Better than its reputation. September proves it.
By Albert & Nouri Beesemer — independently visited. No sponsored placements. Ever.
Two Ibizas have been running in parallel for about twenty years. One you've seen in the magazines — Six Senses, Nobu from the pool, beach clubs with a door policy. The other is quieter about itself: the northwest coast, the inland villages, the beaches at the end of unpaved roads. Neither is false. They coexist without acknowledging each other, which is part of what makes the island interesting. We were there in September, when the crowds had thinned enough to hear both.
Get comfortable with taxis. The hotels arrange them without fuss, which means no parking, no navigation, and no decisions about wine at dinner. The roads are narrow enough that this is a reasonable position to take, not a lazy one.
For stays: Mondrian has the water — or appears to. The beach in front is public, which is the kind of detail that only lands once you've arrived. We stayed. We wanted to love it more than we did. Soho House Ibiza we visited twice — pool, drinks, dinner — and didn't want to leave either time. Whether that constitutes a recommendation depends on your membership situation. Unlike most Soho Houses, this one requires membership to book — which is a shame, because it's genuinely one of the nicer properties on the island. If you've stayed somewhere you loved, we'd like to know.
Three dinners to book before you land: Can Domo , in the finca countryside, where we returned two nights running — the seabass in pil-pil, if it's on. Nudo at Es Figueral, where three Noma alumni turned a beach bar into something requiring a reservation: island seafood, Balearic natural wine, a kitchen more serious than it looks. La Paloma in the mountains above San Lorenzo — sit in the garden, wait for the easel, order everything on it. For lunch: Chiringuito Cala Xuclar on the north coast, where the menu is whatever arrived that morning and speaking English marks you as a visitor. The catch will exceed a kilogram. This is correct.
More inland than you might expect, and better for it. The pool looks out over the hillside, the property has real space to breathe, and the whole thing feels closer to what Ibiza used to be than anything right on the water. Unlike most Soho Houses, you need an active membership to book — worth confirming before you plan.
Read the full review →
Right on the water — or appears to be. The beach in front is public, which is the kind of detail that only lands once you've arrived. We stayed. We wanted to love it more than we did.
Read the full review →Three dinners to book before you land. One lunch you find on the north coast.
On the north coast, in a small cove where the menu is whatever came in that morning and speaking English marks you as an outsider — pleasantly so. We had shrimp and a catch of the day over a kilogram. Cold. Simple. The kind of lunch that makes you want to come back next summer.
Read the table notes →
At the finca hotel of the same name, set in the island countryside. We liked it enough to return the following night — the clearest vote of confidence we know how to give. Order the seabass in pil-pil if it is on the menu.
Read the table notes →
Three Noma alumni — Jessica Natali, Edoardo Fiaschi, and José Conde — took over a modest beach bar at Es Figueral and turned it into something that needs a reservation. Island seafood, natural wines from small Balearic producers, a kitchen that is more serious than the setting suggests. Feels completely casual. Is not.
Read the table notes →
Drive into the interior. Eat in the garden under the night sky. The menu arrives on a rolling trolley — everything on it is worth ordering. Italian-inspired, Ibizan in spirit, twenty years old and still not on enough itineraries. Sit outside if you can.
Read the table notes →
Perched on the cliffs at Sol d'en Serra, with panoramic views over the water toward Formentera. Modern Mediterranean cooking that earns the setting. Ideal for dinner as the light changes. The private cliff dining option is as romantic as it sounds.
Read the table notes →More coming soon — we only publish coffee & bakeries once we've been there ourselves.
More coming soon — we only publish bars once we've been there ourselves.
A different island. The old Ibiza retreats in high summer. Come in June or September.
Pick one. Commit to the full day. The sunbed rate alone will make the argument.
They exist to charge you for a view of a car ferry. Walk five minutes inland. Eat better. Pay less.
A different island entirely. Worth knowing it exists. Not worth going.
Fine for dinner — the setting at sunset earns it. But during the day it doesn't have the energy of a proper chiringuito and it's not trying to. Go for the evening, not the afternoon.
