Given it’s reputation for creating fun, grown-up party hotels, it’s surprising the W Hotel group waited until 2020 to open their first outpost in Ibiza. More surprising still is the hotel’s low-key location in sleepy Santa Eulalia, where it is only the second luxury hotel to set up shop. The chain’s particular brand of beachy boho-chic does however translate well to the White Isle, and this unpretentious, foodie bolthole is no doubt destined for success.
Where is it?
Just a 25-minute drive from Ibiza town and 22 minutes from the airport, the hotel is well located on the beachfront of Santa Eulalia, the island’s third largest town. Known for its laidback vibe, Santa Eulalia has a marina, good shops, popular beaches and a beachfront promenade teeming with restaurants and bars.
Style
Designed by Dutch design studio Baranowitz + Kronenberg, the interiors blend a kaleidoscope of brilliant blues and sunset shades inspired by the Balearic sand and sea. The V-shaped building and triangular pool face out towards the sea, with colourful sunshades hanging over the windows that were designed to look like ships sails. The Wet Deck, or pool area, is the focal point of the whole building. Lined with palms and blue sunbeds with white canopies, the glamorous space is relaxed and gently vibey, the service attentive and smiley.
The interiors mix bright whites and minimal greys with splatter painted walls and colourful fabrics. Neon Aztec-print cushions sit on grey sofas, coffee tables come topped in yellow and orange formica and geometric circular mandalas – typically a feature of Hindu and Buddhist art – line the ceiling. The overall effect is beachy, if a little 90s.
Food and Drink
The hotel’s main restaurant La Llama is the venue for breakfast, where an extensive and really exceptional buffet spread is supplemented with a la carte eggs. By night it’s a steakhouse serving seafood, pasta and premium cuts of meat.
For daytime dining, there’s a great poolside menu served on the Wet Deck (main pool area), with everything from salads and burgers to sushi and club sandwiches brought to your lounger. The same menu is served on the adults-only roof terrace and pool area Glow Bar.
For a healthy lunch option, the hotel has an external-facing vegan café on the main seafront that serves an excellent array of vegan burgers, smoothies and wraps that’s popular with members of the promenading public.
The main hotel lounge area is designed in a dramatic amphitheatre style, with seating cushions and little tables on each step that make for a fun extension of the bar area.
Which room?
All of the 109 guest rooms and 53 suites, spread over four floors, come with smart TVs, Marshall Bluetooth speakers, Nespresso machines and comfortable Frette bed linens.
Rooms vary greatly in size depending on the category, of which there are 14. If you plan to stay as a pair and for more than one night, it’s definitely worth considering a category above the entry-level ‘Cosy,’ which very much live up to their name. The brightly coloured flower-power-meets-Jackson-Pollock décor of my Cosy room (that works quite well in the larger suites) felt somewhat claustrophobic in a 21sqm space, the only respite from which was a tiny box of a balcony overlooking a car park. The shower and loo were located in a windowless wet room with a heavy metal door. For the £350 night you’ll pay for a Cosy room in high season there are definitely more light-filled and spacious options on the island.
If you can spare a few hundred pounds a night more (which of course not everyone can), the ‘Fantastic’ and ‘Marvellous’ suites are a different story. They all come with good storage, indoor and outdoor seating areas and large decked balconies with views over the central pool area, and sideways glances out to sea. The Wow suite sleeps up to three and takes over the entire top floor. For around £1500 a night you get two terraces, an outdoor dining table and a spacious bathroom with a bath.
Warning, the hotel plays loud music by the pool and in bars almost 24 hours a day, so if you’re looking for quiet retreat from the island’s lively nightlife scene, it might not be the place for you. If you’re ok with daytime buzz but want peace and quiet at night, request a room on the other side of the property from the hotel’s nightclub.
Extracurricular
For those coming to party, the hotel nightclub runs throughout the season and has a roster of DJs and live acts.
The subterranean spa meanwhile is the perfect spot for some post-partying R&R. There’s a nail bar, six treatment rooms and a zen relaxation area, and the talented therapists deliver some of the best deep tissue massages on the island. There’s also a graffiti-covered basement gym with all the latest Technogym equipment.
Separated from the beach by the tree-lined promenade, the hotel doesn’t have beach access as such, but guests can use the loungers in front of the adjacent Chiringuito Blue restaurant.
Details
Rooms start at £268 per night. The hotel is open from April -October. marriott.co.uk/w-ibiza
