Tell us how it was - Ibiza 2018

Forgot to add a "Only in Ibiza" moment in my last reply so I thought it would be nice to make a seperate reply for it...if mods feel different, no worries let me know.

So me and my girl are in Amnesia, the Elrow Triangulas de Rowmuda show has just taken off because the first confetti shower is yet to come but we're having fun, dancing, interacting with the crowd. This guy, friendly face, comes up to me with a nice girl behind him. He gives me a handshake and hands me a bunch of drink coupons! I think it must have been like 8-10 coupons for soft drinks or beers in Amnesia. I stare at him with disbelief and ask him why? He says: "Energy man, you two give the room the best energy."
I hardly have time to thank him and the girl because they are leaving the venue. Know what we did? We decided to spread the love. We handed out coupons to the people around us who we didn't knew but had some fun with at that moment. And the end of the night we still had 2 coupons left and gave them to total strangers too.

The next day, after a great Elrow party, we are dancing at Zoo Project and we spot the guy and the girl who gave us the coupon. We all recognised eachother. Raver hugs and high fives followed. Great people from Portugal. Dude, if you're on this forum: you rock and you and your sister gave the best energy too!
This kinda stuff only happens in Ibiza :)
 
Best bar: Sunset Ashram @ Cala Conte
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Really!? We went a couple of years ago for a nice meal etc. Food was nice but way overpriced and it was all just abit manic...so many people most just on the drink dancing around to the loud music (which i love 99% of the time) but when your out for a meal was abit much...

Nice views though (we went at sunset time, maybe it quietens down abit later on?)
 
Really!? We went a couple of years ago for a nice meal etc. Food was nice but way overpriced and it was all just abit manic...so many people most just on the drink dancing around to the loud music (which i love 99% of the time) but when your out for a meal was abit much...

Nice views though (we went at sunset time, maybe it quietens down abit later on?)

I can imagine the experience could be different depending on the time and purpose of visit.
We just went for drinks...early in the day. And the things I really liked about the place is off course the views, the fact that there is no reservation or table process....just go sit wherever there is a place and mingle in with strangers. The food an drinks were good and affordable and the music was nice. We left with a feeling that we really wanted to get back there for sunset sessions. But I can imagine the place can be totally different around dinner / sunset time.
 
Dates you were there: Saturday 28th July - Saturday 4th August... first time I've been peak season again and would prefer not too again, but this was at the only possible date for the group of our size.

Where you stayed: Villa O - a lovely villa just in the hills of San Antonio on the road to Cala Salada. Very old fashioned and slightly falling apart in places, but nice to be remote enough to be away from the madness but 5 minutes away from the centre. Beautiful view from the main balcony.

Club nights visited: Rumours at Destino, Solomun+1 at Pacha, Circoloco at DC10, Pyramid at Amnesia, Resistance at Privilege and Cocoon at Pacha.

Best night: Cocoon - without question (and I'm honestly not being biased ;)) it truly was far and beyond any other event. We arrived around 1AM as we have discount list before 01:30 to see DJ Koze starting his set. He started off a bit slower but picked things up. The last 30 minutes of his set in particular I thought was excellent where he played tracks like his summer hit 'pick up'. Sven came on and played a superb set - as I mentioned in my other review many of the other big tracks of the summer that I heard during Week 2, but in a different order and with enough other tracks to make this set as great as it was. The B2B between the two of them again was brilliant, some incredible music played. A real shame that I didn't bump into any other spotlighters this night - I really did try to keep an eye out but by 3AM I was very much worse for wear!

Solomun+1 with Dixon on Sunday was also excellent. We arrived just before Dixon started playing and I thought his warm up set was outstanding. Solomun followed up with another good set, again not as good as I've seen in the past but still solid. The B2B was excellent, although by that time in the night we were very much worse for wear and decided to leave just after 7AM. Overall musically a great night and despite it being very busy, there was room to move.

Pyramid on the Monday was markedly improved from when we attending the opening party. The booth changed positions during the course of the night - Brame & Hamo and Stephan Bodzin being located by the back bar (a great shout as it did make the room feel busier than it probably was) and then things moved across to the usual booth for Maceo. Much prefer this position, it doesn't feel right being at Amnesia facing in the other direction. Stephan Bodzin played a good set - I've heard better 'live' sets from people like Saytek or KiNK but still a nice set. Maceo Plex for me was far and beyond anyone else and really plays that room well - I've only ever seen Sven Väth control the terrace on that level before so really enjoyed that one.

Resistance on Tuesday I really enjoyed personally. Although I personally had zero interest in watching anyone in the main room, you could feel a special atmosphere building due to it being Carl's birthday. It was also my first ever visit to Privilege and to see it at full capacity, fully rocking like that was great. I really love the venue; it has some real character to it and monster soundsystems in both rooms. We personally arrived around 01:30 so missing the first hour of Sasha & Digweeds set so it took us a while to get into it, but I thought for the last 90 minutes in particular that they were outstanding. A lot tougher than I expected, but a brilliant flow and a proper journey set. We then stayed on and watched Eats Everything who was very average as expected. A lot of predictable build up and drops. We stepped into the main room for 20 minutes to catch the tail end of Carl Cox who sounded good, but by that point we decided to call the night to a close. The one negative (but which was to be expected by how busy the venue was), the queue for the taxi after was long and very poorly organized.


Worst night: Circoloco - we arrived to watch the last 30 minutes of Lee Burridge set which was good. Very fitting for the garden IMO. As soon as Tanzmann and Squillace took over things took a turn for the worse - pure monotonous tech house at its worse, to the point that we actually went into the empty main room just to get away from it all. Virgil Abloh then took over and played one of the very worst sets I've ever seen live - zero flow, awful track selection. Again we had to leave the room as things were that bad. It was at this point that we decided to leave and head to Circoloco. Bitterly disappointed. I have adored Circoloco in the past and have had some amazing nights there, but the past two occasions have really left me with a sour taste in my mouth - too busy as soon as the garden shuts and poor sound quality inside are two huge negatives.

Best bar: Flahertys Irish Bar - the only bar we really visited to get away from the madness on our last night, but there was an acoustic singer in there and we all really enjoyed it. Reasonably priced drinks and a decent enough crowd.

Best place to eat: Unfortunately on this trip there wasn't much eating out as we had a villa and had mainly bbq's - but the two places worth mentioning were Sunset Ashram for lunch which was superb as always (even if very expensive) and Tapas in San Antonio, somewhere I visit everytime and have never been disappointed.


Money spent: (in total for two): Around 1300 all said and done which wasn't too bad considering how long we were there.

Biggest regret: Not getting a car and exploring/overdoing it with the consecutive nights out. Although those nights felt like a great idea at the time, I really did feel the consequences for the subsequent two days which wasn't a nice way to end my trip.

Going back?: Honestly, as things stand I feel like I need a break away from the island. NINE visits in the last four years and the mental toll that takes on you coming back does get tougher and tougher each time, especially as you get older as cliched as that sounds. I think a minimum of a year away really would make a return in 2020 incredible.

Top tip: (s) ALWAYS get a car and ALWAYS explore the island - I promise you will come home feeling like some time has been wasted if you don't. I would also concur that no more than two consecutive events or 3 in a week should be undertaken unless you want to feel severe consequences after. Four huge nights on the bounce seemed like a great idea until I remembered the last time I did that I was 21 not 25 :lol:
 
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Going back?: Honestly, as things stand I feel like I need a break away from the island. NINE visits in the last four years and the mental toll that takes on you coming back does get tougher and tougher each time, especially as you get older as cliched as that sounds. I think a minimum of a year away really would make a return in 2020 incredible.

Classic '3 days after Ibiza' talk....

You'll be booking flights for the closings next week :D
 
Dates you were there:July 20th aug 7th

Where you stayed:San Remo/Panoramic hotel

Club nights visited:

Heart ibz Heart Factory ****+
Hi (Glitterbox **** 2 times,Hi Afterlife *** 2 times)

amnesia
Pyramid ***
Elrow x2 ****

Privilege
Resistance ***

Pacha
cocoon ***-
Labyrinth ***
solomun x2 *** (with The black Madonna) ** with dixon

Lio EGO Manumission *****
Eden Defected ****

Dc10
Paradise **
Circoloco x2 ***

Pikes hotel
cosmic pineapple ****
Dj Harvey ***

Best night:Ego Lio Manumison on thursday ,Louie Vega Heart Factory cosmic pineapples with richy Ahmed surprise guest playing Disco house

Worst night:Solomun, too many sheeps in this world, no hard feeling guys::D

Best bar:Sa Trinxa

Best place to eat:Es rebost de can Prat/Can Pilot/Es Mercat ibz town

Money spent:will know it sooner but hope less than 2500€ for 18days

Biggest regret:not going to zoo project on sunday but it will fix for closing

Going back?:Closing 18 from sept 26th 19 days of madness with lessons learned from ibz summer (no more free rides, so people wont dare to ask for pickup :D, no more time to spend about textin and no more whatsapp group)

Top tip:6hours a day sleeping will be enough to be in good shape all days partying :D as it happened 3 times i was really cooked:eek:, Avoid Record Go car renting car

daytime parties:
Destino Capriati/Sven ***
dystopia ushuaia **
Mambo Bbc ****
ants bbc **
woomoon *** staff told me that if u park ur car along road,is this apply to places close to house , car is towed..I dont know if its true, he gave me a location to park my car, i gave him 5€ tips
blue Marlin ***, was quiet not as good as expected, culoe de sonbg, pete tong

afterparty
Keep on dancing at villa close to ...
some mate working for ibz website, succeed to go to Kave solomun afterparty, ill text him for closiong as all other people didnt answer to my request(saga after party)
if my french Techno journalist bro is back for closing(90%) i ll be in the one Afterlife with TOU, the one i was pissed of about mosaic after party last year, but he is forgiven & he know that not many people are reliable in ibz...
 
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Top tip: (s) ALWAYS get a car and ALWAYS explore the island - I promise you will come home feeling like some time has been wasted if you don't.

This year was the first time we did this and we absolutely LOVED it. So happy to explore and find little places we never knew existed!
 
Best night:Ego Lio Manumison on thursday ,Louie Vega Heart Factory cosmic pineapples with richy Ahmed surprise gust playing Disco house

We did your faves in early July(Wifey went to Louie Vega Ritual Opening @ Heart while I watched kids).

What was your impression of Ego? Did you stay till the end?
 
best ever party, ego, music is house with many flavors,the most euphoric/happy heard in all house music parties,a lot of people (beautiful woman :D ) very friendly with Pirate swag, the drummer is really a good idea
i didnt stay until the end as i had Afterlife backstage vip list, but if i knew the backstage was only available for main room in hi i will stay at lio
Closing is september 27th i will be there from the beginning to the end
 
Dates you were there: 5th-8th August 2018

Where you stayed: Agroturismo Sa Talaia - first time there and really enjoyed it - beautiful 'rural' setting, but also just next to Benimussa Park so can get anywhere in about 20 mins, and fantastic staff. Plus it's part of the Palladium Group so you get free entry to Ushuaia events

Club nights visited: Radio 1 @ Cafe Mambo (Sun), David Guetta @ Ushuaia (Mon), Craig David TS5 @ Ibiza Rocks (Tue), Eric Prydz @ Hi (Tue)

Best night: Eric Prydz @ Hi was brilliant because of the lineup (Eric, Deadmau5, Camelphat, Christoph, Solardo, MK) especially when it quietened down a bit during Eric's set. Craig David was a lot of fun partying in the sunshine.

Worst night: None really, although David Guetta @ Ushuaia was very busy - much more so than in previous years. Also, I prefer Radio 1 at Ushuaia than Mambo as it's difficult to get a good spot on the rocks, and the line-up on the Sunday was a bit random

Best bar: Sa Trinxa - my happy place on the island - got there about midday, grabbed a couple of sunloungers and chilled for the whole afternoon and early evening, listening to the tunes, taking regular dips in the sea, and having an awesome seafood lunch - pure bliss

Best place to eat: Finally got round to Sunday Lunch @ Pikes which was tasty, and love the vibe there around the pool in the evening. Also did a couple of takeaway orders from David's in San An, and Passion Cafe in Playa d'en Bossa - neither are quite what they used to be, but both are tasty and quick options

Money spent: no idea!

Biggest regret: not making it to the Es Vedra viewpoint, although given the heat (up to 42 degrees) it was probably a good thing

Going back?: yes - likely to be IMS next May

Top tip: don't try to plan too much - get a car, and see where each day takes you!

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Dates you were there: 5th-8th August 2018

Where you stayed: Agroturismo Sa Talaia - first time there and really enjoyed it - beautiful 'rural' setting, but also just next to Benimussa Park so can get anywhere in about 20 mins, and fantastic staff. Plus it's part of the Palladium Group so you get free entry to Ushuaia events

Club nights visited: Radio 1 @ Cafe Mambo (Sun), David Guetta @ Ushuaia (Mon), Craig David TS5 @ Ibiza Rocks (Tue), Eric Prydz @ Hi (Tue)

Best night: Eric Prydz @ Hi was brilliant because of the lineup (Eric, Deadmau5, Camelphat, Christoph, Solardo, MK) especially when it quietened down a bit during Eric's set. Craig David was a lot of fun partying in the sunshine.

Worst night: None really, although David Guetta @ Ushuaia was very busy - much more so than in previous years. Also, I prefer Radio 1 at Ushuaia than Mambo as it's difficult to get a good spot on the rocks, and the line-up on the Sunday was a bit random

Best bar: Sa Trinxa - my happy place on the island - got there about midday, grabbed a couple of sunloungers and chilled for the whole afternoon and early evening, listening to the tunes, taking regular dips in the sea, and having an awesome seafood lunch - pure bliss

Best place to eat: Finally got round to Sunday Lunch @ Pikes which was tasty, and love the vibe there around the pool in the evening. Also did a couple of takeaway orders from David's in San An, and Passion Cafe in Playa d'en Bossa - neither are quite what they used to be, but both are tasty and quick options

Money spent: no idea!

Biggest regret: not making it to the Es Vedra viewpoint, although given the heat (up to 42 degrees) it was probably a good thing

Going back?: yes - likely to be IMS next May

Top tip: don't try to plan too much - get a car, and see where each day takes you!

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Hotel looks amazing....bet that cost a fair bit
 
Dates you were there: 6th-16th August

Where you stayed: Sol Bahia Apartments, San Antonio. Recently fully refurbed which we were unaware of when we booked, was a nice bonus the place was immaculate. Best part was the owner and the staff. A family run hotel and they treated me and my missus as if we were family. Top marks.

Club nights visited: Eric Prydz @ Hi Ibiza, Carl Cox night @ DC10, Ants @ Ushuaia, WeAreSankeys @ Sankeys, Tommorowland @ Ushuaia

Best night: Its between Eric Prydz and Ants.

Eric Prydz in Hibiza for the shear immensity of it. Catching the Deadmau5 set followed by EP. The music was amazing and the lighting and effects were awesome! The crowd also, everyone was in a really good mood and soaking it up. Real good feeling in the room.

Ants at Ushaia was another really good one for us. We enjoyed being out in the fresh air dancing. I've heard a few negative comments, but I thought it was a really good party. The thing that really made it for us was all the random groups we hooked up with in there at the same time, we ended up a massive group of people all having a laugh. Random bloke with his thumb bandaged up (apparently someone tried to bite it off), group of south american ladyboys, gang of crazy Mancs, scottish people, 2 random japanese lads, Dutch ravers.....

Worst night: Struggle to choose one, but if I have to I'd say DC10. We got in early enough and had a good time with Carl Cox rocking the tunes and building a good atmosphere in the garden. Was mint! Afterwards we went into the rooms but it seamed like a bit of a different atmosphere. Noticed quite a lot of ket heads and a lot of really wired looking people that looked like they'd ran out of coke. Seamed a bit edgy. I've seen people on here saying arrive early and leave early. Sounds like good advice. Great place though, I've had some mega nights in here!

Noticed in Sankeys they've had a change around inside. The main change being they've taken the low ceiling with the neon lights away. I was totally gutted, I loved it like that. Won't be going back there in a hurry.

Best bar: Any bar that isn't in a nightclub. Its always pisses me off with the ludicrous prices they charge. Wankers.

Best place to eat: I love David's in San Antonio, they do a great steak. Also had a great meal at Restaurante Cala D'Hort.

Money spent: I haven't checked yet, I'll have a look when my wage has gone in and its been topped it up. Will take the sting out of it a little bit.

Biggest regret: Dropping my phone in the taxi from the airport to the hotel! Luckily got it back about 20 minutes later. Was 20 minutes of flapping! My missus spent the rest of the holiday ripping me. Kept asking me if I had my phone every two minutes. I will never slate (legal) Ibiza taxi drivers ever again, salt of the earth them lads (and lasses).

Going back?: We aren't sure just yet. Maybe we will knock it on the head this year, we had a great time so leave it on a high and try somewhere new and different next year. Who knows.

Top tip: We hired a jeep and went out and about to see some bits of the Island. Visited Port San Miguel, Es Cubells, Santa Eularia, Cala D'Hort and loads of other little villages we stopped off at along the way. I found driving out there pretty straightforward and easy to pick up, biggest hazard being all the (probably) Italians riding around on mopeds with a deathwish. Also chatting with a local person that told us about a firework display in Ibiza town as part of a festival. Nice little tip off, we had a great night down there watching the fireworks and hitting a few bars.

Thanks for reading :)
 
Going back?: Honestly, as things stand I feel like I need a break away from the island. NINE visits in the last four years and the mental toll that takes on you coming back does get tougher and tougher each time, especially as you get older as cliched as that sounds. I think a minimum of a year away really would make a return in 2020 incredible.

I made the same decision about 6 years ago....after visiting the place almost every year since 1994 I'd reached my limit. I still visited the island with my wife most years (she's a non-believer when it comes to hitting the clubs hard) so never lost touch with the place, but my clubbing mates agreed let's see what else is out there. We did Berlin a few times, and Croatia, and went back to Ibiza for a 4 day blow out last year. It was great, and we're heading over again this year for the closing parties, but we've already pencilled in Berlin for next year. I definitely think there's an argument for alternating years on the clubbing side.
 
Dates you were there: 18th -25th August

Where you stayed: Abrat - San Antonio: great location and nice rooms having only been refurbed 2-3 years ago, much nicer part of town than the rest of San An these days (more on that later)

Club nights visited: Elrow at Amnesia, Cream at Hi, Hed Kandi at Ocean Beach, Tuesdays On Mars at Pacha, Glitterbox at Hi

Best night: Glitterbox at Hi: not for the first time it was the 'surprise' night that stole the show, went more due to lack of interest in the other nights on offer, but found a great crowd and vibe and Roger Sanchez, Armand Van Helden and the DJ's in the club room were pumping out the classics and funky tunes. For the first time I felt an Ibiza vibe in Hi.

Tuesdays On Mars at Pacha was also great as we had the rare spectacle of Calvin Harris, David Guetta and Martin Solveig in the DJ booth together, like an EDM supergroup. Calvin's set was more Deep House than EDM like in previous years and was all the better for it. Pacha was rammed and the atmosphere electric.

Worst night: Cream at Hi. Attended loads of Cream gigs over the years, and this was like a cheap imitation quite clear that Hi are just renting the brand with no creative input. Been warned about Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike before, and should have known better...just playing dated EDM off a USB with the song changing every 30 seconds while one of them shouted a load of nonsense down the microphone. Loads of VIP's posing in the booths as well. Oliver Heldens who was first on did ok and at least played some up to date tunes, but was followed up by NERVO who I think thought they were hosting an aerobics class as were just leaping up and down.

Best bar: Golden Buddah: Mambo & Cafe Del Mar get all the sunset 'fame' but this place has just a good a view and no minimum spend. Great to spend an hour or two here on the comfy sofa's with a frosted glass beer.

Best place to eat: Davids in San Antonio & Bella Napoli in Ibiza Town: hard to split these two, just good honest Italian food at decent prices.

Money spent: approx £800 for hotel, 900 Euros for tickets, booze and food.

Biggest regret: wanted to try Kumharas for the sunset but didn't get there.

Going back?: at some point, BUT: I feel Ibiza is at a tipping point. Most years I have stayed in San An, and there's always been an element of trash, but that has always been outweighed by how cheap and fun it can be. This year the resort just looked run-down, the 3am West End closure has been discussed at length elsewhere but it isn't working. At 3am you have hundreds of drunk people stumbling to beaches & backstreets looking to continue the party. Due to this more Prozzies & Muggers than ever are around and the place felt unsafe at times. While you've always had to have your wits about you in San An, it has never been this bad. It's got to a point where I won't return until they hire more Police and give the area a much needed cleanup.

I've also built up a negative opinion of Bossa the last few years, which now seems to have more ticket sellers and shot girls than customers, you can't walk 2 steps without someone trying to make you part with cash. The street near Sankeys which used to be a good pre-drinks spot was dead this year also, no doubt due to Sankeys barely being open these days.

Spent more and more time in Ibiza Town this year, which while more expensive for the drinks itself, is much more relaxed and you can sit and watch the world go by and enjoy it. So it is looking like an Ibiza Town or Figueretas trip next time. But I do admit increasing age is a factor in these comments!

Top tip: Discobuses, saved a fortune using these this time.
 
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