Nobu Ibiza hotel review: Where to swap hard partying for high-class digs

In a bid to capture even more of the luxury market, the island has opened its very own slice of the famous Japanese fusion lifestyle brand

The new Nobu hotel is in trendy Ibiza (Nobu)

Expect to let out an audible gasp on arrival at Nobu hotel in Ibiza. The building, made from attractive white stone, has an entrance hall where the floor seems to pour into one of the hotel’s two swimming pools.

Situated right in front of the Talamanca bay, Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay is the latest in a series of worldwide hotel openings from the diversifying business, more famous for its Japanese restaurants. Yet this branch seems special. It’s being marketed as a kind of “playground for adults”, much as the island itself has for decades.

Jean Claude Ades, a DJ who has lived in Ibiza for around 10 years – and so can be counted as something of an expert on both the island and its music scene – takes me on a trip to a few of his favourite spots (sadly not part of the hotel service). Everything is within a short drive of the hotel.

“People expect the entire place to be this crazy, but there are two sides of the island which have nothing to do with one another,” he says. “The idea of it being a playground for adults is right.”

Given the name, food at Nobu is a particular draw. The hotel’s main restaurant has tables on the terrace as well as an indoor dining space, and the menu features some of Nobu Matsuhisa’s most famous dishes, including his renowned black cod miso.

Peyotito offers a Mexican and Mediterranean mash-up (Nobu)

But don’t let this keep you away from Peyotito, the hotel’s fusion restaurant that combines modern Mexican cuisine with the freshest Mediterranean ingredients and features superb margaritas, a splendid ambience and efficient, friendly staff.

We try guacamole with lime and chile spooned onto tostadas with three different salsa verde, scallops and a perfectly-cooked sea bass that practically melted on the tongue, and tacos with a range of fillings including 24-hour braised lamb shoulder, iberico pork, and truffled cheese, wild mushroom and lime. Dessert arrives in the shape of piping hot churros dusted with cinnamon sugar: they're light, fluffy and fat as cigars and are accompanied by a pot of rich, dark melted chocolate. All of this excellent fare is washed down with expertly-paired wines.

Location

The hotel is a 15 to 20 minute drive from the airport and 20 to 25 minutes from some of the most idyllic, picturesque beaches on the island. It’s also just a short drive to the Marina Botafoch, where a ferry will take you to Formentera, and a mere five minutes from Ibiza Town.

Comfort

The hotel’s interiors are designed with the colours of the island in mind: ceramics, twists of bamboo, marble, teak and cool stone, in shades of cream, white, blue and gold.

Glass-fronted balconies on many of the hotel’s 152 rooms mean that you can survey the Mediterranean from the comfort of your very cosy bed – or in the bath, thanks to a slatted blind between the two rooms.

Many bedrooms offer sea views (Nobu)

Each room has a television with a Bluetooth speaker, coffee machine, hairdryer and well-stocked mini-bar. The bedding is made especially for the hotel, as are the bath and shower products by Natura Bissé (the shampoo and conditioner left my hair feeling a little dry in the warm climate).

Service at Nobu is intended to make you feel like you’re at a private villa with staff; everyone is friendly, obliging and efficient, fully up-to-speed on what's happening at the hotel and with excellent knowledge of the surrounding area. A spa from Six Senses offers massages, facials and body wraps along with relaxation and yoga programmes, plus a John Frieda salon and nail bar so you can guarantee you’ll be primped to perfection for a night out on the town.

Essentials

Carrer de Ses Feixes, 52, 07800 Eivissa, Illes Balears, Spain

nobuhotelibizabay.com; 0034 971 19 22 22

Doubles from €490 (£430), room only.

A member of Small Luxury Hotels

Wi-fi: free

Accessibility: there are adapted on the ground floor. Both pools have a chair lift, and the lifts to the upper floors of the hotel all feature Braille signage.

Rooms: *****

Service: ****

Value: ****