formentera:
Ibiza Town:
Pacha:
Thursday - decided to try out something new today and pointed our car towards Cala Jondal and the highly regarded Blue Marlin. Got on the phone to our host Mr Chester who sorted us out with a "day bed" for the afternoon at a very reasonable price. After reading many good reviews and having already reserved a bed for the day we were all slightly apprehensive as to what it would actually be like. We weren't to be disappointed, however, as everything that had been said and written was true. Best points: huge comfy white bed (easily big enough for 4), delicious food, reasonably-priced drinks, great bar staff, good DJ playing chilled housey beats and a collection of sexy, relaxed, fun people. Add all that to a great view of the boats moored in the bay and a jetty from our bed to the crystal clear Mediterranean sea, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience - I'll definitely be heading back soon. We wanted to make the most of our clubbing evening, so skipped sunset watching and a decent meal and instead grabbed some food near the Jet Apartments and headed to Space for midnight. I hadn't been to Space for 6 years, so the place was almost unrecognisable given the refurb of a few years back. Only 2 rooms were open - El Salon and the inside terrace, but with few people at the beginning it was ideal. We chilled out in El Salon for a while, before hitting the terrace to hear Wally Lopez play a blinding set - the pinnacle being Laurent Garnier - Man with the Red Face (MK & Funkagenda re-edit), which truly raised the energy level and provided one of those brilliant terrace moments. We waited for what seemed like ages before Danny T finally took to the decks at around 2:45am. With his customary baseball hat, handheld flashlights and heavy beats he got a great reception. The club filled up noticeably and the terrace was feeling much much busier. We eventually left at 3:30am with the party in full swing and some suspect looking dancers patrolling the stage!
Blue Marlin:
Friday - we spent our penultimate day wandering the streets of Ibiza town, soaking up the atmosphere and browsing the shops. Had a late tapas dinner, then headed to Benirras for our final sunset. It was a great way to spend our last full evening - a perfect sunset, the relaxed atmosphere and sounds of people mingling and bongos playing, and a chance for us to meet up with some new friends we made at Blue Marlin. The only annoying thing was that the little bar on the beach was closed - think the establishment need to use a bit more common sense when they deal with licensing issues in the future. We headed back to Dalt Vila and the wonderful Italian La Torreta for a tasty meal of meat, fish and pasta, then did the walk around the port to Pacha, arriving at 2am. The place was buzzing already and Cassius soon took to the decks for a storming set – they never fail to deliver. They were followed up by Axwell, who played some great new tunes, and made it impossible for us not to stick around on the balcony and have a right good dance before calling it a night. Overall Pure Pacha was quite full from start to end and had a really good atmosphere - it appears the absence of Mr Tong isn't affecting them too much!
Benirras:
Saturday - nothing of note to report - packed, had late lunch at Darren & Jo’s, checked out, returned hire car and preceded to spend ages checking in for our Thomas Cook flight home. We then spent a fair while in the airport due to the baggage handlers "go slow" which resulted in a 2.5 hour delay. We finally arrived back in London in the early hours of Sunday morning feeling rather depressed and very tired.
In conclusion – the weather was ace, we met some great people as always, the parties were fun, numbers on the island were lower than last year but without having a detrimental effect on the atmosphere, prices were roughly the same, we only saw 2 Guardia vans in the whole week and the change in opening hours had little visible impact on our enjoyment of Ibiza
Overall another big thumbs up - Ibiza changes every day, but you can still have some of the times of your life there - can't wait to go back in August!
