My review, 7th-18th July

Malk

Active Member
Dates you were there:

7th – 18th July. This was a “hybrid” holiday, plenty family time but also getting a couple of nights clubbing in. Went with the wife and boy (4) along with my mate, his wife and his two kids, 2 and 5. It’s great going with company as it means me and my mate can get a couple of nights out and the girls can do the same.

Where you stayed:

Gran Sol, San Antonio. We’ve stayed here multiple times and love it. The location is excellent, it has a great pool/garden area, the staff are fantastic and the rooms are basic but spotless. We had booked half board, was €1500 for the three of us for 10 nights. The food in the hotel was great, usual fare for a 3 star hotel, plenty of choice and cooked to a good standard. We never eat in the hotel every night so we knew we wouldn’t get bored with their offering. Plus, with 3 children in tow, sometimes it’s easier just to get them fed without hanging around. Another plus point for the hotel is that they don’t suffer any nonsense from any idiots. With it being in San An, there will always be the odd group of lads/girls that book in, but they are kept in check by the staff, without being too hard on them – everyone should be allowed to enjoy themselves, but if things start to go too far, the staff are good at managing it.

Club nights visited:

Cocoon 8th July. Was really looking forward to this night. We patched a decent DC10 line up and made our focus solely on Cocoon. Cocoon was the one club night that always kept us coming back to the island through our 20’s (38 now) and some of my best memories are from there, mainly from the club room, Funk d’Void, various Hawtin sets, Alex Smoke, Anthony Rother, Alter Ego, Ricardo, Dinky and of course the man himself Sven plus loads more that have slipped my mind. We were that eager that we were there 10 minutes before Amnesia even opened. We always had a policy through our main clubbing years – first in, last out. The “first in” part still remains, however the “last out” part is more of a struggle, especially as we have the ankle biters to deal with the next day.

Anyway, onto the actual night. Roman Flugel was opening the club room, with Andre Galluzzi on the Terrace. We started off in the main room for the first part of Roman’s set then headed to the Terrace for a bit. I know it was early and both would have been warming up, but I struggled a bit to get into either, it was only about the last 35/40 minutes of Roman Flugel that I liked and could get into. Planetary Assault Systems were on next. Always enjoyed DJ sets from Luke Slater but had never seen his live act. Was really impressed with it, just what we were needing – a bit more up tempo with thumping basslines. It got a bit strange about halfway through with the appearance of a saxophone player, but after that it was business as usual. Was really starting to get into the night now. As an aside, we met Josh Wink who was front and centre during it. Spoke to him for a couple of minutes and rambled something about an Essential Mix he done years ago, shook his hand and left him to get back into PAS. Sven was on after PAS and he had promised a special techno set as this was his only Club Room appearance of the season. I can’t help but feeling a little disappointed with his set on the night. Read a review from WIC in the Cocoon thread and agree with everything that he wrote, was as little flat for long periods and he didn’t really seem to hit his groove. We headed for the Terrace about 5’ish to see how Adam Beyer was doing. I’ve never been his biggest fan and again it just wasn’t doing anything for me. We called it a day about 5:30’ish, bearing in mind we’d be in a pool with the kids in a few hours, a sensible decision.

From a musical perspective I was left feeling a little disappointed. It was an enjoyable night, but not an amazing night. I hope that Cocoon continues for at least another season as I wouldn’t like for that to be my last memory of it in Amnesia. A couple of other points, the crowd was good, everyone smiling and up for a good night. It thinned out in the main room and was comfortably busy I’d say. The set up for PAS was on the floor so that would take up an extra bit of room. There was the usual camera phones, but not so that it was ruining the vibe and it wasn’t a major factor (unlike DC10, see below).

Tool Room, 14th July. This was a bonus night out for me. Two pals had flown over to Ibiza for a few daft days, Sunday to Wednesday and were there purely for a party and I had the green light from the Mrs to go and meet them for a few beers. We were all staying in San An, it was cheap entry and we thought, why not? Tool Room isn’t really the style of music that we are all into, we prefer the techno side of things, however looking at the line-up, Gene Farris was on there who used to play quite a lot at Pressure in Glasgow and we liked him back then so we thought we’d give it a go. We went to Eden about 12:45, with Gene Farris starting at 1am. It was quiet, maybe 200 folk max at that point. The music was as you’d expect, on the house side of things, it wasn’t bad and we had a good night. It did get a bit busier although I’d say it was still quieter than they’d be wanting. Just a word on the club, cracking sound system and I like the way it’s set up. The right hand side was partitioned off, but you can imagine it being a great place to be when fully opened and a right good crowd in the place.

To Be Continued
 
Circo Loco/Pyramid Double Header 15th July. Back in the day, it was always about the Mondays – DC10 for mid-afternoon weirdness, refresh then onto Amnesia for Cocoon. With Cocoon being fortnightly, Pyramid looked to be a more than suitable replacement with a techno heavy line up in the main room. To be honest, the Circo line-up wasn’t really to our tastes, Rampa vs &Me the only act I really wanted to see, but we went with an open mind looking to discover something new. Arrived at DC around 9’ish. Willow was on in the Garden. Really, really didn’t like what she was playing. I’m sure others will disagree, but for me, it didn’t fit with the setting, I’m really glad we didn’t head in earlier. Rampa v &ME were closing the Garden, starting at 9:30. Enjoyed their set, saw most of it then wandered between the Main Room and Terrace for a wee bit to see what we could hear. Clive Henry was playing the Terrace and was okay, he ended up playing B2B with someone, not sure who as it wasn’t billed. In the Main Room Mozhgan was playing to about 6 people. Enjoyed parts of her set, but we headed back to the Terrace to hear Jasper James who had the 11:30 slot. It filled up very quickly after the music stopped in the Garden. Jasper James played a bit harder than we were expecting but was really good. We managed about 50 minutes of his set before it got a bit too crowded for us and the constant barging was a pain in the arse as people jostled for position coming in from the Garden. We headed for the main room where I’d say there were 100 people max. I think it was still Mozhgan that was playing, even though she was supposed to finish at 12 for Cashu. Anyway, stayed for about another hour and enjoyed what we heard of her set.

Again, as with Cocoon, musically this wasn’t one of the stronger Circo’s for me. Had its moments, but nothing outstanding. However, the main point of contention for me was the amount of people there on their phones. I know this issue has been done to death and it’s now a part of clubbing, but the sheer scale of it at DC10 that day was really annoying. Towards the back of the garden it was like a fashion shoot – one girl made her BF (assumed) take a video of her 4 times while she walked from the crowd dancing towards him – 4 TIMES. There was a group of locals in the middle of the dance floor who were really enjoying themselves, dancing away, letting themselves go really going for it, all male, but there were other people not with them just filming them, pointing phones at them a foot away and filming them. But the worst thing of all, and this was something that really pissed me off, filming with the flash on. That isn’t just an offence punishable by death, but punishable by extreme torture and a very slow death. May seem extreme, but a punishment that fits the crime if you ask me. Then there’s the security, again something that’s been commented on extensively, but it does kill the vibe to an extent. You’re on a dancefloor, trying to get into the music, then you see a huge walking sideboard marching through the middle of everyone, knocking people out the road, repeat every 2 minutes.

We left DC10 just before 1 to head to Amnesia, no time for a refresh, just straight into it. Fourtet was billed on the Terrace, with Mar Flores, Matador, Charlotte De Witte and Len Faki in the Main Room. Being honest, I’d never heard of Mar Flores before the night and didn’t know what to expect, Christ she banged it out early on. We got there to a full on techno onslaught from the word go. Now I love techno, but for me, it was just too hard too soon, especially given who was following the rest of the night. Really enjoyed Matador and CDW coming on after him worked a treat to take it up a level in terms of BPM, not a major difference but enough to make the night flow better than the start of things. Really enjoyed CDW, first time seeing her perform and pleased to say she does live up to the social media hype. Really enjoyed all of her set. We left just about 5 as Len Faki was due to come on. Would love to have stayed, but it had been a long night and again, need to consider the fact the kids would be up and about in a few hours. Sensible head on again.

Was really impressed with Pyramid, they production in both rooms was good, especially liked the floating pyramid above the dance floor in the main room. Would say they definitely had more numbers in the main room than cocoon, but given the names on the respective line-ups that won’t come as a surprise. Good crowd in as well, and no-where near the same level of phone use as DC10.


Best night: Pyramid.

Places we Ate:

We were half board so had lunch out most days.

Rio, San An. Food was decent, was had a mixture of salads, toasties with a few glasses of wine and some pints. Was approx. €80 for 4 adults and 3 children. Would go back.

La Guay, San An. Good, freshly prepared food at a reasonable price. Was approx. €50 for all of us, again with a few pints on there

Sa Bresca: Ate here during our annual trip to the aquarium/Cala Gracio (see below). Really good fish dishes, not cheap at €20 for the fish of the day, but really tasty. They have a list of fish of the day which you pick from – must have been 8 different choices. I had the monkish. Cooked to perfection with some lemon drizzled on it. Excellent location, on the beach. Can’t beat it.

La Dispensia – Dalt Villa. Probably the most expensive meal of the holiday, but had been on the wine at the beach all day and can’t remember what the final bill was. Was only me, the wife and boy that ate here, it was definitely over €100. The Mrs is 6 months pregnant so that was with 2 glasses of wine, no starters and one dessert between us. Food was excellent though and the staff were top notch. Incidentally, the guy who served us was one of the group of people who were really going for it in DC10 who were being filmed by some boot.

Tanit Beach Club – PDB. Had been here before we went to La Dispensia. Food was decent, we got a platter to share and it was good. Lay at the beach all day drinking the rose wine, was only €5 a glass and they seemed to get bigger the more I drank them. The one thing that struck me but wasn’t a surprise, the faux VIP people that infest places like this are absolute arseholes when they get a drink in them.

David’s, San An – a regular haunt when we’re over. The pizzas are excellent and the house red wine is as good as a house wine as I’ve has anywhere.

Pikes for Sunday Roast. What a fabulous place. Had read Tony Pikes’ book and knew the history and infamy of the place but had never been before. Loved it, the food was great, the Kid’s in Ibiza lady took the children and we got a couple of hours to have a wander round and get a few wine’s in (obviously). Just one very small gripe, they already add the service charge to your bill, which we only just picked up before handing over the cash (€300). I’ll always leave a tip, a minimum of 10/15%, but I hate it when it’s already added, unless of course it’s a big group, I just fin it a bit too presumptuous. Also, they’ll probably lose out, they add 10% - I’d leave more if it wasn’t already on there. Anyway, a small issues that didn’t detract from the day, we loved it and the kids loved it, will definitely be back.

Other Stuff:

Cap Blanc Aquarium/Cala Gracio beach. Every year we come to Ibiza we make a trip to the aquarium then head round to Cala Gracio. I have absolutely no idea what it is about the aquarium, but it has something that keeps drawing us back. It’s tiny, doesn’t have any toilets but the kids love it. It’s also good getting a couple of pints and a dip in the sea round there. We usually get the water taxi from the promenade in San An, gets the kids in a wee boat trip for 20 mins or so, then spend a while looking at the various fish. The beach wasn’t as good a trip as previous years, mainly due to jelly fish. Three of us got stung so the water was very quickly a no-go area for the kids.

Water Park in the Sirenis Hotel. Not worth the money. €52 euro for entry for the three of us. We foolishly thought there would be a snack bar to get some lunch, nothing. A vending machine that does crisps and chocolate €3 for a bag of crisps! Won’t go back.

Money spent:

Don’t know. Roughly £1800 for flights and hotel (half board) for 3. Haven’t counted up the spending money yet.

Biggest regret:

Not staying for longer

Going back?

Absolutely, next year at some point. There will be 4 of us, so need to get planning soon.

Top tip:

Do as much as you can in the time that you’re there. Explore, find new things to eat, try different drinks, sit on a beach with your mates/other half until it’s pitch black, stay out and watch a sunrise, speak to as may people as possible, watch a sunset (but tidy up after yourself), power through your hangover and get shit done (there’s nothing a few glasses of wine can’t sort, and it’s cheap!), do things that make you happy.
 
Circo Loco/Pyramid Double Header 15th July. Back in the day, it was always about the Mondays – DC10 for mid-afternoon weirdness, refresh then onto Amnesia for Cocoon. With Cocoon being fortnightly, Pyramid looked to be a more than suitable replacement with a techno heavy line up in the main room. To be honest, the Circo line-up wasn’t really to our tastes, Rampa vs &Me the only act I really wanted to see, but we went with an open mind looking to discover something new. Arrived at DC around 9’ish. Willow was on in the Garden. Really, really didn’t like what she was playing. I’m sure others will disagree, but for me, it didn’t fit with the setting, I’m really glad we didn’t head in earlier. Rampa v &ME were closing the Garden, starting at 9:30. Enjoyed their set, saw most of it then wandered between the Main Room and Terrace for a wee bit to see what we could hear. Clive Henry was playing the Terrace and was okay, he ended up playing B2B with someone, not sure who as it wasn’t billed. In the Main Room Mozhgan was playing to about 6 people. Enjoyed parts of her set, but we headed back to the Terrace to hear Jasper James who had the 11:30 slot. It filled up very quickly after the music stopped in the Garden. Jasper James played a bit harder than we were expecting but was really good. We managed about 50 minutes of his set before it got a bit too crowded for us and the constant barging was a pain in the arse as people jostled for position coming in from the Garden. We headed for the main room where I’d say there were 100 people max. I think it was still Mozhgan that was playing, even though she was supposed to finish at 12 for Cashu. Anyway, stayed for about another hour and enjoyed what we heard of her set.

Again, as with Cocoon, musically this wasn’t one of the stronger Circo’s for me. Had its moments, but nothing outstanding. However, the main point of contention for me was the amount of people there on their phones. I know this issue has been done to death and it’s now a part of clubbing, but the sheer scale of it at DC10 that day was really annoying. Towards the back of the garden it was like a fashion shoot – one girl made her BF (assumed) take a video of her 4 times while she walked from the crowd dancing towards him – 4 TIMES. There was a group of locals in the middle of the dance floor who were really enjoying themselves, dancing away, letting themselves go really going for it, all male, but there were other people not with them just filming them, pointing phones at them a foot away and filming them. But the worst thing of all, and this was something that really pissed me off, filming with the flash on. That isn’t just an offence punishable by death, but punishable by extreme torture and a very slow death. May seem extreme, but a punishment that fits the crime if you ask me. Then there’s the security, again something that’s been commented on extensively, but it does kill the vibe to an extent. You’re on a dancefloor, trying to get into the music, then you see a huge walking sideboard marching through the middle of everyone, knocking people out the road, repeat every 2 minutes.

We left DC10 just before 1 to head to Amnesia, no time for a refresh, just straight into it. Fourtet was billed on the Terrace, with Mar Flores, Matador, Charlotte De Witte and Len Faki in the Main Room. Being honest, I’d never heard of Mar Flores before the night and didn’t know what to expect, Christ she banged it out early on. We got there to a full on techno onslaught from the word go. Now I love techno, but for me, it was just too hard too soon, especially given who was following the rest of the night. Really enjoyed Matador and CDW coming on after him worked a treat to take it up a level in terms of BPM, not a major difference but enough to make the night flow better than the start of things. Really enjoyed CDW, first time seeing her perform and pleased to say she does live up to the social media hype. Really enjoyed all of her set. We left just about 5 as Len Faki was due to come on. Would love to have stayed, but it had been a long night and again, need to consider the fact the kids would be up and about in a few hours. Sensible head on again.

Was really impressed with Pyramid, they production in both rooms was good, especially liked the floating pyramid above the dance floor in the main room. Would say they definitely had more numbers in the main room than cocoon, but given the names on the respective line-ups that won’t come as a surprise. Good crowd in as well, and no-where near the same level of phone use as DC10.


Best night: Pyramid.

Places we Ate:

We were half board so had lunch out most days.

Rio, San An. Food was decent, was had a mixture of salads, toasties with a few glasses of wine and some pints. Was approx. €80 for 4 adults and 3 children. Would go back.

La Guay, San An. Good, freshly prepared food at a reasonable price. Was approx. €50 for all of us, again with a few pints on there

Sa Bresca: Ate here during our annual trip to the aquarium/Cala Gracio (see below). Really good fish dishes, not cheap at €20 for the fish of the day, but really tasty. They have a list of fish of the day which you pick from – must have been 8 different choices. I had the monkish. Cooked to perfection with some lemon drizzled on it. Excellent location, on the beach. Can’t beat it.

La Dispensia – Dalt Villa. Probably the most expensive meal of the holiday, but had been on the wine at the beach all day and can’t remember what the final bill was. Was only me, the wife and boy that ate here, it was definitely over €100. The Mrs is 6 months pregnant so that was with 2 glasses of wine, no starters and one dessert between us. Food was excellent though and the staff were top notch. Incidentally, the guy who served us was one of the group of people who were really going for it in DC10 who were being filmed by some boot.

Tanit Beach Club – PDB. Had been here before we went to La Dispensia. Food was decent, we got a platter to share and it was good. Lay at the beach all day drinking the rose wine, was only €5 a glass and they seemed to get bigger the more I drank them. The one thing that struck me but wasn’t a surprise, the faux VIP people that infest places like this are absolute arseholes when they get a drink in them.

David’s, San An – a regular haunt when we’re over. The pizzas are excellent and the house red wine is as good as a house wine as I’ve has anywhere.

Pikes for Sunday Roast. What a fabulous place. Had read Tony Pikes’ book and knew the history and infamy of the place but had never been before. Loved it, the food was great, the Kid’s in Ibiza lady took the children and we got a couple of hours to have a wander round and get a few wine’s in (obviously). Just one very small gripe, they already add the service charge to your bill, which we only just picked up before handing over the cash (€300). I’ll always leave a tip, a minimum of 10/15%, but I hate it when it’s already added, unless of course it’s a big group, I just fin it a bit too presumptuous. Also, they’ll probably lose out, they add 10% - I’d leave more if it wasn’t already on there. Anyway, a small issues that didn’t detract from the day, we loved it and the kids loved it, will definitely be back.

Other Stuff:

Cap Blanc Aquarium/Cala Gracio beach. Every year we come to Ibiza we make a trip to the aquarium then head round to Cala Gracio. I have absolutely no idea what it is about the aquarium, but it has something that keeps drawing us back. It’s tiny, doesn’t have any toilets but the kids love it. It’s also good getting a couple of pints and a dip in the sea round there. We usually get the water taxi from the promenade in San An, gets the kids in a wee boat trip for 20 mins or so, then spend a while looking at the various fish. The beach wasn’t as good a trip as previous years, mainly due to jelly fish. Three of us got stung so the water was very quickly a no-go area for the kids.

Water Park in the Sirenis Hotel. Not worth the money. €52 euro for entry for the three of us. We foolishly thought there would be a snack bar to get some lunch, nothing. A vending machine that does crisps and chocolate €3 for a bag of crisps! Won’t go back.

Money spent:

Don’t know. Roughly £1800 for flights and hotel (half board) for 3. Haven’t counted up the spending money yet.

Biggest regret:

Not staying for longer

Going back?

Absolutely, next year at some point. There will be 4 of us, so need to get planning soon.

Top tip:

Do as much as you can in the time that you’re there. Explore, find new things to eat, try different drinks, sit on a beach with your mates/other half until it’s pitch black, stay out and watch a sunrise, speak to as may people as possible, watch a sunset (but tidy up after yourself), power through your hangover and get shit done (there’s nothing a few glasses of wine can’t sort, and it’s cheap!), do things that make you happy.
walking sideboard lol ?
 
Circo Loco/Pyramid Double Header 15th July. Back in the day, it was always about the Mondays – DC10 for mid-afternoon weirdness, refresh then onto Amnesia for Cocoon. With Cocoon being fortnightly, Pyramid looked to be a more than suitable replacement with a techno heavy line up in the main room. To be honest, the Circo line-up wasn’t really to our tastes, Rampa vs &Me the only act I really wanted to see, but we went with an open mind looking to discover something new. Arrived at DC around 9’ish. Willow was on in the Garden. Really, really didn’t like what she was playing. I’m sure others will disagree, but for me, it didn’t fit with the setting, I’m really glad we didn’t head in earlier. Rampa v &ME were closing the Garden, starting at 9:30. Enjoyed their set, saw most of it then wandered between the Main Room and Terrace for a wee bit to see what we could hear. Clive Henry was playing the Terrace and was okay, he ended up playing B2B with someone, not sure who as it wasn’t billed. In the Main Room Mozhgan was playing to about 6 people. Enjoyed parts of her set, but we headed back to the Terrace to hear Jasper James who had the 11:30 slot. It filled up very quickly after the music stopped in the Garden. Jasper James played a bit harder than we were expecting but was really good. We managed about 50 minutes of his set before it got a bit too crowded for us and the constant barging was a pain in the arse as people jostled for position coming in from the Garden. We headed for the main room where I’d say there were 100 people max. I think it was still Mozhgan that was playing, even though she was supposed to finish at 12 for Cashu. Anyway, stayed for about another hour and enjoyed what we heard of her set.

Again, as with Cocoon, musically this wasn’t one of the stronger Circo’s for me. Had its moments, but nothing outstanding. However, the main point of contention for me was the amount of people there on their phones. I know this issue has been done to death and it’s now a part of clubbing, but the sheer scale of it at DC10 that day was really annoying. Towards the back of the garden it was like a fashion shoot – one girl made her BF (assumed) take a video of her 4 times while she walked from the crowd dancing towards him – 4 TIMES. There was a group of locals in the middle of the dance floor who were really enjoying themselves, dancing away, letting themselves go really going for it, all male, but there were other people not with them just filming them, pointing phones at them a foot away and filming them. But the worst thing of all, and this was something that really pissed me off, filming with the flash on. That isn’t just an offence punishable by death, but punishable by extreme torture and a very slow death. May seem extreme, but a punishment that fits the crime if you ask me. Then there’s the security, again something that’s been commented on extensively, but it does kill the vibe to an extent. You’re on a dancefloor, trying to get into the music, then you see a huge walking sideboard marching through the middle of everyone, knocking people out the road, repeat every 2 minutes.

We left DC10 just before 1 to head to Amnesia, no time for a refresh, just straight into it. Fourtet was billed on the Terrace, with Mar Flores, Matador, Charlotte De Witte and Len Faki in the Main Room. Being honest, I’d never heard of Mar Flores before the night and didn’t know what to expect, Christ she banged it out early on. We got there to a full on techno onslaught from the word go. Now I love techno, but for me, it was just too hard too soon, especially given who was following the rest of the night. Really enjoyed Matador and CDW coming on after him worked a treat to take it up a level in terms of BPM, not a major difference but enough to make the night flow better than the start of things. Really enjoyed CDW, first time seeing her perform and pleased to say she does live up to the social media hype. Really enjoyed all of her set. We left just about 5 as Len Faki was due to come on. Would love to have stayed, but it had been a long night and again, need to consider the fact the kids would be up and about in a few hours. Sensible head on again.

Was really impressed with Pyramid, they production in both rooms was good, especially liked the floating pyramid above the dance floor in the main room. Would say they definitely had more numbers in the main room than cocoon, but given the names on the respective line-ups that won’t come as a surprise. Good crowd in as well, and no-where near the same level of phone use as DC10.


Best night: Pyramid.

Places we Ate:

We were half board so had lunch out most days.

Rio, San An. Food was decent, was had a mixture of salads, toasties with a few glasses of wine and some pints. Was approx. €80 for 4 adults and 3 children. Would go back.

La Guay, San An. Good, freshly prepared food at a reasonable price. Was approx. €50 for all of us, again with a few pints on there

Sa Bresca: Ate here during our annual trip to the aquarium/Cala Gracio (see below). Really good fish dishes, not cheap at €20 for the fish of the day, but really tasty. They have a list of fish of the day which you pick from – must have been 8 different choices. I had the monkish. Cooked to perfection with some lemon drizzled on it. Excellent location, on the beach. Can’t beat it.

La Dispensia – Dalt Villa. Probably the most expensive meal of the holiday, but had been on the wine at the beach all day and can’t remember what the final bill was. Was only me, the wife and boy that ate here, it was definitely over €100. The Mrs is 6 months pregnant so that was with 2 glasses of wine, no starters and one dessert between us. Food was excellent though and the staff were top notch. Incidentally, the guy who served us was one of the group of people who were really going for it in DC10 who were being filmed by some boot.

Tanit Beach Club – PDB. Had been here before we went to La Dispensia. Food was decent, we got a platter to share and it was good. Lay at the beach all day drinking the rose wine, was only €5 a glass and they seemed to get bigger the more I drank them. The one thing that struck me but wasn’t a surprise, the faux VIP people that infest places like this are absolute arseholes when they get a drink in them.

David’s, San An – a regular haunt when we’re over. The pizzas are excellent and the house red wine is as good as a house wine as I’ve has anywhere.

Pikes for Sunday Roast. What a fabulous place. Had read Tony Pikes’ book and knew the history and infamy of the place but had never been before. Loved it, the food was great, the Kid’s in Ibiza lady took the children and we got a couple of hours to have a wander round and get a few wine’s in (obviously). Just one very small gripe, they already add the service charge to your bill, which we only just picked up before handing over the cash (€300). I’ll always leave a tip, a minimum of 10/15%, but I hate it when it’s already added, unless of course it’s a big group, I just fin it a bit too presumptuous. Also, they’ll probably lose out, they add 10% - I’d leave more if it wasn’t already on there. Anyway, a small issues that didn’t detract from the day, we loved it and the kids loved it, will definitely be back.

Other Stuff:

Cap Blanc Aquarium/Cala Gracio beach. Every year we come to Ibiza we make a trip to the aquarium then head round to Cala Gracio. I have absolutely no idea what it is about the aquarium, but it has something that keeps drawing us back. It’s tiny, doesn’t have any toilets but the kids love it. It’s also good getting a couple of pints and a dip in the sea round there. We usually get the water taxi from the promenade in San An, gets the kids in a wee boat trip for 20 mins or so, then spend a while looking at the various fish. The beach wasn’t as good a trip as previous years, mainly due to jelly fish. Three of us got stung so the water was very quickly a no-go area for the kids.

Water Park in the Sirenis Hotel. Not worth the money. €52 euro for entry for the three of us. We foolishly thought there would be a snack bar to get some lunch, nothing. A vending machine that does crisps and chocolate €3 for a bag of crisps! Won’t go back.

Money spent:

Don’t know. Roughly £1800 for flights and hotel (half board) for 3. Haven’t counted up the spending money yet.

Biggest regret:

Not staying for longer

Going back?

Absolutely, next year at some point. There will be 4 of us, so need to get planning soon.

Top tip:

Do as much as you can in the time that you’re there. Explore, find new things to eat, try different drinks, sit on a beach with your mates/other half until it’s pitch black, stay out and watch a sunrise, speak to as may people as possible, watch a sunset (but tidy up after yourself), power through your hangover and get shit done (there’s nothing a few glasses of wine can’t sort, and it’s cheap!), do things that make you happy.
Very good read mate, especially as an older raver with kids (like me). Particularly interesting to read about DC10 and the phones....I would have thought it would be the opposite. It's the one club I've not been to in 20 years, and probably wont bother now having read that....
 
Very good read mate, especially as an older raver with kids (like me). Particularly interesting to read about DC10 and the phones....I would have thought it would be the opposite. It's the one club I've not been to in 20 years, and probably wont bother now having read that....

It could just have been the area we were standning in, but it was very noticable. Also, it's something I really dislike in a club do will be more prone to noticing it (and being a moany old git will comment to whoever will listen about it ?). If you can ignore it you should be fine, or head to the front where it didn't seem to be as bad.
 
However, the main point of contention for me was the amount of people there on their phones. I know this issue has been done to death and it’s now a part of clubbing, but the sheer scale of it at DC10 that day was really annoying. Towards the back of the garden it was like a fashion shoot – one girl made her BF (assumed) take a video of her 4 times while she walked from the crowd dancing towards him – 4 TIMES. There was a group of locals in the middle of the dance floor who were really enjoying themselves, dancing away, letting themselves go really going for it, all male, but there were other people not with them just filming them, pointing phones at them a foot away and filming them. But the worst thing of all, and this was something that really pissed me off, filming with the flash on. That isn’t just an offence punishable by death, but punishable by extreme torture and a very slow death. May seem extreme, but a punishment that fits the crime if you ask me. Then there’s the security, again something that’s been commented on extensively, but it does kill the vibe to an extent. You’re on a dancefloor, trying to get into the music, then you see a huge walking sideboard marching through the middle of everyone, knocking people out the road, repeat every 2 minutes.

Great read @Malk ... all the above, along with the conga-lines of zombies or bargey-bombshells etc. slowly but surely killed off what was left to tempt me through the doors. A nice polite and roomy dancefloor full of happy, respectful people dancing their hearts out oblivious to how they look and without any obvious sign of security or segregation is what house and techno always represented for me .... and it's largely limited to small after-parties now.

What used to be the icing on the cake is now the last temptation remaining - social media, self-obsession and commercialization turned 'main event' after 'main event' into pricey tests of endurance. It's so sad it's come to the point where having to consciously blank all that out (a wearing thing when you're there to enjoy yourself) for a few interludes of a having great time is part of the deal. Instead of being able to go out and enjoy the music whilst loving every second and every aspect of a night along with the company of all those around you there. Of course I have changed over the years and tolerance levels depend on mood and circumstances, but it would be really great to be able to enjoy a party and people there (not just a group you go with to form a cocoon from the rest) as much as the music !!
 
Great read @Malk ... all the above, along with the conga-lines of zombies or bargey-bombshells etc. slowly but surely killed off what was left to tempt me through the doors. A nice polite and roomy dancefloor full of happy, respectful people dancing their hearts out oblivious to how they look and without any obvious sign of security or segregation is what house and techno always represented for me .... and it's largely limited to small after-parties now.

What used to be the icing on the cake is now the last temptation remaining - social media, self-obsession and commercialization turned 'main event' after 'main event' into pricey tests of endurance. It's so sad it's come to the point where having to consciously blank all that out (a wearing thing when you're there to enjoy yourself) for a few interludes of a having great time is part of the deal. Instead of being able to go out and enjoy the music whilst loving every second and every aspect of a night along with the company of all those around you there. Of course I have changed over the years and tolerance levels depend on mood and circumstances, but it would be really great to be able to enjoy a party and people there (not just a group you go with to form a cocoon from the rest) as much as the music !!
Sant Joan Dance is the answer my friend.
 
Back
Top