The end of the West End?

Two weeks ago there was an article on DDI titled "The metamorphosis of Sant Antoni"...

A few weeks ago I took a visitor from outside the island to Sant Antoni and I admit that I was embarrassed. It saddens me that a municipality with so much potential continues to be the island's black sheep despite its new luxury hotels in Cala Gració. Even those who claim to love this town live on the outskirts of an ugly and noisy urban core. Only the old murals of the Bloop Festival give color to those narrow and unattractive streets that do not invite you to walk through them. Luckily there is still Ses Variades, that promenade that borders the sea and ends at the Aquarium Cap Blanc, a picturesque little entrance to the sea that takes you away from the outside fauna. In more than ten years that I have known Sant Antoni, I have not seen significant improvements or changes. All good intentions stay in projects that go nowhere. That is why any initiative that leads to the long-awaited reconversion is good news. But it is clear that this path does not depend only on politicians, but also on neighbors and businessmen. The aid that the City Council will allocate to the reconversion of the West End premises is a seed in a wasteland. It is necessary to move the earth, water it, hours of sunshine and care for that germ to sprout and Sant Antoni to be reborn after its well-deserved metamorphosis.

... I'm sure many people agreed with its content!
 
McRackin said:
Two weeks ago there was an article on DDI titled "The metamorphosis of Sant Antoni"...

A few weeks ago I took a visitor from outside the island to Sant Antoni and I admit that I was embarrassed. It saddens me that a municipality with so much potential continues to be the island's black sheep despite its new luxury hotels in Cala Gració. Even those who claim to love this town live on the outskirts of an ugly and noisy urban core. Only the old murals of the Bloop Festival give color to those narrow and unattractive streets that do not invite you to walk through them. Luckily there is still Ses Variades, that promenade that borders the sea and ends at the Aquarium Cap Blanc, a picturesque little entrance to the sea that takes you away from the outside fauna. In more than ten years that I have known Sant Antoni, I have not seen significant improvements or changes. All good intentions stay in projects that go nowhere. That is why any initiative that leads to the long-awaited reconversion is good news. But it is clear that this path does not depend only on politicians, but also on neighbors and businessmen. The aid that the City Council will allocate to the reconversion of the West End premises is a seed in a wasteland. It is necessary to move the earth, water it, hours of sunshine and care for that germ to sprout and Sant Antoni to be reborn after its well-deserved metamorphosis.

... I'm sure many people agreed with its content!
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Hate to sound defeatist but unless they are planning on bombing the whole centre and starting again they need to be realistic, even if the West End goes San An isn't full of great architecture.

The flats near the Marina are some of the tallest buildings in Ibiza and they aren't winning any design awards, pulling them down would cost millions
 
Digital2013 said:
Hate to sound defeatist but unless they are planning on bombing the whole centre and starting again they need to be realistic, even if the West End goes San An isn't full of great architecture.

The flats near the Marina are some of the tallest buildings in Ibiza and they aren't winning any design awards, pulling them down would cost millions
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They need this flats. Living space is less in Ibiza
 
Digital2013 said:
Always got to take what British Tabloids say with a pinch of Salt because they love to do a 'holiday resort clampdown' story, but story here saying the Balearic government have a 10m budget for their sort out San An and Magaluf plans

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/bars-clubs-ibiza-majorca-could-28163711
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They won’t change how it is. Magaluf have spent shit loads on the hotels and trying to get away from that image, but they’re still pulling in the party holidays. They have serious problems (this is coming from someone who has family living in Majorca) with the looky looky men (sorry if that’s the wrong term), where tourist are dying through them being robbed and beaten up, but the police won’t do a thing about them.
 
Having stayed (and not just slept) in San An for the first time this September, I still fail to understand what the fuss is all about.

West End isn't that different from the centers of Newcastle, Leeds or Glasgow on a Saturday night. The busy nightlife doesn't devalue these cities - why is it supposedly devaluing San An?

Sure, there is a certain ugliness in San An (though you get used to it quickly), but it is due to the architecture. You cannot fix it by replacing a few lively bars with boring expensive boutiques.

Crime is caused by cops neglecting crimes against tourists, not by the club/bar scene either.

Someone seems to be on a crusade against Brits having a good time here, but I fail to understand the reason for that (and I am not even a Brit).
 
tclubber said:
Having stayed (and not just slept) in San An for the first time this September, I still fail to understand what the fuss is all about.

West End isn't that different from the centers of Newcastle, Leeds or Glasgow on a Saturday night. The busy nightlife doesn't devalue these cities - why is it supposedly devaluing San An?

Sure, there is a certain ugliness in San An (though you get used to it quickly), but it is due to the architecture. You cannot fix it by replacing a few lively bars with boring expensive boutiques.

Crime is caused by cops neglecting crimes against tourists, not by the club/bar scene either.

Someone seems to be on a crusade against Brits having a good time here, but I fail to understand the reason for that (and I am not even a Brit).
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It is , because they did not enough for the last 30 years. Then it was there and could not be improved.
 
tclubber said:
Having stayed (and not just slept) in San An for the first time this September, I still fail to understand what the fuss is all about.
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If you'd actually read the news you would soon learn that locals, politicians, businesses are fed up. y'know, the ones who live there, who pay the taxes, who have kids. Would you want all that excess in YOUR backyard? Nah, thought not. People are done with the cliched bullshit.
tclubber said:
West End isn't that different from the centers of Newcastle, Leeds or Glasgow on a Saturday night. The busy nightlife doesn't devalue these cities - why is it supposedly devaluing San An?
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believe it or not... Spain is not England. Especially on a Saturday night. I recommend you travel around the country and have a look.. Do you know how nice it is to party late in Spain and not have people screaming abuse on nightbuses?
tclubber said:
Sure, there is a certain ugliness in San An (though you get used to it quickly), but it is due to the architecture. You cannot fix it by replacing a few lively bars with boring expensive boutiques.
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aah, it's all the architects' fault. I don't think anyone is suggesting just boutiques - the blueprints point to a mixed business model
tclubber said:
Crime is caused by cops neglecting crimes against tourists, not by the club/bar scene either.
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Reducing crime is a collective effort. the onus cannot be on the cops alone. the entire culture has to change. if you make an area desirable, the vermin will stay well away. It's harder to mug off people sat down at a table than people passed out in the gutter.
tclubber said:
Someone seems to be on a crusade against Brits having a good time here, but I fail to understand the reason for that (and I am not even a Brit).
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nope. Spain doesn't have a vendetta against Brits. You'd be amazed how many anglophiles I've met who adore the Beatles, Led Zep, Mr Bean, The Crown, Ed Sh*eran and people generally welcome tourism in moderation, just not shitty tourists who ruin flights and jump off balconies. Not a massive ask, is it?
 
There are arugments for the west end. How many people on here went to ibiza young and daft and could only afford the west end and as they got older appreciated more what ibiza had to offer. How many story's on here have started or been in the west end. I get it's not for everyone, but I guess the majority of people posting on here have had a drink down there before. I understand why they want to get rid of the west end, less hassle and more money to be made. But doing away with the west end will not do away with problem behaviour, will just push it else where....
 
ibizasunset said:
There are arugments for the west end. How many people on here went to ibiza young and daft and could only afford the west end and as they got older appreciated more what ibiza had to offer. How many story's on here have started or been in the west end. I get it's not for everyone, but I guess the majority of people posting on here have had a drink down there before. I understand why they want to get rid of the west end, less hassle and more money to be made. But doing away with the west end will not do away with problem behaviour, will just push it else where....
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Posted before that its a concern what happens say 5 or 10 year after the tap of new young tourists is switched off. Nobody, not even the rich VIPs want to be on an island of old people. Though times have already changed and OBeach and Ibiza Rocks are the 'must go to on my first time in Ibiza' destinations than the West End now.
 
ibizasunset said:
There are arugments for the west end. How many people on here went to ibiza young and daft and could only afford the west end and as they got older appreciated more what ibiza had to offer. How many story's on here have started or been in the west end. I get it's not for everyone, but I guess the majority of people posting on here have had a drink down there before. I understand why they want to get rid of the west end, less hassle and more money to be made. But doing away with the west end will not do away with problem behaviour, will just push it else where....
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Local deciders don't care of it.
Today the demand from a much richer audience is so strong that they no longer need to attract a younger audience without money.
Last Saturday, so on October 22nd, quite late in the season, the Six Senses, one of the most expensive and exclusive hotels on the island was 82% full, a friend who works there told me.
Why bother with young people who have little money and cause problems when you can fill the island with a rich audience that spends a lot and doesn't bother anyone?
Like it or not, Ibiza has changed, and I don't imagine the island will go back for very long.
 
jimmiz said:
Local deciders don't care of it.
Today the demand from a much richer audience is so strong that they no longer need to attract a younger audience without money.
Last Saturday, so on October 22nd, quite late in the season, the Six Senses, one of the most expensive and exclusive hotels on the island was 82% full, a friend who works there told me.
Why bother with young people who have little money and cause problems when you can fill the island with a rich audience that spends a lot and doesn't bother anyone?
Like it or not, Ibiza has changed, and I don't imagine the island will go back for very long.
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Sometimes it's better to have the young skint people to fall back on. Expensive places are like fashion, one day it's trendy to go here, another day it's trendy to go there.
 
ibizasunset said:
Sometimes it's better to have the young skint people to fall back on. Expensive places are like fashion, one day it's trendy to go here, another day it's trendy to go there.
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We hear it about ibiza since 20 years at least...
And from what I see, ibiza is still full of young people (less 35), but with a lot of money.
 
Sometimes you should read the local newspapers more often, you would learn a lot about the local economy, forecasts about the upcoming season, etc.
 
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