Late Review - First Time to Ibiza Sept 24-29, 2008

missflorida

New Member
Well better late than never! This was my first time to Ibiza, it was fantastic.

To view my video/photo montage at youtube CLICK HERE.

Sept 24 - Wednesday
After flying from Orlando to Miami to Madrid to Barcelona to Ibiza we finally made it! Checked into the Hotel Gran Sol in San An (great hotel, family run, close to the West End/Sunset Strip) and decided to have a walk around the area to keep ourselves up and adjust to the local time. Opted for some dinner at some restaurant in the West End, the food is ok but we quickly realized that the US-Euro exchange rate was really going to kill us on this trip! Went back to the hotel and fell asleep around 10 pm, it had been a LONG day.

Sept 25 – Thursday
Rented a car and drove down to Cala d’Hort then up to Portinatx and Cala Xarraca, then visited the caves at Can Marca (advice: caves are OK but don’t waste your time or money, the best thing was just the view at the top of the cliff). Returning to San An we just walked around the harbor and did some tourist shopping. Having the car for the day was a good idea, as taxis just would not have worked out and it was fun to drive through the little villages along the way. That night was F*** Me I’m Famous/David Guetta closing party at Pacha – this place was packed! The club itself I thought was a bit on the small side. A nice surprise was that they had the DJ Awards going on, so a bunch of DJ’s were on hand to receive their awards in different categories. Also, Fragma was there and performed “Toca’s Miracle” and really got the crowd going. David Guetta came on at 3 am and I was a bit disappointed that he really only did 3 or 4 of his own songs. Overall impression of Pacha was that yes, it was “posh” but def. not the total norm and the crowd was not as snobby as I had pictured. Tip: apparently in Ibiza (and perhaps a lot of places in Europe) they do not do tabs for the credit cards. The girl at the bar gave me quite an attitude that I wanted to put down the credit card for the night, and I really think she thought I was crazy. Later I did hear from other people that they don’t know what a tab is. To me, I don’t know why they wouldn’t do this as it would make more sense to sell more drinks.

Sept 26 – Friday
A lazy day recovering from the night before. Ate lunch around 2 pm then played cards for the night and went to bed.

Sept 27 – Saturday
Checked out of the Hotel in San An and went over to the Fiesta Hotel Playa d’en Bossa. This hotel was great because it’s direct opposite Space and has a fantastic beachfront atmosphere. Spent the day in Ibiza Town shopping around and exploring the old city. Thankfully I had been in touch with some spotlighters before the trip so we got to meet up! Upon good advice, we ended up staying at Amnesia for People From Ibiza closing party (after first heading to El Divino – HedKandi – only stayed for ½ hour – that place is disco hell)! This was really my favorite night, the club was packed but not overcrowded and uncomfortable, and the DJ’s were playing some rockin house music. We met up with and spent the night hanging with Utagaura, Morbyd, Mark Sun, weloveliam@Space and his friend Simon, Crazycanuck, Nostrum, and others (sorry if I forgot your SN!) :) We enjoyed Amnesia more than Pacha. Oh, I got my camera in but then got in confiscated later-they make you pay 3 euros to check it.

Sept 28 – Sunday
Didn’t do anything! Only really got up to eat, do a bit of shopping down the beach. It was more or less a waste of a day. That night we did go to We Love Space closing party. Arrived around 12 AM and this place was insanely crowded. My friend was not feeling well so we decided to leave and come back later (to try and meet up with some people) but honestly it was so crowded and uncomfortable we didn’t stay the whole night. Don’t hate me BUT I think that Space Miami is better. As far as the layout of the club goes, it really sucks. You can’t find the exits, all the doorways get too congested- there is no flow. I know this was the biggest night of the week, but I really just didn’t find my groove here and that was a bit unfortunate. :oops: Maybe next year.


Sept 29 – Monday
Had a late flight for Barcelona so we stored our bags and went back to Ibiza town for some last minute shopping and lunch. Bye bye Ibiza – hopefully next year we’ll be back!

General Impressions/Summary

September was probably not the best time for us to go – the weather was crap and we were disappointed at lack of beach time. We did have a good laugh at the British as they were sunbathing and swimming in probably the only sun they’ve seen in a good year, but us being from Florida we though it was absolutely freezing and NOT conducive to fun in the sun! Besides the weather though, being around for the closing parties was cool, and NOT being in the miserable heat and crowds of August was ok. There are a lot of pros and cons to going in September.

-After watching endless youtube and crap shows online like Living Ibiza clips, some of what I expected and what I saw just did not match up, could have been the time of year.
-Café del Mar, the whole sunset strip in general (a la Ocean Drive Miami – everything is overpriced and touristy, and besides the sunset I didn’t see the big deal).
-I would have liked to check out some more places like the Blue Marlin and other beaches, but again, the weather was just not right.
-Pacha was good, would like to try Pure Pacha next time.
-El Divino was crap.
-Amnesia was the best.
-Space was a bit disappointing.
-Playa d’en Bossa is better than San Antonio.
-Felt good about this not being like the spring break atmosphere in Cancun. We saw people from all countries and of all ages having a good time.
-I’ll take my McDonald’s chicken nuggets anyday over some of the crap food we experienced. (and by the way-why does it take so long to get your damn check at the restaurants? It was like pulling teeth to actually pay and leave).
-Definitely enjoyed meeting people from Ibiza spotlight – this was the highlight! 8)
-Considering next year for either the opening parties, or another week in June.

Thanks for reading my review!
 
Hey there... see you finally got around to posting your review ;)

Re: credit cards - you are right, in Europe you do have to pay for each round, and there's often a minimum number of drinks. Obviously it would be easier to leave your card and run up a tab like in the States, but with the volume they get in clubs like the ones in Ibiza it might be somewhat difficult to manage.

Having been to both, I seriously disagree on the Space Ibiza vs Space Miami point! Space Ibiza is a bit of a maze (moreso in the past 3 years as they've added more rooms) but once you learn the layout it's easy enough to get around. And the atmosphere is way better! ;)

Next time I will definitely have to give you some food recommendations. You'll find some very tasty Mediterranean cuisine on the island, even in some less expensive restaurants. McDonalds doesn't come close! :lol:

Glad you enjoyed the trip overall... but it was really just a taste. We'll help you get even more prepared for fun next year. 3rd week of June is a good time to shoot for ;)
 
Good review. Always interesting reading others peoples series of events etc from the time they spent in Ibiza.

One small thing, I'd say your experience at space would have been 10 times better had it not been a closing party. Don't write the place off completely, if you can try and get there mid season I'd imagine you'd have a completely different opinion on the place. It does get busy, but there is plenty of space to move around.

:)
 
It was a pleasure meeting you guys 8) And i agree with yourself and Morbs, next time i'd go late june/early july, its nicely busy, great weather and the clubs arent too rammed or like a sauna !! :lol:

But definately give it another go !! 8)
 
Hey thanks for the feedback all!

Regarding Space, yes I think you are right...probably being at the closing party was not the best first impression, but I would definitley give it another try! Also, my friend was feeling really awful so compound that on the crowd and it just wasn't the best night for us. Anyways, if I go back I'd consider doing the Matinee or La Troya parties, upon good advice of course!

Morbyd--ok, ok, Space Miami is only better in my opinion because i liked the look and the layout of the place better, and especially the rooftop terrace. The main room in Ibiza is way better than the one in Miami, for sure! :)

We are already thinking about doing a week in June or July so if anyone's already planning for a specific week let me know! The only problem about going back of course is the airfare and picking another city as the gateway (has to be somewhere besides Barcelona or London), hopefully we get our economy in check soon or I won't be going anywhere :eek:
 
Great to meet you!!!

Hopefully next time you get a little more of the clubbing experience you were after! 8)

Amnesia was pretty quiet on the night we went and I think it would have been better if you got to Space in the early evening while the sun was still out ( sort of!)For me, that was the best part!

Hopefully this time next year they will have brought back the day parties so you can do Matinee properly!!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nice review. Good meeting you! 8)

My girlfriend thought it was funny when you asked her if she was barbie :lol: ;)

ps: judging by your comment about Above and Beyond and your choice of tune in your youtube montage, I think next time you should do a trance night in Ibiza 8)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Morbyd--ok, ok, Space Miami is only better in my opinion because i liked the look and the layout of the place better, and especially the rooftop terrace. The main room in Ibiza is way better than the one in Miami, for sure! :)
Did you not make it up to the rooftop terrace at Space Ibiza :?: Nice chill-out zone (I admittedly didn't make upstairs in Miami)

And don't listen to Ferd :lol: ;)
 
Morbyd--yeah! we did make it up to the terrace and it was SO small!! Ok, the room I actually liked best at Space was that red room, I think it was near the terrace upstairs, the music there was real funky.

Don't listen to Ferd?? LOL....hey, I def. need to check out the trance next time. Would have liked to have seen PVD b/c I've never seen him before. ;)

So, if I go next time this is what I would want to try:
-Cream Amnesia
-Mattinee or LaTroya Space
-Tiesto at Privelege
-Pure Pacha
 
My girlfriend thought it was funny when you asked her if she was barbie :lol: ;)

OK LOL well I had heard that she was there, or at least coming and I've never met her so I saw a cute blonde and thought that was her .... HI BARBIE if you are reading this!! I haven't met you but we were there the same time. ;)
 
i'm kind of dumbfounded about your comments about bar tabs.

i've run them every time i've been at Pacha going back to 1996.

last year i ran bar tabs at Pacha several times and Space and Blue Marlin and it was never an issue.
 
i'm kind of dumbfounded about your comments about bar tabs.

i've run them every time i've been at Pacha going back to 1996.

last year i ran bar tabs at Pacha several times and Space and Blue Marlin and it was never an issue.

Maybe they stopped doing that this year? Or perhaps I just picked the bitchiest bartender in the whole of the club! Well next year I've decided anyways I'm not leaving the credit card because I saw my bill with the exchange rate on 2 drinks and I can live without. lol ;)
 
Nice review BUT i seriously disagree about El Divino i think it's a cracking club that view from the terrace is stunning,dunno what nite you went to but MN2S is IMO the best nite in Ibiza, it might not be as big and popular as some of the other nites but the music and general vibe is brilliant (assuming you like Funky/Soulful House):)
 
Nice review BUT i seriously disagree about El Divino i think it's a cracking club that view from the terrace is stunning,dunno what nite you went to but MN2S is IMO the best nite in Ibiza, it might not be as big and popular as some of the other nites but the music and general vibe is brilliant (assuming you like Funky/Soulful House):)

Hey Jonny....ok, I can see why you disagree with me....I will admit that the club *looks* nice, but as one person put it to me "it's like any other VIP club in any other city" which I agreed with....we went for Hed Kandi and I really didn't like the music, it was just too disco-y IMO, I suppose it is just a matter of taste though.
 
i enjoyed your review and am glad that you had such a good time. i have to disagree about space miami vs. ibiza- to me there is no comparison - your mistake was going to we love, to me it is one of the worst parties i've ever been to in ibiza (and i've been to eden:oops:) matinee and la troya are much more enjoyable, crowd/atmosphere wise. i didn't make it over to the white isle this year, but i'm planning on going next year- i'm considering late june, if i can take the time from work, if not, i'll be there in september8)
 
i enjoyed your review and am glad that you had such a good time. i have to disagree about space miami vs. ibiza- to me there is no comparison - your mistake was going to we love, to me it is one of the worst parties i've ever been to in ibiza (and i've been to eden:oops:) matinee and la troya are much more enjoyable, crowd/atmosphere wise. i didn't make it over to the white isle this year, but i'm planning on going next year- i'm considering late june, if i can take the time from work, if not, i'll be there in september8)

Space is the place! Definitely nowhere else in the world like it in terms of atmosphere!

Iv'e never been to We Love myself, because I thought it looked a bit too shiny and a little dare I say- cheesy in terms of the music played during the day..

Carl Cox on Tuesdays and Danny T on Thursdays just wouldn't be the same parties in other clubs in Ibiza.
 
Back
Top