Great storytelling sir.. I hear you re the 4/4 beat and too much good music other there to hear from various genres... Bai Bai is a cracking little spot we dined at also a couple of weeks back. Caught a Homies party also, and enjoyed the crowd.. Roll on next year for more discoveries
Sometimes less is more as they say.. Love a bit of Tanit, closing is good.. Formentera is a very special place, lucky to have visited / stayed there many times. Enjoy the contrast to the madness.. Es pujols is a nice little resort to mooch around.. Stay if you canCombination of not pushing too hard (bar Pikes) and it worked a lot better this time. 4:30am seems to be my sweet spot along with less alcomohol added to the mix too!
After doing a lot this year taking a low key approach next trip with just Tanit closing & Pikes on Monday scheduled. Dropped Pacha closing as decided the money and internal battery will cope better
Also allows a first trip across to Formentera to be included.
)
Henrik’s unbelievable!Dates you were there
28/9 - 2/10
Where you stayed
Vibra district all inclusive
Club nights visited
Trip @ Chinios, Woomoon @ Cova Santa, Mondays at Pikes
Best night
All very good and very different. First time at CS and was really impressed with the venue and Henrick Swartz was brilliant inside:
Worst night
None
Best bars
Went to the Space bar for the first time. Enjoyed, nice staff, good choons.
Best restaurants
Just used the all inclusive which did the job.
Best beach
Only hung about San An beach in the day which tbh is fine end of September as fairly peaceful
Money spent
Not exactly sure but definitely the least I’ve spent in a very long time over there.
Going back
IMS in April
Top tip
If you want to do Ibiza on a budget, go all inclusive. I saved a load of cash this time round.
Observations / conclusion
Not stayed in San A for about 20 years and only did as was on stag do but was absolutely fine and served a purpose. Probably wouldn’t go back with a smaller group but good to bring back some old memories.
Minimal review but head still a bit
forum.ibiza-spotlight.com
That was a flying visit but any trip is a treat in life l think.. Glad you enjoyed La Torreta, its a super restaurant and one of the better in the area. We dined there ourselves a couple of weeks back, and have done so for past 20+ years or as long as l can remember.. Try La Plaza across the courtyard next time, so of the staff from La Torreta have moved over there.. Also brilliant service / food and value... Roll on next year!
i got to drive most of the way back and into Talamanca best day by far .
Great review. And so glad you had a ball. I hear you on all the various happenings and also hope the island is taken off the boil soon.. just to let it simmer for a whileOkay.. Let's start going through this year's journey..
- The departure for this year's trip began in exceptionally mixed moods. All the news I read about Ibiza and Spain in advance, such as rents and homelessness, tourist talk, rising prices, Rolex Mafia, corruption and everything related to it like the closing of the Underground.. I don't want to be a tourist who spoils the island and causes trouble for the locals.
- This time I tried to plan the trip in such a way that I would dare to come again sometime. There were of course many restaurants on the to-do list and I wanted to get to know the local food culture more thoroughly. Even though I'm not a big fan of fish, there's still a nice selection for me too... Unfortunately, some of the restaurants I previewed were closed for one reason or another.
- The trip included a road trip around the island twice. Twice because the first week I was with my friends and my wife came with me for the last 4 days. It's been 7 years since our last trip to Ibiza together. This was also a small gift for my wife, because we had our 15th wedding anniversary some time ago and soon we will have been together for 25 years.
- It was also in my mind that it would be nice to meet some Forum members on this trip. I met a few.. I met the sparkling #fhmsparkle in Harvey and we spent a while sweating together on Freddie's dance floor. #andrewthemod_78 also unexpectedly came to ask me if I'm a Bouncer and that made us laugh. The third one I met was the #Sun God and he and I wondered what was going on at the Pikes tennis court while we waited for our turn to go inside. It was nice to see you all and see you again sometime!
Dates you were there: 21.9.-3.10.
Where you stayed:
- Hostal Roca - yes, in the middle of the West End! This small family-run hostel has been on my list for a long time, but it has always been fully booked when I have tried to book a room. Since I already knew my vacation in March, I managed to get a room for 11 days at the price I paid at Hostal Mit Jorn 20 years ago..
Club nights visited:
- Several nights at Pikes, Cocoon 25v Ibiza and Flower Power with Roisin Murphy. Also on Friday and Saturday at Beat Hotel Swim Club, in Las Mimosas.
Best night:
- 23.9. Mercury Rising. I had been waiting for this evening since the last time was Harvey's closing party. We were there around half past eleven. When I got to Plaza Mayor, I wanted to pee my pants because I was so excited. We were trying to get drinks and for some reason the absolutely lovely lady on the other side of the counter dodged our order and we were wondering what is going on here? Then, a minute or two before 11 p.m. a familiar song started playing and I thought oh guys, it's Club Tropicana and I started telling my friends about the legend that during that song the drinks would be free.. And at the same time that sweet bartender turned towards us and happily smiling asked what should we have! Huhhuh.. Great Ibiza moment! The evening itself has been reviewed here and the heat has been talked about, but that evening was one that also ranked first for me out of all the evenings I have been able to visit over the decades. My own words (especially in English) are not enough to tell and describe that evening and feeling in its entirety. I loved every moment I was able to be in Freddie, where I ended up being for the last couple of hours, until the last track..
- I also really liked the Beat Hotel Swim Club. I had two memorable fanboy photo moments when I got to exchange a few words with Chris Coco and Belanuit. Unfortunately, CC DISCO did not play at Las Mimosas or Pikes at the Closin Party, contrary to previous information. Beat Hotel is indeed a great concept and I hope it continues for a long time!
Worst night:
- I have to say Cocoon, although it was ok, especially the pre-party, it could have been better. IMO Sven Väth has come to a point in his artistic evolution where Katharsis and Akasha suits him better. The line up was good and every Dj was in good shape, but somehow the night fell short. It could be that I myself have moved musically in the opposite direction or even forward and grown out of my black techno uniform.. I don't know.. I liked Sven more in Akasha!
Best bar:
- We didn't spend much time in bars, but definitely Bar Anita, although the place is perhaps more of a restaurant than a bar..
Best place to eat:
- Rita's Cantina or Rincon de Pepe. Rita's is always reliable, affordable and familiar. Rincon de Pepe was my "local bar" this time because it was the closest to the hotel and there was a strong feeling that you are in a real Ibizan restaurant.
Best beach and/or beach club:
- Usually I don't get excited about these places. Maybe it's because they're almost always overpriced and overcrowded, so I don't go to beach bars or even beaches. But, this time I may be able to mention two besides Kumharas. One is Gració Beach - Chiringuito and the other is Elements in Benirras. We went to both just to enjoy the afternoon drinks and feel the atmosphere. Both places are absolutely great in their atmosphere, but unfortunately for my budget a little too expensive places to spend time longer. Somehow the staff at Grasió Beachin were incredibly friendly and professional. I had one of the best Mojitos there and I think I will go back for at least one drink there again.
Money spent:
- This time I surprised myself how inexpensively I managed to make the trip. I booked the flights, accommodation and car already in March, just before the Summer events were published.
- The car rental was about 22€/day (Moto Luis) and it included delivery to the airport and a small delivery fee after 6:00 p.m.
- Flights from Finland, (change in Amsterdam only 1h,15min) with a checked bag cost €285, which is a very acceptable price.
- This time the accommodation was almost perfect for a traveler like me. If someone had even suggested 15-20 years ago that I stay in the middle of the West End, I would have surely died laughing. Now that I stayed at Hostal Roca for 11 days, I can easily recommend it if you are looking for affordable, clean and safe hostel/hotel. I don't need a swimming pool, roof terrace or hotel breakfast from a vacation like this. Back in the day, I've stayed in hotels about 250 nights a year and I prefer to eat breakfast somewhere other than the hotel. Hostal Roca paid only 66€/night for two people!
- In total, the car, hotel and flights cost me €996.45. This summer's fixed expenses were €273.17 less, even though I stayed one night more and the flights were during the day and humanly long.
- I spent about €1200 in pocket money and €150 on advance tickets.
Biggest regret:
- Two things. 1. Pack a change of clothes for at least a couple of days in hand luggage. My suitcase did not come with me on the same flight, but arrived three days later. 2. Don't leave your rental car in a San Antonios big sand park where people are likely to pass. On the third day, the mirror on the driver's side of the car was broken, even though the mirrors were turned in. The price for the new mirror came to €43.12 and the great staff at Moto Luis took care of this really well. On the morning of departure, I immediately went to their office at nine to ask how things are going? They apologized for what happened, and I genuinely sympathized with it. We drove from the office to breakfast and I got a message asking if I could post a picture of the mirror. At eleven we were at the airport and I was told how much the mirror costs and that the deposit has been returned to my credit card... absolutely amazing service!
Going back?:
- Absolutely, but now it's not so sure if it will be next summer yet. There are so many conflicting things happening on the island that I would like to see the situation calm down a bit and stabilize before I decide on the next trip.
Top tip: Dig deeper, it's still there!
Observations and/or conclusion:
- I really don't want to travel to the island again before mid-September. Or if for some reason I go, I'll look for a nice and quiet place somewhere north of Santa Eulalia. I could even think of going more towards October. If, for example, Harvey leaves the Ibiza Line Ups, the reasons to go earlier will decrease even more.
There's similar camps everywhere. You go for a walk to the countryside and bump, there's another one...
