Hotel Review: Hacienda Na Xamena, Ibiza

A clifftop retreat that harks back to the White Isle's halcyon days

Luxury hotels come in many guises in Ibiza – clinically-white, glossy lounges; ersatz Balinese pavilions; rustic-chic farmhouses, wipe-clean leather dens… On this balmy, Balearic outcrop, less than twice the size of the Isle of Wight, you don’t have to break a sweat in pursuit of indulgence. Recent openings have gravitated towards big-name, big-budget brands that put you within tottering distance of the island’s fabled nightlife, for example the Hard Rock Hotel (home of the world’s most expensive restaurant) and Melia’s contemporary offshoot, ME.

However, its original five-star hotel, Hacienda Na Xamena, which opened on the north coast in the halcyon days of the early Seventies, isn’t one to look over.

Refurbished two years ago, it has been run by the same family – the second and third generations of its Polish/Belgian architect founder Daniel Lipszyc, whose interpretation of vernacular Ibicencan architecture is as timeless now as it was in 1971 – for the last four decades. While not as polished as many of its rivals (there are hints of the traditional resort hotel – laminated information and brochures, for example – here and there), it is no less endearing for it. There’s little pretension; instead an easygoing sense of contentment and wellbeing that permeates from the charming staff to the international array of guests.

The focal point is the setting rather than overcomplicated or extravagant design, enveloped by pine trees on the northern lip of the island, a clifftop 180 metres above the sea. There’s no immediate beach to descend to (the nearest is a 10-minute drive away); instead the hotel has been built around a series of palm- and plant-entwined pools, tiered like cascades with plenty of space for sprawling in the sun or retreating to the shade with a book.

Eden Restaurant

Overlooking the pools is the restaurant, Eden, rather blustery on my visit, but romantically lit with lanterns at night. The menu flits around the region and beyond, taking in Iberico ham with tomato-daubed toast, tuna tataki with avocado and Wagyu steak, some dishes more successful than others. My lamb with basmati rice was simple and enjoyable, but the wind was blowing with such force that more grains were dispersed over the table than delivered successfully to my mouth.

The hotel's highlight, though, is what lies beneath. The Posidonia spa, named after a Mediterranean seaweed, sits below the restaurant and pools and is as popular with day visitors as with guests who book in for sessions in the “Cascadas Suspendidas” – a series of infinity-edge Jacuzzis scooped out of the cliff-side. It's a slightly odd arrangement: your session is timed, with each individual or group afforded five minutes in a bath before being siphoned into the next. However, the untrammelled vista of the sparkling sea soon distracts from the sense of shuffling along in an aquatic conga line.

Location

High up on Ibiza’s north coast, the hotel feels a world away from chi-chi Ibiza Town and the thumping nightlife in San Antonio and Playa d’en Bossa, despite being just a half-hour drive from both, as well as the airport. The hotel charges a hefty €128 transfer fee to and from the latter, so it’s advisable to hire a car for the bucolic drive across the island's interior, eventually corkscrewing up into the hills outside the low-key resort of San Miguel, the salty sea air infused with the scent of pine needles as you ascend.

Around 15 minutes’ drive east, the bay of Benirras will give you a flavour of the hotel’s hippy ancestry, particularly on a Sunday evening when drummers and fire spinners herald the sunset.

Comfort

I stayed in a junior hammam suite, which is much like the standard and superior doubles with the addition of a slightly dated shower cubicle-cum-steam-room in the spacious bedroom. All seven categories have Jacuzzi baths by the floor-to-ceiling sliding windows, and dreamy views from their cliffside vantage points – ideal for a soak while the sun sinks into the sea. All open onto terraces or balconies and Eden rooms and suites come with mini pools, as does the top tier Na Xamena suite.

The decor in the 77 rooms is luminous, enhancing the Mediterranean vista of blues and greens outside - king-size beds dressed in crisp white linen, pale wood and polished concrete floors, white orchids, low-slung wooden tables, Eames-style rocking chairs and pearlescent leather sofas scattered with pebble-like cushions. It’s chic, but doesn’t push the envelope too hard, rather like the hotel itself.

Travel essentials

Details: Hacienda Na Xamena, Carrer Na Xamena, San Miguel, Ibiza, Spain (00 34 971 33 45 00; haciendanaxamena-ibiza.com).

Access: there are two rooms adapted for guests with disabilities

Wi-Fi: included

Parking: free

Rates: double rooms start at €428, including breakfast.

Our view:

• Rooms ***
• Service ****
• Value ***