Month: October 2015

  

San Antonio could be termed as a ‘marmite’ type product – in other words you either love it or hate it but now unconfirmed reports are filtering through of an exciting new project on the horizon that could rejuvenate the whole concept of the area. 

Very good local sources are saying that a luxury hotel owner from Santa Eulalia and Pepe Rosello from Space Ibiza are joining forces to create a hotel and beach club right in the heart of San Antonio where the existing Reco des Sol hotel currently stands and the vacant ground directly in front of it.

It’s common knowledge that Space Ibiza will lose their current home in Playa d’en Bossa at the end of 2016 when the owners (the Matutes group of companies who also own Ushuaia, Hard Rock Hotel and Aguamar amongst other things) take back the premises. 

Carl Cox has already come out and said that he is finishing his night due to this reason –  read Mixmag article here – so it appears that some are expecting Ushuaia to do exactly as Pacha did when it took over the premises that formerly housed El Divino; namely change it into a Vegas style high end club experience with top names but also charging top prices. 

In clubbing terms Space Ibiza retains total credibility and has been consistently voted as one of the worlds top clubs so the thought of them opening up something in San Antonio has obviously got the juices flowing and fueled the rumour mill to new levels. 

As Ushuaia proved all it takes is one thing to tip the balance and change people’s perception of a destination so the thought of one of the world’s top clubs being involved in a new concept that will see a hotel, leisure facilities and a beach club open in San Antonio is an exciting one for many. 

With the pioneering Ibiza Rocks purchasing the iconic Pikes Hotel, Ocean Beach smashing all records and having their own hotel partnership and Cafe Mambo taking over La Torre, the boutique hotel close to Cala Gracio, these are exciting times for San Antonio (and all run by local business people who understand the San Antonio brand).

 
There’s still a long way to go but don’t be surprised if Space founder Pepe Rosello, who started his Ibiza odyssey on the streets of San Antonio and has always been a magnificent servant to the town, makes this project into his final and lasting mark on the island that he loves and I’m sure there will be a place for his best mate Coxy. Did someone mention legacy?

Special thanks to Danny Kay Blog & Mixmag

  

It’s that time of the year when boats are stored away for the winter so, at the end of another busy summer on the water, here’s my personal guide to owning and running a boat on the white isle.

1. Have lots of liquid money, if not you might need to rob a bank or pray for a lottery win

2. Prepare to be annoyed on a daily basis

3. Understand that the yacht clubs will completely take the piss 

4. Fact: You will always lose money with boats

5. You pay a captain lots of money to drive your boat and look good

6. Boat mechanics are similar to DJs and chefs – proceed with caution

7. Most of the boat factories close down in August so it’s almost impossible to solve a major problem in the peak season

8. Formentera waters are like a boat caravan park for the first 2 weeks of August

9. There’s always someone with a bigger boat than you even if your name is Roman (but not if your name is Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan)

 10. Filthy rich owners only use their boats for 2 weeks a year. Which is kind of irritating

11. You will be happy when you buy a boat, you will be ecstatic when you sell it

12. B.O.A.T actually stands for ‘Bring On Another Thousand’

13. Fat old European men with strange moustaches always have great looking girls on their boat – which is ‘strange’ 

14. Chicks dig boats 

15. Chicks really dig boats 

16. Boys love toys so love boats, I mean really love boats 

17. You will have some of the best days of your life on a boat

18. Memories are all we have

19. You can’t take it with you so you might as well spend it on something you can have fun with

20. Ibiza & Formentera is a paradise for boat owners (point 8 notwithstanding)

  

21. You will never want to go to the beach by car ever again

22. As you are collected from your boat, the word ‘taxi’ has a whole different meaning

23. You can honestly say ‘do you fancy coming on MY boat’ at 4am at a Superclub

24. Sunset from Mambo is great, sunset from a boat moored outside Mambo is amazing

  

25. Be prepared to discuss your boat on several social occasions 

26. Your boat will start to define you as you become the ‘person with the boat’

27. Fake friends are commonplace ….you own a boat remember

28. Name your boat wisely 

29. See points 14 and 15 – don’t forget point 18 and keep reminding yourself of point 19. 

30. Boats are as addictive as a crack cocaine habit……just more expensive

 

This blog is dedicated to Derek and Nigel (point 18)

  

Ibiza has received 2 outstanding awards over the last week proving once again that it is a world class destination catering for all.

Firstly the island was voted the “Best Short Haul Destination for Families” at the Family Traveller Awards ceremony in London. Chosen by over 20,000 readers and a panel of experts including TV presenter and writer Mariella Fostrup, TV adventurer and broadcaster Simon Reeve, The Times travel editor Jane Knight, Elle Magazine travel and lifestyle director Susan Ward Davies and Family Traveller magazine editor Jane Anderson, the awards aim to acknowledge the best of the best in all things family. Ibiza won seeing off strong competition from Tenerife, Brittany, Catalonia, The Azores, Murcia, Andorra and Soma Bay, Egypt and the Algarve.

This family award may take a few by surprise but just confirms what many have known for a a long time: Ibiza is amazing for families. 

Then Ushuaia Ibiza received the Golden Moon award for “Best Club in the World 2015” at the International Nightlife Congress held at the Hard Rock Hotel, Ibiza over 2 days. In fact 6 of Ibiza’s super clubs made the top 20 proving again that the white isle is THE world destination for nocturnal pursuits.

Ricardo Urgell, the founder of Pacha was also recognised for his career and contribution to nightlife as well as receiving the award for “Most Historical Club” for Pacha Ibiza. In a strange twist The Ibiza government was also waranted a special mention for their “outstanding and responsible support to the industry”

This was the 2nd International Nightlife Congress but the very 1st edition of the Golden Moon Awards that reward the best practices in the industry in 18 different categories. The Congress will take place annually alternating between Ibiza (odd years) and Las Vegas (even years). 

All destination awards are open to debate but the island can now finish off the summer season and go into winter with a self satisfied smile as it continues to gain recognition as a holiday destination that ticks all the boxes for all types of tourism. 

 
Here’s a story to warm the cockles of your heart. Coxy the Loggerhead Sea Turtle has become a local Ibiza celebrity thanks to 2 off-duty police officers who, whilst out fishing, found her floating hopelessly close to the island of Conillera, half a mile off the coast of San Antonio.

The poor marine animal was completely tangled up in plastic tied to 3 bottles of Coca-Cola and was hardly moving so they immediately called 112 and pulled off the plastic. Little did they know but they should have waited for the experts to decide how to manage the situation as cutting off the object that strangles the animal’s body can release a series of pathogens into the blood which can cause infection and blood poisoning. Luckily on this occasion little Coxy managed to stay strong and battle through. 

After an X-ray the brave turtle was given the all clear and ended up at the Recovery Center for Marine Species (CREM) located at the Cap Blanc Aquarium near Cala Gracio. This facility is a natural cave with constant fresh sea water circulation and offered the perfect natural environment for her to recover surrounded by other marine animals which is really positive in the recovery process.

It was at the aquarium that Coxy came under the watchful eye of oceanographer Veronica Nuñez who helped the injured marine animal over a month with a series of treatments and a strict diet in order to get her back to normal weight. Veronica discovered that her new best friend was only around 10 years old and it was clear from the state of her shell which was covered with algae and crustaceans that Coxy had been adrift for many days and was seriously malnourished due to being unable to dive for food. Her front fins were also seriously damaged due to the entanglement with the Plastic. 

The Sea Turtle is one the most beloved animals on the island so the story generated a lot of local media interest so to gain the maximum publicity for Coxy and other sea turtles world renowned DJ and Ibiza veteran Carl Cox kindly accepted an offer to become his namesakes godfather saying “I was moved by the story and honored to help out”.

Now Veronica’s main objective is to raise awareness that throwing plastic into the sea can be devastating for all sea life especially for these lovely peaceful marine animals. 
She told me “It’s heartbreaking to see how these amazing noble creatures are nearly extinct due to our bad habits. Their main diet are jellyfish and due to its similarity with plastics they end up eating it. Almost every studied turtle have ingested some kind of plastic in their lifetime”

She continued “Our little Coxy spent many days defecating plastics. In many cases turtles sadly die because they try to liberate themselves by eating the plastic in which they are entangled. The plastics accumulate in their body and cause blockages to the digestive system, in the majority of cases this leads to death. Just a week before Coxy was found, a tiny turtle was found dead in Es Canar with a tangled mess of plastics in it’s stomach, as I said, it’s heartbreaking” 

Now due to the diligence of those 2 off duty officers and the hard work of Veronica little Coxy has now fully recovered and is almost ready to be released back into the sea by a marine expert who knows exactly where there is a good stream to help her travel back home. Loggerhead Sea Turtles can live to 70 years old so now Coxy will be free to enjoy the rest of her long life.

 

 
Note: Protocol states that if anybody finds an animal with problems they should call the free emergency Spanish line 112 who will contact the corresponding person or organisation

  

In clear defiance of an order by San Antonio Town Hall,  Amnesia discotheque finally closed their doors early Sunday afternoon even though their licence stated that the club should be closed by 6am. Reports suggest the final partygoers left after 1pm, a massive 7 hours later than legally allowed.

The Ibiza superclub had requested a late licence but this was refused by the coalition San Antonio government due to Amnesia’s prior flaunting of the closing time laws,  in fact the it has been a consistent offender this summer with 15 previous infractions.

This is a big test for the San Antonio government who have made lots of headlines about club and bar closing times especially in the central West End area under pressure from local residents.  The conundrum for the Town Hall is that if they come down heavily on a world class clubbing institution then they will appear to be killjoys with no idea about what makes the island so famous but if they come down too lightly then they would be seen to ‘condoning’ a law breaking situation and others may follow suit. 

Many people were exasperated that the council did not grant a one-off late licence (at a reasonable fee) to one of the worlds top clubs especially as they have a reputation for ‘carrying on the party’ whereas some residents complained of the dangerous amount of intoxicated people and traffic seeping out of the club into the light of the early afternoon.

Other local business owners have also been complaining of dual standards that see a bar fined the same as a superclub and are calling for a level playing field and some common sense with respect to closing times especially for one-off events.

After all the negative publicity this summer the punishment for breaking any law should be deterrent and clearly the fine for Amnesia thumbing its nose at the authorities and staying open late was less than it made out of drinks sales so the law on this occasion was no deterrent at all.

Where a law is routinely ignored you either change the law to reflect the needs of the community or change the punishment so it reflects the financial value of the infringement. As it stands the San Antonio lawmakers have backed themselves into a corner by doing neither so look like laughingstocks with no control.

Lawmakers currently appear to be having difficulty applying the common sense rule on an island that welcomes large scale tourism for just a small percentage of the year but seeing as it will be nearly 8 months until the big clubs open once again there’s sufficient time to get the balance right. Just don’t hold your breath.