Ibiza clubs might be closed, but the Balearic Island is adapting to another pandemic summer – iNews

For more than 40 years, Caf Del Mar has done sunsets better than anyone else in Ibiza and, some would say, better than anyone else in the Mediterranean. Its blissed-out, occasionally bland house music has endured while so much of the island has changed over the decades, Ibiza has variously been a destination for escapism, hedonism and now increasingly narcissism, but Caf Del Mars winning formula has remained the same.

Even now in the era of Covid-19, the experience is broadly unaltered, with al fresco tables under billowing blue and white awnings, soothing music accompanying the extraordinary dusk. The difference now is that there simply isnt the scramble for tables during a visit in mid-July, I walked through the place an hour before sunset and was amazed to find it largely empty. I really thought itd be harder to get a table, said Ryan Mulligan, who was visiting with fiance Jade from Wigan while the Balearic Islands were on the green list. Its quite nice, really, kind of feels like we have it to ourselves.

A 10-minute walk away, the islands notorious West End was similarly subdued. There were a few occupied tables outside The Highlander bar, but it was far from the raucous, sometimes riotous Scottish atmosphere for which it has become famous.

While Ibizan tourism restarted, the owners here decided to keep an eye on the situation, to see how things evolved before committing to another reopening. We saw what happened last year as things unfolded and thought it wasnt very prudent to just open again at the first chance, then have to close again, Calvin Scoular, a 10-year veteran of the bar and island, told me. We want folk to trust us. We think its a bit naive to just pick a date and promise youll be back open. So, we decided to stay closed and see what was happening before we did it.

Crowds arriving to watch Euro 2020 matches helped get the place busy again, but with the islands nightclubs still closed, a nightlife curfew of 2am and dancing prohibited, Calvin was realistic about what might be possible for the rest of the season. Id say were hopeful, he explained, but you cant kid yourself on and think its going to go back to normal. Aside from the vaccines, to me its pretty similar to how it was last year when the cases rise, you have to be responsible.

The situation remains perilous. During my time on the island, there was another major wobble as the Balearics moved from the UKs green list to amber, with rumours that it was going to bypass that altogether and land on the dreaded red list.

This uncertainty affects even the largest operators on the island, including leisure behemoth, Palladium Hotel Group. The owners of the now ubiquitous Ushuaa brand have aggressively expanded over the last decade, buying up huge chunks of the best real estate around Ibizas popular Playa den Bossa close to the airport. Nonetheless, it has felt the pinch over the last 18 months.

In the short term, the pandemic has forced us to be very flexible, nimble and reactive, said the groups chief sales officer Sergio Zertuche, explaining that the launch of three new hotels was delayed by the pandemic. [We] closed all hotels at the start of the pandemic last year and we were able to take advantage of government support schemes in each source market to support staff. We had to respond quickly to a whole raft of government guidelines, often with little or no prior notice. Last summer, we had to concentrate our efforts on fewer hotels and bring forward the end-of-season dates in areas where there just was not a sustained level of visitors.

He was a little more bullish than others about the rest of the 2021 season, but still sounded understandably cautious: All our hotels have good occupancy levels, but as we have seen over the past year, travel restrictions can be put in place at very short notice and they can be difficult to predict, he told me. Provided that vaccination rates continue to grow across Europe, were confident that well be able to welcome guests throughout the season.

What now feel like familiar Covid protocols have been brought in across the Palladium portfolio, with increased digitisation, enhanced cleaning measures and more flexible booking policies. In the end, however, even hotels as slick and ordinarily sought-after as the Ushuaa Beach Hotel are at the vagaries of various nations traffic light systems and individual Covid responses.

On the last night of my visit, I ate in the hotels excellent Montauk Steakhouse, though for the first 20 minutes or so I had it to myself. Social distancing certainly wasnt an issue. Eventually some other revellers filtered in and with no clubs to go to, they seemed happy to spend their money on a lavish steak dinner instead. In the quiet restaurant, one couple from Wales Facetimed people at home to let them know, loudly, how great it was to be away before their ribeyes arrived, then took out their phones to snap pictures of the meal, as though everything was totallynormal.

Jet2Holidays offers three nights at Ushuaa Ibiza Beach Hotel in September 2021 from 651 per person, based on two travelling, room only. Price includes return flights from London Stansted, departing 1 September.

More informationUK arrivals to the Balearic Islands must present proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test.

Spain (including the Balearic Islands) is on the DfT amber list.

Balearic Islands tourist office

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Ibiza clubs might be closed, but the Balearic Island is adapting to another pandemic summer - iNews