Beyond Opulence: a different kind of Ibiza luxury (part 4)

By Dan Prince and Luciana Aversa
20/10/2024

Since the pandemic, there has thankfully been a significant shift in luxury between the traditional bastion of exclusivity, towards an emerging ethos of inclusivity, sustainability, self-affirming creativity and eco-friendly practises. The trend for high-end living is suddenly not about extravagance at ANY cost. It is now about a type of luxury that enriches our lives in a conscientious way. If old luxury was about ‘belongings’, then new luxury in our post COVID world, is certainly about ‘doing’. As our society faces new existential threats such as AI and sociocultural volatility, this new luxury stands for life-affirming creativity.

And aren’t we glad about that. NATIV asks a wide variety of islanders and professionals about what luxury means to them in 2024. We shall also be sharing with you some Ibiza experiences that will give you that beautiful luxurious feeling, without breaking the bank. Luxury in Ibiza is about living the life you want to lead and enjoying the small pleasures that are all around you on Ibiza. It’s about finding yourself again and not following the boring masses…

Delicious Luxury

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A cave once used as a lobster farm is now home to the Cap Blanc aquarium in Sant Antoni – where at weekends you can sit looking out to sea and enjoy their freshly grilled sardines.

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There is an unwritten rule here that says you can take anything that can fit in your hand. Never has a roadside stop been so natural and delicious than in fig season! 

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One luxury in Ibiza is knowing where to go to pick mushrooms or ‘pebrassos’. In autumn, when there is a drop in temperature, these delicious ‘bolets’ appear in the green and humid forests of the island, the location of which is usually the best kept secret of the Ibizans.

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Where else gives you so many taste sensations in one-bite? A delicious olive, a sip of real coffee, a lick of authentic ice cream, a tasty croqueta, a slice of spicy sausage, a drizzle of olive oil, a forkful of melt in your mouth seabass… 

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You don’t have to break the bank to enjoy Cala Gracioneta Chiringuito on the west coast. Revitalise your soul with their famous fresh lemonade sangria. It puts the zip back into your stride. 

Toni Ros
Butcher

“I think it’s great that people who have purchasing power have places to enjoy it, but many places on the island are being neglected. Luxury was when there were professional people everywhere and you enjoyed working. Now you feel like closing the business because you can’t find qualified staff. It’s never been like this before on Ibiza, with everywhere full of shanty towns, and people who should have a dignified life unable to access one”.

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As Autumn arrives, the island’s grapes reach their peak sugar content and ripeness – and so begins an authentic multi-generational festival. Families meet up with friends to harvest this precious fruit and make their own wines, eat together, and enjoy the countryside in one of the island’s century-old traditions. This is life as we know it. 

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That feeling of walking home with a warm loaf from the bakery Pan d’or in Santa Eulalia, knowing soon it will be smothered in olive oil and tomatoes.

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Bank some summer memories with an impromptu picnic on the sands of Formentera. The best sea in the Mediterranean? We think so…

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With high prices and VIP everywhere, how wonderful is that feeling of smugness as you tuck into a Menu del Dia that offers three courses, wine and coffee for under twenty euros?

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Discover the tiny kiosk on the beach at Cala Mastella where a blackboard reveals the catch of day. A day on this beach feeds the soul and provides memories of days gone by…

Galaxia Martín
Yacht Sales & Charter Broker

“Luxury is having time, being able to decide what to do with it and having the ability to enjoy what you are experiencing. Because it doesn’t matter if you have millions of material things if you don’t know how to enjoy them. My favorite experiences are always in the nature of Ibiza, in the sea and on the beaches, sharing them with the people I love.”

Eva Hrabovska
CEO & owner of Deva Models

“For me, the luxury that Ibiza offers is variety: being able to go to one of the beaches in the west of the island and wait for the sunset while having a drink at a local beach bar; getting lost in a cove and going for a swim, because I always know somewhere there aren’t too many people, or enjoying the best parties or restaurants, with great music and beautiful people, if I feel like being sociable”.

Leonardo Metastasio
Director of Tourism in Formentera

How does luxury reflect cultural and social status?

From my point of view, luxury is not only reflected in wealth, but also in knowledge, behavior, lifestyle, and the social and cultural environment around you.

How do you think luxury should be marketed at the current time?

I still think that luxury must be marketed exclusively with the right expertise and advice. For example, if you go to a boutique to buy a suit or a dress, you need to have someone expert to advise you, or if you want a particular travel experience, you need a specialized agency. Because while many people have become sellers of luxury these days, there are the right ways to access it and not everyone can offer that.

“Luxury can be a lifestyle, an interior peace.”

What does luxury mean to you?

To me it means wealth as a material good and also as experience, because luxury can also be wealth in excellence, a certain lifestyle, an internal tranquility, an inner peace. I don’t think you need millions in the bank to say that you live a life of luxury.

What is your most memorable luxury experience?

My most memorable luxury experience was living and working on a cruise ship for 12 months, observing luxurious people. It was a different luxury, from 20 years ago, when cruises were only for people who could afford them and spent anywhere from €10,000 to €20,000 per person. As for an experience, luxury for me was my wedding: from the day of planning the wedding with my wife, to buying a tailor-made suit in Rome, and the party in a place like Molí de Sal. A luxury experience.

How has your perception of luxury evolved over time?

Going back to the example of the cruise, in the past, people who could afford it had a certain social status. Today, luxury is considered to be spending money, competing to see who can spend the most. For me, luxury is more and more about having a life that’s rich in experiences.

Only in Ibiza Luxury

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Choose your secret corner of the island and don’t tell anyone. It will be your refuge when Ibiza is crowded with tourists, your private outlet to the sea where you will breathe tranquillity and freedom away from the masses.

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Feel the wings of the butterflies in your tummy as you spot the first party posters of the seasons going up. Eek!

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Pick any workers bar in Ibiza. Sit on a stool and within ten minutes get rewarded by a stranger’s remarkable life story. Everyone has a tale to tell in Ibiza.

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Nothing can beat doing the ‘tourist thing’ on Formentera by hiring a Mehari for the day. Please choose the brightest colour!

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Paying 170 euros to see them play tunes is one thing. Bump-ing into one of your DJ heroes in a shop or on the beach is selfie heaven…

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One of Ibiza’s best-kept secrets nestles on the northern shores of Port de Sant Miguel. Chiringuito Utopia simply oozes a rustic feel and good times.

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The moment you head up the rampart of centuries old Dalt Vila and turn the corner into a kaleidoscope of colour and music. Summer is here.

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Winter in Formentera is like no other. Wild winds, wicked waves, deserted beaches and that long dog walk finished with a glass of red wine by a long fire.

Estefanía Laustaunau
Club Promoter

“To be able to enjoy the lesser-known corners of the island and the less-crowded ones. I feel that I really live in a paradise, both in summer and winter. I feel very lucky to live on this island. When I arrived, they said it was all about luxury, but, although there is luxury, you live very well with people who see luxury from a different perspective, enjoying nature, and in a more emotional way.”

Green Luxury

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Being sustainable has never been so easy; beach clean ups, watching water consumption, declining plastic bags and single use plastics, minimising packaging, choosing eco-friendly sun screen, clearing your cigarette ends, leaving marine life in the sea and embracing eco-friendly transportation. Do it.

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With Creatives for the Planets, care for the environment by looking for lost fishing nets, visit bee hives to learn about the cycle of life and discover traditional island recipes to enjoy and preserve.

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Arrive at the ses Salines Natural Park by electric bike, leave it at es Ministre and cross the entire isthmus of Es Trucadors (also known as es Pas) that separates Formentera from s ‘Espalmador. The beauty of its dunes and crystal-clear waters are priceless.

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There are solar-powered boats that do not pollute, are silent and allow you to enjoy the crystalline waters of the Pitiüses, while being part of nature. Good winds and a good sea is all you need. 

Jouri Post
Farmer

“Knowing the nature of the word luxury, I think it is a problematic question. One meaning is that of a desirable, non-essential, expensive or difficult-to-obtain item. This definition of luxury makes me realize how some spends their lives in the pursuit of pleasure. That is very different from finding an inner freedom that doesn’t require much. So, my question now is: does luxury really enrich our life?”.

Louise Trolle
Chocolatier

“My favorite luxury experience is the closeness to nature and having bucolic views wherever I go. I’m also excited about new trends such as farms with their own crops, where you can go to buy 0 km produce, food and vegetables; and I love to have breakfast and lunch in beautiful places such as Terra Masía and Can Muson.”

Albert Sirkia
Light and sound technician

“In general people think that luxury means wearing big brands, going on designer yachts, and eating in expensive restaurants, but for me it means going to a lost cove with friends, opening a bottle of wine, chatting, laughing, raising a toast; it means making love under the stars, it means feeling at peace, and I’m afraid that this kind of luxury cannot be bought with money.”

Florencia Sudy Bogdan
UX/UI Designer

“In general people think that luxury means wearing big brands, going on designer yachts, and eating in expensive restaurants, but for me it means Bogdan UX/UI Designer Diseñadora UX/UI going to a lost cove with friends, opening a bottle of wine, chatting, laughing, raising a toast; it means making love under the stars, it means feeling at peace, and I’m afraid that this kind of luxury cannot be bought with money.”

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