Montesol Experimental, Ibiza Review: This Starry Grande Dame Takes The White Isle’s Golden Heyday And Runs With It

It seems improbable – we’re in the Balearics, not the Caribbean – but, yes, the gaudily beautiful pink birds racing our Jeep are definitely flamingoes. Neck-to-neck, we fly together past salt flats that shimmer under a blood-orange sky towards one of the most legendary sunset-watching spots on an island. A girl’s head pops out of the sunroof of the vintage Citroen in front of us, followed by her upper body. Silhouetted against the fiery, now purple-streaked sky, hair blowing in the wind, she raises her arms and – in spite of the iPhone she’s brandishing – the image is transportive, taking us back in time to those fabled White Isle days of the 60s and 70s when peace and love reigned supreme. The sensation holds when we arrive at Experimental Beach Ibiza – all blocky blue-and-white chic, ikat prints, classic cocktails, and DJs that people travel from far and wide to these cliffs just south of Las Salinas salt reserve to hear. Scrambling over rocks strewn with fellow worshippers, we’re just in time to watch the sun – that great, smouldering golden orb – meet the horizon, then dissolve into it. A vanguard of stars twinkles like fairy lights overhead; waves lap the shore; the air is electric with a communal sense of wonder.

What Experimental Beach Ibiza is to never-to-be-forgotten sunsets, its younger-by-10-years sibling, Ibiza Town’s 33-key Montesol Experimental, is to joy-giving island stays. Partly, it’s down to aesthetics – think a lunar-inspired dreamscape featuring textured walls in earthy neutrals and rich, glossy terracottas; rooms and suites by Parisian designer extraordinaire Dorothée Meilichzon, who’s let loose with tactile fabrics, wild patterns, fringes, pastels and pompoms. Partly, too, it's down to pedigree. Built in 1933 in the heart of the old town, Dalt Vila, this is the OG White Isle address. Ibiza’s first hotel, it was a magnet for the jet-setters of the analogue era – artists, Hollywood stars, poets and beach bums alike – who’d come directly here on rolling into town, collect their mail from reception, kick back and relax. Credit must also go to the rooftop bar – with its best-in-town cocktails and views – and the ground-floor Café Montesol, where, hidden away in a cinnamon-hued cave embellished with crescent-moon cut-outs, one can casually feast all day on the likes of fluffy croquetas de jamón and burrata doused in locally pressed virgin olive oil. But the icing on the whole cosmic cake? It’s undoubtedly the hotel’s “je ne sais quoi” – something the Paris-based Experimental Group can be relied on to deliver in spades.

A bedroom at the iconic Dalt Vila address | Credit: Karel Balas

Having acquired the four-storey hotel, a Unesco Property of Cultural Interest, in 2021, the hospitality group – founded in 2007 by childhood friends Olivier Bon, Pierre-Charles Cros and Romée De Goriainoff – initially reopened the restaurant and rooftop bar, before, in January 2023, unveiling the pièce de résistance: 30 rooms and three suites. While the building’s iconic custard-and-cream facade and five-star views of the historically pirate-deterring Dalt Vila castle remain unchanged, the all-new state-of-the-art amenities installed throughout speak to the tuned-in travellers of today, and a dynamic, finger-on-the-pulse team goes above and beyond to make every stay meaningful. A lobby boutique stocks the hotel’s covetable, locally made tan leather tassel key rings, towels and totes, plus a get-the-island-look line of jewellery and clothing. Artful quirks and curios are everywhere, all expertly muddled to create an elegantly nonchalant vibe. And then there’s that beachside escape...

The next morning, after lingering on the Café Montesol terrace – a prime people-watching spot on the pedestrianised Vara de Rey – eating yoghurt and granola crowned with summer berries, pulling cards from Kim Krans’ Animal Spirit deck and drinking many rounds of excellent coffee, it’s to Experimental Beach Ibiza we return. Making a beeline for the dove-grey sun loungers studded like shells across the apricot sand, we order up some patatas bravas, another jug of that out-of-this-world sangria, and begin the languorous countdown to sunset.

Bedrooms designed for the feel, not just the looks | Credit: Karel Balas

Rooms

Each of Montesol Experimental’s 30 spacious rooms and three even-more-spacious suites promises to fire the imagination and provide enriching context to your time in Ibiza. It might be that your bed headboard – ours features a glorious geometric print – inspires you to throw on a thrifted sundress that wouldn’t have looked out of place in 1983. Or that your infatuation with the lovable clay figurine by your door leads you to the 1945-opened Alfarería Sa Teulera pottery emporium in Ibiza Town’s Can Negre neighbourhood, where you buy similar artworks to take home as souvenirs, and even have a go on the pottery wheel, under the patient instruction of third- and fourth-generation members of the Ribas family. Or that, prompted by a photograph spotted in one of the coffee-table books on your shelves – Oriol Maspons Ibiza, perhaps – you adventure to a secluded cove and, throwing caution, and clothes, to the wind, return to your celestial eyrie at dusk sans strap marks.

Simply gazing at the dreamy vision through our window is enough to convince us to book a walking tour of Dalt Vila. (Thank you, Montesol Experimental team, for connecting us with experienced guide Jana Vanhees.) Ibiza Town… only 100 years younger than Rome? Who knew?

One of 30 Montesol Experimental bedrooms, left, and a in-room pottery | Credit: Karel Balas

We could, of course, wax lyrical about the mushroom-shaped wicker lamps; rotary-dial telephone; masks made by Mallorca-based artist Anna Alexandra; stools crafted by Diego Faivre; thrilling, munchies- and thirst-quenching contents of the minibar; gorgeous shower; blissful AC and fabulous espresso machine; but, really, here, as at every Experimental property, it’s as much about how the space makes you feel as how it looks – and, rest assured, a whole lot of thought has gone into making sure you feel fantastic.

What’s for breakfast?

The menu is worth bouncing out of bed for. Your room rate includes a fresh fruit plate, orange juice, coffee and a dish of your choice from a selection that runs the gamut from shakshuka to French toast with Chantilly cream and cinnamon. Also – breakfast cocktails. That “miso met Mary” – vodka infused with sesame, miso, lemon, spicy tincture and tomato juice? Gotta be brimming with vitamins, right?

A starry-ceilinged dining spot at Café Montesol | Credit: Karel Balas

Lunch and dinner

Café Montesol has you covered on both fronts. Executive chef Alex Larrea pays homage to his Basque roots with an emphasis on dishes traditionally shared between family and friends – pintxos, tapas and local specials worth writing home about – all made with fresh ingredients sourced direct from island farmers, fishing boats and small producers. Feast on the likes of garlicky red prawns, confit artichokes with romesco sauce, and chicken anticuchos with jalapeño emulsion and burnt lemon, washed down with an icy-cold Spanish beer or two, or some of the lesser-known, small-batch native wines on the list.

Larrea is also the man we have to thank for the stellar fare served up at Experimental Beach Ibiza’s sun-dappled tables. No matter how many platefuls of padron peppers, fried calamari, watermelon and feta salad, lobster linguine and salt-baked fish of the day you’ve wolfed down, we urge you to order the caramelised torrija dessert – a molten brioche toast served with coconut ice cream. For sharing? Says who?

Sea views from Experimental Beach Ibiza

Is there a bar?

This is a hotel built on cocktails. Not to experience the Experimental magic at the hotel’s intimate rooftop bar would be sacrilege. We’re talking “pisco infused with cardamom and burnt pineapple skin” good. “Bes gin mixed with watermelon and basil” good. “Mezcal and spicy chilli liqueur, smoked paprika and lime juice” good. For a masterclass in mixology, step into the lift and hit the button marked “roof”.

Amenities

Montesol’s kudos isn’t down to a fancy swimming pool or spa – it has neither – but why would you care when Experimental Beach Club is just a short drive away? Ask a member of the team and they’ll be happy to secure you a sun lounger in advance.

Guests also have at their disposal free WiFi, a laundry service, huge in-room TV with streaming services, Bluetooth radio, minibar loaded with Experimental cocktails and cocktail-making kit, espresso machine, workspace, newspapers on request, bathrobes, slippers, air-conditioning and L:a Bruket toiletries in bathrooms.

Some rooms have balconies, with original balustrades and black and white tiles, which are lovely, and which you’ll want to step out onto, but sadly can’t, this being a listed building.

What are the hotel’s eco-credentials like?

A commitment to sustainability is evident in the support given to Ibizan food producers and artisans, a practice aimed at both minimising the hotel’s ecological footprint and elevating guests’ experience through an immersion in local culture. Bathroom products are refillable, you won’t see any single-use plastics, and the in-room coffee machines take the greenest pods out there.

Experimental Beach Ibiza | Credit: Mr Tripper

What about accessibility?

There’s lift access to all rooms, some of which are wheelchair-friendly.

What’s the crowd like?

Bold, playful, purposeful and creative – in keeping with the interiors.

Within a short walk I can find…

You’re only a two-minute stroll from the harbour, where you can wander alongside superyachts, perhaps questioning the questionable shades some are painted in, and, if the whim takes you, hop on a ferry to neighbouring Formentera. You also have shopping galore right on your doorstep and, even if you’re not in the market for clubwear or crystals, will find plenty of independent gems tucked among the touristy stores. Then, there are the historical sites. Check off some of the big-hitters such as the awe-inspiring Cathedral of the Virgin of the Snows, seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ibiza since 1782, between pit stops spent alternately cooing over cats and downing shots of gazpacho.

Experimental Beach Ibiza’s restaurant, left, and fresh seafood at the beach club | Credit: Mr Tripper

Things I should know

Montesol Experimental is one of the few Balearic hotels open year-round and, especially outside of the scorching summer months, makes a great base for explorations of the island’s slower-paced rural interior. Thanks to the hotel’s local network, we get to experience its alter ego while reconnecting with nature on an Ibiza Outdoors ebike tour, with founder Toby Clarke leading the way. Born here but sent to England as a child following his parents’ divorce, Clarke jacked in the whole corporate shebang several years ago and returned with his wife Belinda to the island he loves. His knowledge adds immeasurably to our sense of place and his jokes make us laugh as we zip past hazy almond groves and blousy citrus trees, pausing here and there to investigate a tumbledown 18th-century olive press, a just-as-old mill, get starry-eyed over some of the island’s remotest villas, owned by star DJs and 80s pop goddesses, and, warm sun on our faces, breathe deeply the pine cone-scented air. If only Ibiza could be bottled… Oh, hang on, it has been. It’s called Montesol Experimental.