Author: Martin Makepeace

They say that Ibiza is an ageless destination but what if you are a gentleman of a certain age who still wants to experience San Antonio? Here is a list of do’s and dont’s (or the rules of engagement) for the fifty plus gentleman who just wants to have fun in the sun in Ibiza’s party town.

1. Never go to a club, it’s a nice thought but the late night will wipe you out

2. Don’t worry about No.1: Daytime is the new night time

3. Never expose bare flesh unless swimming

4. Wear what you want: shorts, flip flops, socks and sandals. Ibiza loves free spirits and some youngsters might even think you are “cooool”

5. Don’t despair, there are more older women than you think (normally mums of hens)

6. Day out on a boat is compulsory

7. Lunch at Ocean Beach is recommended – VIP access is vital

8. Stay away from drunken nights in the West End – a quick browse is fine but this ain’t your manor

9. It’s perfectly acceptable to stay in a San An hotel and you don’t have to pay ridiculous prices for a room 

10. Pre-party/Sunset at Mambo/Mint is a must – just don’t get talked into the after show

11. Blue Marlin on a Saturday is a good escape

12. Try to make friends with proprietors or bar owners, they are more your age and you will appear ‘in-the-know’ to younger partygoers

13. Be in bed by 2am at the very latest – it’s a jungle out there after that (Plastik VIP notwithstanding)

14. It’s more about long lunches than long nights. Try a ‘menu del dia’ for less than 10 euros

15. Be proud to tell everyone at home that you are “staying in San An!”

16. Never discuss age

17. When talking to the younger generation try not to say “back in the day”

18. Always mention you are personal friends with someone who owns a boat. Certain ladies seem to respond to this

19. Remember: You can have a good day or a good night but you can rarely have both

20. Never try to defend the West End – it’s just not worth it

21. A night at Pikes, dancing to 80s music in Freddie’s Bar, is compulsory. 

22. San An and surrounding bays have the best beaches on the island (best viewed from a boat)

24. You’re never too old for Ibiza – you just look it :)

25. June and September are the best months to  visit

26. Hire a car and discover remote parts of the island. 

27. Spend more time around the hotel pool making friends with your local knowledge, charm and banter. 

28. Don’t try to do too much, conserve energy wherever possible

29. Don’t be afraid to spend money or ‘buy’ friends. It’s Ibiza after all

30. Time is precious so use it well, it’s not a rehearsal

Thanks to Paul Riches for the idea/content. Dedicated to all those who should know better but point blank refuse to give up the ghost (especially Paul, Danny, Nigel, Lee, Kieran, Tom, Peter, Stu, John S, Phil, Dave Bee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick, Tich and too many others to mention) 

Copyright: Man in San An 2016 

BBC Radio 1’s Pete Tong was drawn into a small war of words this week whilst at the International Music Summit after describing San Antonio as ‘disappointing’ and ’embarrassing’.
I don’t know Mr Tong personally and I’ve been told by many friends that he is a good guy and has ‘done a lot to put Ibiza on the map’ but our town can really do without his snide asides and backhanded compliments. The reaction from San Antonio locals was predictably strong, shouting him down and berating his not too successful  (and very expensive) ‘Wonderland’ night at Eden a few years ago.

Of course it’s a free world and everyone is entitled to an opinion and I’m sure that Mr Tong and his band of merry men have had their comments taken out of context and didn’t intentionally go out to ‘bad mouth’ our little town but his comments are endemic of a wider problem, namely that San Antonio is an easy target especially within certain sections of the media and entertainment world.

Have you heard the story of the famous DJ (not Mr Tong btw) who will play ANYWHERE in the world EXCEPT San Antonio? He will play Wolverhampton, Northampton, Milton Keynes, Luton, Folkestone, Glasgow but not San Antonio because it’s ‘bad for his reputation’. Let that sink in a for a minute and you will start to understand the image problem we have amongst those who are paid plenty to arrange and play music to a crowd. They are not bothered about anywhere else but as soon as it comes to Ibiza there’s a strict hierarchy put in place by their management and hangers on.

You know who they are, you can picture them sitting around their VIP tables in London and when someone talks about Ibiza they get all animated and tell you that it’s the most amazing place in the world but then San Antonio is mentioned, the sneers and the “Oh but I don’t go there” comments start. These are the same people who regularly frequent Mambo, Pikes, Ibiza Rocks, Sa Capella, Villa Mercedes and other places but in their words “that’s not really San Antonio though is it?”

Well I’m afraid it is San Antonio, glorious in its flawed entirety and for all it’s faults has far more positives than negatives but ‘they’ don’t like to talk about that because it’s cool to have a sly dig and insinuate otherwise.

There’s not one place on the island that doesn’t have a compromise: Bossa, San An, Santa Eulalia, San Carlos, Portinatx, wherever. All amazingly different places and all catering to different markets but all are not for everyone. Bossa has more problems than it’s willing to admit to but this is counterbalanced by world class venues and a lovely mile long beach. Ibiza Town has many social issues but also has the most amazing old town, vibrant commerce and a real cosmopolitan buzz. San An has plenty of challenges but also some incredible bars, restaurants, amazing natural scenery, a friendly ex-pat population plus the most famous sunset in the world. 

But it’s just not cool to talk up San An because ‘they’ want you to believe otherwise but we on the West Coast have broad shoulders and will carry on doing our thing and banging the drum and improving year on year and when they eventually do come and see us, we will smile at the ‘pleasantly surprised’ comments about San An’s laid back attitude, incredible geography and a willingness to not take itself too seriously. Shame we can’t reciprocate the compliment to Mr Tong and friends.

As most Ibiza lovers will know the world famous Space Nightclub’s lease expires at the end of this summer so after 27 years the building will revert back to its owners, the Matutes Group, owners of Ushuaia and Hard Rock Hotel.

In the least surprising news of the week Abel Matutes Prats, CEO of Palladium Hotel Group and Vice President of Matutes Group has been talking about the future of the premises once Space has left and his intention to convert it into a luxury nightclub.

“We want to continue with the project to make Playa d’en Bossa into an entertainment area” said Matutes categorically denying continuing rumours about converting it into a shopping centre. “No, not at all” was his response. 

“We do not have to so why change” he said saying that they are “doing studies” before making a final decision. “It is still a bit early to say,” but when asked whether this is the last season of ‘Space’ on the island he laughed and said “we will see” but noted that the world famous ‘Space Ibiza’ brand is owned by Pepe Rosello.

What Matutes has made clear is their intention to create a different environment. “Obviously we want to keep it as a club but also want to dedicate it to the audience in which we are now focusing, which will be complementary to Ushuaïa”.

Matutes explained that the conversion of the club that launched Pepe Rosello and Space into the clubbing stratosphere will not be delayed and is a priority for the Palladium Group once this summer is out of the way. “We will get on with the reforms, concentrating on the club area” with the idea to reopen for summer 2017.

‘Pacha’ did it with ‘El Divino’, ‘Cirque du Soleil’ did it with the Ibiza Gran Hotel and it appears that ‘Ushuaia’ is going to do it with “Space”.

Source: Diario de Ibiza

Ibiza SuperClub Amnesia has been refused a licence to extend it’s closing time for their forthcoming opening party on 14 May.

San Antonio Town Hall refused the application on the same day as it was revealed that the famous club had paid fines totalling 102,000 euros for 31 licence infractions over the last 2 years, 16 in 2014 and 15 in 2015. 

As the law stands Amnesia will need to close its doors by 6.30am at its opening party but it will be interesting to see their response to San Antonio Town Hall flexing its muscles. Relatively speaking 102,000 euros in fines amounts to a little more than a few VIP tables on a busy night so the club may well decide to thumb their nose at the authorities and risk further sanctions. Watch this space. 

The blanket ‘ban’ on drinking in the streets of San Antonio hit the headlines this week when UK and European news agencies picked up the story and ran with it.  San Antonio Town Hall issued an immediate clarification stating that water and juices were definitely not included in the ban but the damage had already been done with social media coming alive with the ‘news’. 

They say that you should never let the truth get in the way of a good story but it’s not the media’s fault for reporting the news: San Antonio’s 3 party coalition government haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory with their communication skills, allowing this to spiral out of control, eventually finding its way into the red tops. 

If makes you wonder why the Ibiza decision makers don’t appoint PR companies to avert disasters like this so they can micro manage the output of news and get the positive stuff out there otherwise the uneducated might think that Ibiza is just an overpriced hedonistic free-for-all that wilfully slaughters goats whilst taxing tourists for the right to visit and banning children from drinking a bottle of water in the midday sun. 

As all Ibiza lovers know there are far more positives than negatives however with the constant flow of news generated by 5 different municipal councils and the island council it’s easy for outlets to focus on the headline grabbing negatives that can sometimes tip the balance when those valuable tourists decide on their annual pilgrimage to the sun. 

Even though Ibiza is arguably at the top of its game nothing should be taken for granted and these headlines don’t do anything for consumer confidence and, as other tourist destinations have seen, livelihoods can be taken away at any time in the blink of an eye. It’s time for Ibiza politicians to up their game in public relations and with today’s social media there is simply no excuse for not getting the right message across.

Ibiza remains an amazing place to visit but it would appear that the only ones that don’t know how to communicate this are those paid by the taxpayer to do so. 

After a long sleepy winter San Antonio will burst back to life on 29 April when many establishments throw open their doors for the first time in what could be termed as the official opening party for Ibiza’s 2nd largest town

At the forefront of many of these businesses are British and Irish residents who will be saying goodbye to the relaxing winter as “San An” transforms from sleepy village to bustling holiday destination.

It’s very much a new dawn for San Antonio with a new centre left coalition in the town hall so as the summer begins in earnest let’s have a look at what’s happening in San An this weekend. 

Stalwarts the SHIP INN and THE FISH are open most of the year and were joined early in 2016 by new bar THE SOCIAL. The ever popular LINEKERS opened last weekend for St George’s day joining sunset bar MINT LOUNGE and the sleek Irish bar FLAHERTY’S who were the first to open for summer way back in March.

Friday 29 April will see ‘soft’ openings for showbiz hangout PLASTIK as well as the brand new LYT IBIZA which occupies the premises formerly known as Play 2 but after extensive renovations promises to be a whole new experience. The sexy OCEAN BEACH will also prepare it’s day beds for the first time this Friday, opening at weekends until their big official opening later in May. 

The Scots are well represented with the popular KILTIES and the always busy HIGHLANDER opening however we will have to wait a little longer for the new Irish Bar SHENANIGANS which will be situated where Capones used to be. 

Also brand new to the West End for 2016 will be SOHO which will join FACES & the workers favourite VIVA opening this weekend. TROPICANA’S opened last weekend and on Vara de Rey the always excellent HUSH and ENTICE will also start their 2016 season with opening parties although Soul City opens next week. 

Also opening is cool sunset hangout SAVANNAH plus the iconic PIKES with the promise of “dinner, DJ’s and poolside cocktails” and on Saturday 30 April SuperClub EDEN has a big party with local San Antonio DJs firing up the crowd. 

So as you can see San An is definitely open for business, for those in the know it’s an exciting time of the year and if you’ve never been then don’t be put off by certain segments of the press, San Antonio is a truly wonderful place and has something for everyone. 

WE AWAIT YOUR VISIT

P.S. You will need to look good for all these openings so a makeover at C4 EXPLOSIVE HAIR is probably a good idea. 

The total number of passengers arriving at Ibiza Airport for the 1st quarter of 2016 grew by 14.24% to a little over 232,000.

Interestingly the British and Dutch passenger numbers have doubled compared to 2015. 6,392 arrived from British airports from Jan to Mar in 2015 but this was nearly doubled for the same dates in 2016 with 12,365 arrivals, a 93.4% increase.

As for the Dutch, the numbers were 2,629 in 2015 and 4,307 in 2016, a 63.8% increase. The German contingent for the same period went from 1360 to 1703, an increase of 25.2%. However, other countries have decreased such as the Italian market which fell by 38%.

The total number of passengers who arrived in Ibiza between January and March was 232,092, 14.2% more than a year ago, when there were 203,157, according to figures from Ibiza Airport which was made public yesterday. 

These figures also include the Spanish passengers which include the local resident population whose numbers rose by 11%, from 190,365 to 211,625 people.

March was the busiest month with 102,600 arrivals as it coincided with an early Easter and also the start of the Ryanair summer flying programme.

Passengers who came to Ibiza during the first 3 months of the year were from Spain, UK, Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Holland, Italy and Switzerland. 

Source: Diario de Ibiza