Want the most Instagrammable hotel in Ibiza for your hen party? Wersha Bharadwa discovers an unforgettable weekend of Little Havana style maximum fun and chilled out vibes at Cubanito Ibiza Suites.
Location
This Kitchsy, iconic stay has so much going for it, it’s hard to know where to begin. Tucked away on small street in San Antoni de Portmany, the building stands as a love letter to 1950s Cuban aesthetics and style – you’ll feel like you’ve all rocked up onto the set of a Wes Anderson movie.
It’s a 25-minute drive from the airport, and the gorgeous cove of Cala Gracio – justly renowned for its golden sands and bath-like waters – is mere 400 metres away. Ibiza town is worth a pit stop when you want to inject some culture into your hen do and is only 20 minutes away and when you’re ready to hit the bars, San Antonio’s famous sunset strip is just a 15-minute walk – even in heels.
First Impressions
Well let’s get the eye-catching, pristinely preserved 1950’s classic cars out of the way shall we first? Credit for the two shiny and pristine vintage cars parked outside the pastel green coloured front of the zany Cubanito Ibiza Suites hotel fully goes to Diego Calvo, the founder and CEO of Concept Hotel Group’s collection of six Ibizan properties including Cubanito – he’s a massive fan of American classics.
You won’t make it up the stairs with your luggage before you’ve preened and posed beside the two motors for a few Instagram stories. You’ll bookend the trip with a group photo next to either vehicle with a wide angle shot of the exterior too, because everything about Cubanito’s exterior is just that aesthetically beautiful.
Next, you’ll be hit by the sounds of salsa, mambo, boogaloo, afro-funk and guanguancó emitting from behind reception and filling the entire lobby with the pulse of Havana’s streets (there’s a neat little cigar and rum lounge area aptly named ‘The Buena Vista Social Club’ which features a piano and vintage vinyl record player for you tinker with too).
Once inside, there’s even more to feast your eyes on. It’s no wonder fashion editors the globe over are constantly booking out corners of public spaces and suites for their high-end glossy shoots here. The art-filled reception and lobby features portraits of Cuba’s most legendary musicians on the walls and behind the reception desk, there are maracas on display along with complimentary, vividly-coloured postcards and Cuban cigars you can purchase.
Cubanito takes its art-deco and colonial style inspiration from Little Havana – the colourful and busy Miami neighbourhood – and once inside, you’ll feel as if you’ve time-travelled straight back to the 1950s to when Cubans first relocated to the USA.
The joint feels more motel-meets-high-end-social-club with a dash of movie-style glamour than traditional hotel and with the rooftop salsa parties, art exhibitions, fashion shows and mini music concerts held here, it’s an ideal base for style-conscious and unfussy brides-to-be and hen parties. Concept Hotel Group – the masterminds behind the design and style concept of the uniquely-themed hotel and its individually designed sister hotels in Ibiza (Tropicana, Dorado, Paradiso, Romeo’s, Grand Paradise and Santos) ensure that creativity and a full-on sensory experience remains at the heart of their properties, and regularly invite artists to take up micro residencies.
Staff are incredibly knowledgeable about the island and super helpful, offering a truly seamless and friendly check-in experience (including handing you over complimentary and freshly mixed mojitos on arrival).
Facilities
Surrounded by vibrant orange parasols and extremely snooze-worthy day beds, we’re all about that suntrap swimming pool, where staff bring over expertly shaken Havana rum cocktails directly to your lounger.
You’ll also adore the hip-shaking Latin tunes on the Malecon rooftop bar which has an even more extensive cocktail list and to-die-for 360 views of the sun setting over glitzy yachts shimmering in the sapphire waters of San Antonio Bay. Widely hailed as one of the Island’s best, Cubanito’s palm-fringed rooftop is where you should head for salsa and clear views of the stars to soothe the soul and stir the heart.
It comes alive every night around 9pm and the salsa and live merengue, latin jazz, salsa and boogaloomusic parties hosted by the likes of Ricardito, (known in these parts as the ‘Cuban Julio Iglesias’) and Jordi Cardona are free for hotel guests. You can join in on the complimentary hip-shaking salsero dance classes before the night kicks off too. Cocktails here vie for attention especially when accompanied by those views and that soundtrack. Most are reasonably priced and lack pretension.
Sample flamboyant and imaginative concoctions such as ‘La Flaca’ which is made up of white rum, curacao, vermouth and passionfruit or try the unmissable, frozen passionfruit daiquiri – a quirky riff on an iconic classic – both taste divine. Aperol spritzes are long and made up flawlessly.
Suite Dreams
All the 31 suites are as convivial and colourful as they get and pay homage to the country’s most famous artists, actors and musicians including Celia Cruz, Juan Luis Guerra and Benny More. The motel-like feeling is a lot of fun and an excuse for upmarket hens to fully let their hair down but with top-end mod cons to boot.
Signature Concept Group touches are in abundance in rooms from vibrant SMEG fridges to Marshall speakers and in-room bar-areas compliment the bright monochrome floors. There’s even a mini kitchenette stocked with plates and cutlery in case you fancy whipping up a light lunch before heading to the pool or beach. Many rooms have private balconies with glorious views and luxurious queen or king beds.
While your heads will initially be turned by the design aspect, you’ll end up booking your return visit because of the excellent night’s sleep. All rooms are fabulously soundproofed and the balmy Ibizan night air will lull you into dreamland in no time at all.
Eat
Gastronomy activities are as buzzy and communal as it gets at the hotel’s in-house restaurant/café Little Havana and a perfect reflection of Ibiza’s party spirit. The Cuban and Mediterranean fusion menu offerings are solid too; try the crispy aubergines with honey and crumbled feta, fried plantain with prawns and guacamole or the Cuban quesadillas – all promise to have your tastebuds dancing. After dinner, head upstairs to the rooftop, order another rum and gaze across the skyline before hitting up the dancefloor.
Breakfast gets busy, because the pancakes are enormous and delicious and drip with Nutella, syrup and juicy toppings of strawberries. Acai bowls come with lashings of tropical fruits and nuts and poached eggs are served with muffins, smoked salmon, edamame and hollandaise sauce. You’ll fall in love with the mouth-watering Andalusian breakfast too which consists of freshly baked breads smothered with grated tomato and olive oil and topped with Iberíco ham.
As nobody gets up early around here, breakfast is served until late and is a heck of a lot of fun too. Most guests purposely chose to dine around communal style tables with everyone dishing up on their best tips for the hottest parties.
What You’ll Love:
- How the weekend’s agenda literally starts on your doorstep: plan for salsa under the open starry skies to the beats of DJs and lives bands. It’s a different and welcome scene from the house and trance music Ibiza is known for and well worth kicking off your hen celebrations with
- You won’t need a car as everything is literally on your doorstep. You can walk to the gorgeous cove and beach restaurant Cala Gracioneta from the hotel and watch the sunset over the cliffs at nearby Hostel La Torre (check out our review here).
- The free rooftop salsa classes and party nights are just the ticket for grown-up hens looking to master a surprise routine for the wedding reception.
- Hand’s down it’s one of the funkiest, chicest hen party hotels we’ve been to and caters perfectly to all budgets. It’s upmarket and classy with the kind of old-school glamour perfect for a girls’ weekend away.
How To Book
Visit Cubanito Ibiza Suites, Carrer Nunó Sanç, 3, 07820, Sant Antoni de Portmany, Ibiza, Spain. To book your room directly, visit https://www.theconcepthotels.com/hotels/ibiza/cubanito, email [email protected] or call (+34) 871 53 26 00.
Getting to Ibiza
Jet2.com offers friendly low fares alongside honeymooner friendly flight times to Ibiza from ten UK Airports, including Birmingham Airport and London Stansted Airport. Flights start from £36pp one way including taxes.
As one of the UK’s leading airlines, Jet2 is also currently offering 32 weekly flights to the Balearic Islands under its new 2023 expansion programme and 32 weekly flights to the Canary Islands too. This will add onto flight programmes to existing favourite destinations for summer 2023 including Antalya, Rome, Halkidiki, Crete (Heraklion) and Tenerife.
Online Booking
Booking online is simple with the options to upgrade to seats with extra legroom (recommended for the shopping you’re likely to do in Ibiza town) and add in up 22kg baggage allowance for a checked in bag/ suitcase. You can pre-order hot meals for the flight too
Check In
Check in at Birmingham Airport is a breeze with extra helpful staff on the desks. The in-flight team are cool and collected, helping passengers with storing luggage in overhead lockers, safety demonstrations and later on with snacks and drinks too.
Interior of Plane
The plane interior is light and clean with warm and super friendly staff who help make boarding quick for passengers on our early morning flight. The seats are comfortable enough to nap in and stretch your toes underneath for a short haul flight. We’re really impressed and highly recommend the airline and flying from Birmingham is a cinch too.
Jet2 Holidays
Jet2.com, Jet2holidays and Jet2CityBreaks all operate from UK Airports including Birmingham Airport and for summer 2023, new routes will include Amsterdam, Prague, Krakow, Budapest and Nice. With award-winning customer service, Jet2 Holidays is now Britain’s biggest tour operator for sun and sand holidays.
The company offer high quality holidays with many leading five star hotels with flights, transfers and accommodation including Cubanito, OD Talamanca and Hostal La Torre in Ibiza. All prices and availability correct at the time of issue. For more information, visit www.jet2.com or call 0800 408 5599.