Very different and certainly original, the Paradiso Ibiza Art Hotel has been wowing guests since it first arrived on the Ibiza hotel scene last year. It goes beyond just offering nice beds, air-conditioning and the all-important Wi-Fi. It's a place for fun and cool entertainment and of course art. We went along there to stay as guests and check out the art-deco wonder that's become Ibiza's new hotel sensation.
The first thing you'll notice when you arrive at this hotel is the design: giant pink fantails emerge from twin towers at each end of the hotel, redolent of a Miami design movement called MiMo. It's glamorous, stylish and unlike anything you've probably ever seen before.
Secure the hotel's early bird prices before the end of January 2019.
Indeed, the hotel makes much of this design movement, even down to the pastel shades that predominate, namely lavender and lots and lots of pink, a colour associated with quirkiness, creativity and rebelliousness - you'll see the latter in things like the space-age and retro red seating in front of the reception desk and in the free in-house magazine, “Rock House”.
Art is all
The Zero Suite where you can be a living work of art
The clue that suggests this hotel different is in its name: art is literally everywhere. As soon as we walked into this gorgeous place, the sheer quantity of modern art on the walls offered us a first glimpse into how art in general has been infused into the hotel. We loved the art library with its mixture of fine art, humorous and risque titles. You'll find books on fine art and photography as well as one that gives a history of nudes, even one with homoerotic fetish drawings - it's clear the owners have a sense of humour as well as style.
From the reception, we strolled along a long corridor arriving at the art museum - yes there actually is one of those too. It's a nice and tranquil place and we really liked the cool surrealist pieces. We had a peek inside the Zero Suite too. That's the glass-walled hotel bedroom that any guest can stay in for the night free of charge. What happens is that you become a live art installation - no need to worry though, the bathroom's private, we checked.
Rooms with personality
Our room, was named after artist Pau Sanz i Vila and featured his work inside above the beds. Each hotel room has a different artist name with one of their paintings. The toiletries in the bathroom were next level, all with different legends on them. A shower gel called “Party and guilt removal”, seemed very appropriate for Ibiza with the shampoo “For messy and salty hair” perfect for post-beach follicle tidy ups.
We did have an idea of what to expect from the rooms from the many pictures online; however, seeing with your own eyes really is everything here as in the flesh the rooms take on another dimension. The neon light stripping, the wavy-lined surrounds for the modern art painting and the furniture all provide a very original, boutique-hotel-like look. It's no surprise that this hotel has been a big success on Instagram, everything is just so visual. Then there are the really comfortable beds, monogrammed towels, SMEG fridges and lots of space: all of these combine to make a chic and swanky pad and the perfect holiday bolthole.
And there's more...
Retro coolness in the hotel's reception
On the hotel's website, it's suggested to try its breakfast at least once. It's certainly a nice array with everything from continental ham and cheese, to full English-style fayre. Being a Brit and meat eater, the latter called my attention. My partner went for fruit and one of the lovely muffins. There's some lovely looking chocolate covered cakes too for the sweeter-toothed amongst you.
A mention should go to the quirky features such as having an on-site hatter, Curro Coronel and the tattoo parlour, Coyote's. Yes, here you can even procure a bit of your own art either placed on your head or etched onto your left arm. There's lots to entertain you here such as the weekly cinema nights and the other events both cultural and musical, some of which are at the other hotels from the same group, Concept Hotels. The hotel keeps all the information online and it's there also in the in-house magazine. The reception staff is really nice and willing to help too, so if in doubt of what's on, ask them too.
With all this going on at the Paradiso Ibiza Art Hotel, you won't be bored, far from it. You'll be most likely enthralled in the reflected glow of this place's specialness. It was a total experience and not just a night in a hotel - time to get yourselves in for 2019.