There Ain’t No Party Like An Ibiza Party
| 26th September 2017
Who doesn’t get excited for the summer, hey? Despite the season officially drawing to a close [sob], we can’t help but reminisce about some of our top experiences this year at some of the UK’s best festivals, fun openings and VIP parties we’ve had to cover – all for the name of love for our VIVA readers.
You’d think with so much partying, we’re deserved a well needed and much welcomed break – but, no – some bright PR-spark pitched to VIVA the idea of covering the closing in parties in Ibiza. How could we possibly refuse?
The team hadn’t done a VIVA Ibiza trip for well over a year – simply because it has taken us so long to recover from the last one in 2015 – and so we decided it was time to get ourselves out on the beautiful white island once more.
Having rounded up the VIVA troops and inviting some of our friends from Manchester [Katie Mcglynn from Corrie, Heart FM radio presenter Lorna Bancroft, Girl on Sax May and DJ E.M.A] to come party with us, Jet2 rolled out the red carpet and flew us out.
We were treated like ‘queens of the skies’. Jet 2 certainly did impress, especially with its in-flight catering service and range of booze on offer. Although who really does eat when travelling?
What’s that saying? “No pizza before ibiza”. Normally for us Mancs we’re used to a s**t load of beer, spirits, wine or – sometimes – a glass of fizz, darling. Don’t get me wrong, we still got on the fizz but the food menu looked pretty good and so we tucked in!
VIVA Verdict: The chicken Tikka meal (£7.50) + 2 bottles of Bottega Gold Prosecco (£12), which is a bargain and good combo, if your mate takes the last Chicken Tikka meal (a popular and frequent occurrence, apparel) chose the Mac & Cheese.
After being fed and watered and having a chuckle at the very brave air hostess telling the tipsy boys in front of us they couldn’t have anything more to drink, we touched down and headed straight to our villa in San Josep to meet up with our fellow campers for the next 5 days ‘The Scots’ (2 Scottish boys who love to sing; ‘You Cannae Shove Your Grannie Off The Bus’).
Set within its own grounds on the hillside above the valley of San Agustin, Can Xanchu [no I didn’t sneeze, it’s the name of the property] we were welcome by picturesque sea views across the island. It was only a five minute walk from the bohemian village of San Jospe and a few minutes drive to Ibiza Town, Playa Den Bossa and San Antonio.
The villa hosted four twin or double rooms with air-con, 2 full bathrooms (one with jacuzzi) and one on suite showroom, a large lounge and dinning area, a well equipped kitchen, large swimming pool with barbecue area and chill out lounges.
We found Can Xanchu on Air BnB, which VIVA highly recommends you booking through should you be a big group as we were, as it worked out at a more affordable and value for money deal than staying in a hotel.
VIVA Verdict: We were more than impressed with Can Xanchu and the location, the only thing we would advise is to book a private driver for your stay at this villa. We found it extremely difficult to book taxis, for some reason they were only willing to take us to the airport or the hospital?! The former guests must have partied so hard that they either needed a new liver from all the drinking, quickly – or they wanted to get as far away from Ibiza as they possibly could.
This summer, Ibiza entered an exciting new chapter with the much-anticipated launch of Hï Ibiza, the brand new club by Ushuaïa Entertainment. The club formerly known as Space has been elevated to new heights, with a fresh new look and the most advanced sound and technologies on the island.
Saturdays at Hi are all about Black Coffee this season – a step up for his debut residency. With Carl Craig, Rampue, Salome, Lee Burridge and Rony Seikaly also on the line up, we headed down for our first big night out to see if Hi lived up to all the hype.
VIVA Verdict: Highlight was stumbling across the new super-clubs secret weapon; the disco bathroom [basically people raving in the loo], and boys with white socks pulled up to just below the knees. What’s that look all about? Top tip: remember that when going to a super-club, it’s always good to have a meeting point if you are with a big group of people as we found out on the first night, when you are lost, you’re lost!
Ibiza by day… If you’re not swanning or leafing around on your Selfridges inflatables in your swanky villa pool, then hitting the Ibiza day parties is a big YES!
A couple of our favourites is Ocean Beach and Pikes. Throughout this summer Ocean Beach has hosted some of the best pool parties the island has to offer: From Hed Kandi to Ministry Of Sound, Soul Heaven and the Boat Club and with world class DJ’s on the decks plus once again this year, Ibiza’s most popular saxophonist, Lovely Laura returned to her spiritual home with her uber-cool sax vibes.
If you are planning on visiting Ocean Beach next year we advise you to book in advance as this is a popular hot spot and the beds get snapped up. If you head to their website there is a big map where you can choose and book the area you want to party in.
The luxurious Sunset Roof Garden offers a premium chill out area with an elevated view across the Beach Club and the San Antonio harbour. But if you are more the party animal like ourselves and like to be in the mist of it all then the Garden Bar or Garden area is a good option or treat yourself to the VIP area which provides the ultimate Beach Club experience. You have your personal waiter service which allows you to spend your afternoon and evening as you wish without having to lift a finger.
Pikes – being the iconic Ibizan institution – is another daytime hot spot on our VIVA radar. Steeped in rock ‘n’ roll history and brimming with personality the hotel was originally created in the late 1970’s by the legendary Tony Pike and for the last few decades, Pikes has been a playground for the music and cultural elite.
Whilst we were on our trip UK brand Electric Chair which was held in Manchester throughout The Refuge and The Principal hotel in May, took to the shore of Ibiza and put on a much-anticipated weekender at Pikes, you can read more about this HERE.
But VIVA’s top day time gem is Sol House Mixed By Ibiza Rocks. Fusing outstanding design, services and facilities with a varied day to night soundtrack curated by Ibiza Rocks this place is custom-built for good times. And that’s exactly what was on offer on our Tuesday afternoon relaxing by the infinity pool up on the Rooftop Nine terrace.
That afternoon Manchester DJ E.M.A and saxophonist Girl On Sax took to the decks after residence DJ Danig and played an epic set of funky house meets sassy sax beats.
These two have been touring the world far and wide this year playing Dubai, Ibiza, Sweden, Finland and Italy, between them they have supported the likes of Sigma, Rudimental, Fun Lovin Criminals, Howard Marks, Pussycat Doll Kimberley Wyatt and Brandon Block whilst holding an extensive list of festivals under their belts including Hideout Festival, Snowbombing, Parklife, Bestival, Beat-Herder and Glastonbury.
The girls totally took on the Sol House Ibiza good time vibes with their glittered cheeky looks and colourful outfits, we were loving E.M.A’s tropical festival fringed playsuit by We Koko plus how can you not have a dance round Girl On Sax uplifting sax beats. These girls are ‘one of a kind’ and we can’t wait to see what ambitions they have in store next year. Word on the street is they are heading back to Ibiza next year so keep an eye out for these two!
Sol House’s Rooftop Nine has a stunning panorama of San Antonio Bay, it’s a hotspot by day to soak up the sun or take a dip in the infinity pool. As the sun goes down it’s the perfect place to take in unrivalled views of the world’s most famous sunset, sip ice cold cocktails and listen to the sounds of their guest DJs.
VIVA Verdict: Chilling at Sol House was our favourite afternoon we had in Ibiza this year, we would highly recommend it as one of the best hotels to stay in Ibiza or to visit the Rooftop Nine for cocktails, great tunes and an amazing view to watch the sunset.
Listen to E.M.A & Girl On Sax Sol House Mix on this Sound Cloud link below…
Talking of sunsets, you can’t go to Ibiza and not go to the iconic Cafe Mambo. Situated in the centre of what has become known as the sunset strip in San Antonio, Mambo’s was established in 1994 by Javier Anadon and against all advice, the original small ibicencan and derelict house has become a prevailing force in the dance music industry.
This year, the likes of Fatboy Slim, Craig David, Bob Sinclair, Martin Solveig have graced the decks to name a few, plus mid-summer Radio 1 took over Cafe Mambo from dusk till dawn hosting their infamous weekender which has become one of the biggest beachside parties the sunset strip has to offer.
In 2007 Cafe Mambo was honoured for the second time with the prestigious DJ Award for the best Bar in Ibiza. But despite all this, Mambos say their grass roots remain the same. They are a family run business. Its resident DJs have been with them a long time and they have had the same management for over 10 years. According to their Management: “The bottom line for the Mambo brand is our customers; for after all they make us who we are.”
We recommend booking a table in advance at Cafe Mambos especially around the time of sunset. You can book the Regular Terrace, Seafront or VIP which are the tables nearest to the DJ booth. We went for the VIP exclusive area and joining us for the evening was local Mancunian business man Mark Andrews (MD of Mad Ltd) he was over in Ibiza on a bit of a research trip for his new super club coming soon to Manchester called Lazy Lizard Ibizan Beach Club, keep checking the Lazy Lizard Facebook page for updates.
Sipping on our first strawberry daiquiri watching the last bit of the sunset the vibes were exactly what you would expect from Mambo and it was at that moment when we through ‘Yes we are here in the heart of Ibiza loving life, cheers’.
Food recommendations: For starters the nachos with chilli, crispy prawns and calamari are all great dishes to share. For mains a popular dish within the VIVA crew was the tiger prawns in a Thai coconut sauce with rice and the Mambo burger. We can’t quite quote on the desert as we were all pretty much stuffed by then but continued on the strawberry daiquiris.
VIVA Verdict: Cafe Mambo is an absolute must it’s the heart and soul of Ibiza, just don’t drink your first strawberry daiquiri too fast; head freeze!
It was time to end the VIVA Ibiza trip on the party of all parties; Together closing party at Amnesia.
With a mega line up of Chase & Status, Andy C, Sub Focus, Dimension, Becky Saiif in the main room and MK, Hannah Wants, Hector Couto (click here to read VIVA’s interview with Hector), Caal, Technik and Disciples on the Terrace this was the booming bass and jackin’ groove house under the same roof we had been waiting for!
Having established itself as one of the leading parties in Ibiza, Together has always possessed some of the best live acts, best music and most intense DJs. Together Ibiza 2017 has brought a diverse with the music it showcases. This has made it a very unique thus further highlighting why it is one of Ibiza’s most pinnacle Tuesday night events.
The closing party was no exception they went all out with the line up, the dancers, the light show the smoke and of course the ‘ravers-n-misbehavers’, including ourselves where we were on a another level of party mode! It was an unforgettable Tuesday night!
Highlight of the evening; Hannah Wants and MK both owning those decks in the Terrace.
VIVA Verdict: One of the best closing parties we have been to. We can’t wait for them to announce the line-up for Together 2018, we’ll see you down the front!
Home sweet home now and the Ibiza blues have well and truly kicked in! In the words of Katie Mcglynn “It was a kooky holiday” until next year Ibiza!
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