Do as you please in the Anything Can Happen suite (from $478) at the new Ushuaïa Tower. (Roberto Castano)
Before touching down in Ibiza, we feel like we’ve already arrived on the Balearic Island east of Spain’s coastline, where outré fashion rules, seaside villas reign as the pads of choice and 24-hour party people rock to an endless soundtrack of addictive house music.
On the flight from Madrid-Barajas to Ibiza — where David Guetta’s disco-lit F*** Me I’m Famous airport lounge serves sushi and plays the French DJ’s mixes between flights — the plane is packed with people who can’t wait to let loose. There’s a gal with a third eye painted onto her forehead, a leggy blonde whose jeans are stitched up to her hips and a gay couple wearing headphones that leak beats all over the plane. Of course, nobody seems to mind — especially when the guys begin dispensing shots en route to the terminal.
Once on the island, you can’t go wrong by checking into Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel (ushuaiabeachhotel.com, from $252), which is divided into two buildings. The 2-month-old Ushuaïa Tower caters to a well-heeled dance-music loving crowd. The 181 suites feature private Jacuzzis on the balconies and touch-pad showers. Décor is futuristically minimalist, all shiny and a little trippy with sculptures of giant ants crawling all over the place. While innovative amenities — including newly minted mini Mercedes-Benz smart cars — and bend-over-backwards service combine to bring a stylish crowd with high expectations, music here hardly takes a back seat.
The pool area of the Tower has its own DJ booth and hosts relatively intimate parties. Meanwhile, the building next door, 2-year-old Ushuaïa Club — with 236 rooms, 19 of which are swim-up — has been designed for major bashes. Its outdoor venue squeezes in 3,000 revelers for the kinds of blowouts that make Ibiza infamous. This summer’s lineup is stellar: Avicii, Luciano and Guetta all have weekly residencies. They will drive their dancing minions crazy, performing on a gargantuan stage, topped with a curvy half-dome that served as the inspiration for the freshly launched Daylight pool club in Las Vegas. If the al fresco dance floor isn’t good enough for you, finagle your way up to the stage and boogie alongside the DJ booth. Nobody seems to mind.
The music and crowd are so good that you feel like you could rage at this spot until dawn. But regulations mandate that outdoor shows here need to wrap by midnight. So, following a round of cocktails in the hotel’s rooftop Mile High Club (Ushuaïa Rum Punch, made with 23-year-old Zacapa rum, is a specialty), it’s on to the venerable clubs that have long defined Ibiza: At enormously proportioned Privilege (privilegeibiza.com), Armin van Buuren ranks as the star attraction; airplanes roaring over the outdoor patio at Space (spaceibiza.com) add to the ambiance during appearances by headliners Carl Cox and Richie Hawtin; Amnesia (amnesia.es) boasts industrial-strength ice cannons that keep fans of Calvin Harris and Knife Party cooled off as they sweat it out.
In the face of freer-spending competitors, the granddaddy of all Ibiza clubs, Pacha (pacha.com), has lost some of its cachet (Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso, playing together under the name Departures, have opted to perform at Ushuaïa this summer), but on a good night, it’s still a great place for getting a little wild. Guetta maintains a Thursday night residency there this summer, and his show is a blast of naughtiness, complete with half-naked dancers getting dirty above the audience and a raft of hits that are impossible not to love. When visiting Pacha, be sure to get off the dance floor and explore the nooks and crannies and various barrooms. They’re beloved by longstanding regulars who say that the joint feels more like a home than a club. And don’t forget to sample the local liquor, Hierbas, which is distilled from herbs (no, not that one) and goes down smoothly.
It’s easy to sleep in after late nights of partying, but don’t get too carried away with slumber or you’ll miss some of the things that make Ibiza really special. At the appropriately named oceanfront Beach Club, on the edge of Ushuaïa’s grounds, we set ourselves up on one of the oversized Bali beds. After a couple strenuous hours of sunbathing, nicely spiced lobster in rice and sweet melon smoothies spiked with vodka hit the spot. The meal is followed up, of course, with a dip in the temperate, crystal clear Mediterranean Sea. Not a bad afternoon.
A day later, looking for something a bit more strenuous, we walk off our nights of debauchery by visiting Ibiza Town’s walled city — kind of a town within the town — that once protected the island against Turkish invaders. Getting to the top means a 2,300-foot ascent up steps that were cut into stone nearly 500 years ago. After making it to the zenith, we’re rewarded by cool breezes and stunning 360-degree ocean views.
Following a pleasant walk down, we hit the busy shopping district around Ibiza Town, where you can stock up on island styles at Ibiza Republic (ibizarepublic.com), visit Revolver (revolveribiza.com) to browse the store or arrange private fittings in your hotel room, and find cool co-ed threads for nights of clubbing at Histericomplements (fashion-ibiza.com). We follow it up with a stroll through the scattering of local markets and hippie shops that recall Ibiza’s boho past. Then it’s time for lunch at Ca n’Alfredo (canalfredo.com), a 79-year-old restaurant that specializes in classic Ibiza home cooking. The stingray, baked with smashed almonds and tomatoes, is fantastic once we remember to scrape the meat off of the fish and to not eat the cartilage.
Back at Ushuaïa, bags a little heavy and wallets a little light, there’s time for lounging at the pool and cocktails before dinner. We eat at the excellent Montauk steakhouse, which gets its meat from Spain and Great Britain. The carnivorous pile-up of porterhouse, beautifully rare prime rib, pork belly ribs and nicely crusted lamb chops straight from the grill fortify us for another long night out. By the time a totally unnecessary selection of desserts hits the table, we already hear DJ Loco Dice’s alluring rhythms resonating from the pool club next door. So it will be a quick rush of sweets and double espressos before we’re back out there, taking in the night and sucking up the infectious sounds of Ibiza.