Top raver, booth infiltrator and our very own AM to PM girl, Lissy Lübeck is back for summer 2023, sharing her thoughts, experiences and inner musings from Ibiza's clubland. A year older, but a year wiser? Probably not.
If you heard it from anybody else, you'd dismiss it as hyperbole, but Lissy Lü's real life is like that.
Partying as a profession is a hard life... but somebody's got to do it!
Tuesday 15 August
Unfortunately, if you stay up until silly o'clock in the morning, you'll spend the majority of the day snoozing and missing any opportunity of sunlight. This was exactly the case on Tuesday for me, G and Bella. We only managed to leave the house right before sunset to grab food.
We couldn't muster the enthusiasm to venture out of San Antonio, so a trip to our local Golden Buddha was in order.
We headed down there a good hour and half before the sunset, making it possible to procure the best seats in the house for that all important golden hour. We had front row seats to the spectacle, and it was just what the doctor ordered. Our sinful souls felt that little bit soothed.
We hadn't eaten in over 24 hours so we figured we'd be able to demolish the entire menu. Wrong. I could barely finish half a bowl of nachos. Sad times. As soon as we were back in the fort, we were out like lights.
Wednesday 16 August
Though I have guests staying, work still needs to be done. It's always a juggling act maintaining the work-life balance when visitors are in town. The team and I stuck to our Wednesday schedule at theHUB, while my friends were packed off to the beach.
Work didn't stop at theHUB, as I was dispatched to Aguas de Ibiza in Santa Eulalia for the annual Ibiza Fashion Festival. Being Ibiza Spotlight's resident sartorial expert, I was more than happy to attend.
Some of the garms and accessories on offer at Ibiza Fashion Festival
Getting swept up in the moment, I ended up spending a lot more money than intended. I fell in love with a brand called Dame Le Chapa - hand crafted, made to measure apparel with their signature material being can pop-tabs. I had to exert some level of self-control, as I was already two bags and a necklace in. I'll definitely be buying from there again.
I chatted to Fatboy Slim who was there to watch his son Woody Cook on the decks (who is the spitting DJ persona of his old man). I saw O Beach's Tony Truman and a whole host of influencers in attendance, who were all dressed to the nines!
After watching the show and a quick cocktail on the rooftop of the hotel, I reconnected with the rest of the gang at Bambuddha - a restaurant I've been dying to try since last summer. Boy, did it live up to expectations. The food was incredible! I went for some classic dishes of chicken satay, special fried rice, spring rolls and even tucked into Tim's duck pancakes.
The waiting staff brought out a surprise birthday cake for G. This is her worst nightmare come true, so being the best friend I am, I filmed and laughed my way through her awkward grimaces.
Having now lost my voice completely, I was mainly communicating using my own made up sign language. Not feeling particularly in the mood for raving after pushing myself to the limit in the previous 48 hours, I headed home. Everybody else went to Cova Santa for Do Not Sleep followed by Paradise at Amnesia.
The clubbing queen was clubbed out.
Thursday 17 August
Another jam-packed day of fun activities. Today I took the girls to the the Bungalow Pool Bar and Grill at the brand new hotels Mondrian Ibiza and Hyde Ibiza as part of our Chilling by the pool series.
From valet parking, to being spoiled rotten by the staff all afternoon, we couldn't have asked for a more scrumptious day out. We ate, we drank, sunbathed and ate again. I even managed to squeeze in a little siesta. The girls couldn't quite believe I managed to fall asleep, but they should know by now that I can get some shut-eye any time, any place.
Mondrian and Hyde only opened last week and already excel on service
A quick freshen-up at the villa was needed, before what turned into my favourite night of the week. First, we headed down to Destino to see Solomun play. I was especially excited, as I'd only ever been to a Music On at the venue previously.
It was an absolute scorcher of an evening. The only place that seemed to be cool was directly behind the decks in the shadow of the man himself. I could've stayed there all night.
Straight from Destino, we hit a very empty Solid Grooves. We spent the first couple of hours round the back in the VIP smoking area as we practically had it to ourselves. We drank more and chewed the fat before immersing ourselves on the dancefloor.
The crowds started to gather in their masses around 01:00 and we bounced between the two rooms through to the early morning. A highlight for me was ANOTR playing my all time fave tune Digitaline's Africa, which I haven't heard in so long. It was a special moment.
From chilling by the pool to chilling backstage - we roll deep
Friday 18 August
Happy Birthday Gunti! Birthday brunch was had at Skinny Kitchen, but the day really got going at O Beach, where we got to see our girl Lucy Jane on the decks. As it so often is, the party was sold out at the day-club for its in-house Pool Party, meaning we didn't manage to secure the bed we so desperately wanted.
The alternative was perching on random people's beds, visiting the booth, dipping in-and-out of the dancefloor and sitting down in the restaurant.
I think we took having a bed in the past for granted, as it's a much needed part of the O Beach experience. The ability to recline and relax instead of tottering around in the blazing heat for hours cannot be overstated. Not to mention, our dreadful hangovers were making the heat even more unbearable.
We ended up lunching there (I, of course, had the steak ciabatta), but the lack of a bed to retreat to spelled time. A much needed plunge in the pool and a couple of drinks were in order on our return to the villa, before we made plans to hit Pikes for Flash.
The music in Freddies was so good from the get-go, with Glitterbox dancer Lucy Fizz bringing her unique energy as she threw her moves behind the decks. We stayed until the end, but often the end isn't always enough for everyone. Chasing the after party is a sickness.
Always a vibe: Guy Williams' Flash - the next party date is 15 September
Images taken by Break The Logic
Sometimes you need to know when to call it quits. This time, I was out.
Saturday 19 August
The busy week had caught up with all of us. The girls' last day was a breezy, horizontal one spent in recovery mode. A late mooch around some boutiques resulted in me buying G and myself a matching gold necklace for her birthday (why wouldn't I treat myself on her bday?)
Afterwards, I took them to the airport for their flight back to the UK. It had been emotional, but it was time to say our goodbyes for now.
I miss them already. That said, I was excited to get the fort back to its normal state of tidiness and zen. In fact, the villa in general was showing signs of wear, tear and buckling under the strain of extra bodies, remnants of excessive drinking and amenity-usage beyond its capabilities.
Sunday 20 August
I thought my day off would consist of catching up on all the binge TV that the girls had been ranting about, however fate had other plans in store for me. Apparently Glitterbox was calling... but not before dinner at a new Greek restaurant in San José, called Zitya.
I clocked the restaurant on Maya Jama's story last week and it looked unreal, so I was more than happy this was our chosen destination for food.
One regret I do have from this night is that we ended up consuming five cocktails and three Baby Guinness shots each before our food had even arrived. Rookie error. Ultimately, it meant we struggled to finish our mains.
Once at Hï Ibiza, we grabbed our AAA bands and dilly-dallied around the green room for a bit, catching up with pals Kitty Amor, MK and his girlfriend Chelsea, as well as Sally from Defected. These AAA bands are like gold dust, as you get free drinks all night in the bar - I mean, come on. So on the rare occasion you are lucky enough to get one, you need to make it count.
We also had a table in The Theatre for the evening, as Mike was feeling boujee and decided to spend some serious money. We had a great view of the DJ booth and dancers, with Folamour warming things up with a groove-fuelled set, followed by Andy Cato and Tom Findlay, otherwise known as Groove Armada, then a more underground set from Todd Terry.
We also dipped into the Club Room to see Dan Shake, who spun Funky House belters.
I had wondered if the girls going home would result in the temporary hanging-up of my raving boots, but apparently not.
Track of the week
Digitaline | Africa | Cadenza
played by ANOTR at Solid Grooves, DC10
Thirsty for more misadventures in clubland? The next entry from Lissy Lü's dancefloor diary is online now.
Read previous weeks' capers here:
Casa del Spotlight hits full occupancy
Girls on tour
One night in Magaluf
Radio 1 weekend
For daily insights, you can keep up to date with the life and times of Lissy Lü by following our TikTok channel here.
