Words by Lorelle Williams
The first five-star hotel on the Balearic Island of Ibiza, Hacienda Na Xamena is a family run business hidden within a pine tree forest, 180m above sea level on the brink of a cliff. Overlooking the gleaming Mediterranean Sea, the hotel is surrounded by nothing but nature, and the bohemian chic design of the resort embodies the authentic spirit of Ibiza, perfectly.
Hotel
Located on the north coast of the island, the hotel is just a 30-minute drive from the airport and a 10-minute drive from Sant Miquel de Balansat, a beautiful, retro village with its many shops and beaches. But it’s the hotel’s views – forest covered cliffs and glistening waters with a sunset bleeding through the sky every evening – that are its selling point.
Rooms and suites
The interior of the hotel has been designed to complement the exterior natural beauty, and indoor and outdoor living have been blended throughout. Natural light pours in through the sliding glass doors, cushions are designed to resemble large pebbles, and the coffee tables are made of contorted wood, reflecting the surrounding forests.
Almost all rooms and suites have sea views, and all standard and superior rooms have an indoor jacuzzi and a balcony. As for the four suites, these range in size from 45m squared to 80m squared, with the Na Xamena suite and Junior Eden suite each having their own private gardens with sunbeds and a mini pool overlooking the sea.
Food and drink
As with the rooms, the cuisine has been inspired by Ibiza’s natural landscape, and many ingredients are even grown in the hotel’s own vegetable patch to ensure the menus are as sustainable as possible. Both breakfast and lunch are served on the Mediterranean-style poolside terrace with panoramic views of the sea and cliffs. The breakfast menu includes eggs, meats and a range of pastries, as well as healthier options such as detox juices, kefir and chia puddings.
Unlike the evening menu, the lunch time ‘by the pool’ menu is exclusively reserved for hotel guests. This covers cocktails and snacks (think patatas bravas, nachos, and blinis with caviar and butter), to larger vegetarian and meat dishes such as baba ghanoush with sweet potato puree and croutons, or grilled beef tenderloin with chimichurri, grilled mushrooms and potatoes.
However, it’s the hotel’s Eden Restaurant and Lounge that is the showstopper. A combined experience of nature, views and exquisite cuisine, the restaurant is perched at the top of the resort to offer the best views of the dramatic sunset while guests dine.
A three-course set menu is offered here (drinks excluded), which I experienced for both lunch and dinner. The stand-out dishes were the risotto with summer truffle and porcini mushrooms, and the Galacian beef filet with Ibizan red wine and smoked mashed potatoes. Even the desserts, like the basil cake with tonka beans and fruit coulis, are exquisitely presented and designed to complement the fresh, natural beauty surrounding the hotel.
Spa and wellness
The hotel’s La Posidonia Spa is home to the world-renowned cascadas suspendidas. These spectacular three-tier waterfall pools have been built on the tip of a cliff with unbeatable views and are open to both hotel guest and the public. The cascadas suspendidas is a thalassotherapy experience – the eight different pools, heated at three different temperatures, have jet power stations situated throughout, each at different heights. Guests make their way from pool to pool over a 45-minute session, meaning by the time they reach the final pool they have essentially had a full body massage.
There is an exclusive package on offer to external guests where they can enjoy the outdoor cascadas suspendidas experience followed by either lunch or dinner for a cost of €150 or €170, respectively.
The treatment rooms at La Posidonia are inside a bamboo hut just a short walk from the cascadas. The spa menu is exclusively available to in-house guests, and the luxurious treatments on offer range from cranial massages and skinceuticals facials, to full body treatments such as the aloe vera hug, where the body is wrapped with pure organic aloe vera, or the Na Xamena Fusion, which combines a traditional Thai massage with a hot stone massage.
The spa adopts a digital detox approach and asks all guests to keep their phone inside their locker at all times.
Factbox
Double rooms from €382 (£340 in low season); and from €535 (£475) in high, with a three-night minimum stay on weekends in July and August. Breakfast included, as is Wi-Fi.
Address: Na Xamena, s/n, 07815, San Miguel, Ibiza, Spain.
Telephone: +34 971 334 500
Website: haciendanaxamena-ibiza.com
All imagery credit: Hacienda Na Xamena
