San Antonio, Ibiza
Freddies at Pikes Ibiza
High in the hills above San Antonio, secluded by treetops and surrounded by mystique, iconic boutique hotel Pikes Ibiza is home to Freddies, the intimate Ibiza club space with a storied past, a no-phone policy and free entry every night. Here, rockstars, royalty and regular people are all equal beneath the famous discoball…
Slip past the iconic white-washed arches of Pikes Ibiza once the sun dips and enter a world where time bends, stories begin and the rules of regular nightlife cease to apply. Tucked into the hills above San Antonio, this legendary Ibiza club is centred around Freddies, once the largest suite in the hotel and the beloved hideaway of Freddie Mercury. Now a low-ceilinged, velvet-draped party lair, Freddies is the kind of space that doesn’t need a headline act (though it’s hosted plenty) or, in fact, a hype machine (Island whispers take care of that). Running six nights a week and always free to enter (forget to sign up for the list at your peril), it regularly ends in 5am hugs with strangers you somehow now consider family.
Converted into a party venue in 2011 by Ibiza Rocks Group, Freddies quickly became a beacon for the kind of Ibiza clubbing that lives in memory long after the glitter fades. The guestlist-only policy keeps things intimate and the no-phone rule keeps things gloriously off-grid. Inside, the atmosphere is pure magic, disco balls, low lighting and a kind of fevered commitment to fun that is contagious, plus a dancefloor you don’t just visit, you inhabit.
Beyond Freddies, the night spills outward into the rest of Pikes Ibiza’s whimsical and wonderful corners. The Sunset Terrace is where the night often begins, soundtracked by laid-back sets and clinking cocktail glasses under the twinkle of fairy lights. It’s also home to the Pikes Restaurant, where long dinners lead naturally into even longer nights. The Plaza Mayor, once the restaurant, now reborn as the hotel’s buzzing social heart, is an open-air mingling space where you can catch your breath, grab a drink, chat to friends old and new before diving straight back in to the madness. Upstairs, Room 39 offers pool views and seriously potent martinis, plus a certain six-piece wicker furniture set that once belonged to Freddie himself – shipped to Kensington, auctioned after his death and eventually returned to its rightful home at this Ibiza Club.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Pikes Ibiza without a little ridiculousness. Enter: the Bathtub Club, the world’s smallest disco, complete with actual bathtub, rotating DJs and the odd spontaneous sing-along courtesy of Crazy Piano Man and his trusty keyboard. Whether you’re belting out 80s bangers in a bathrobe or whispering secrets in the shadowy corners of Plaza Mayor, there’s always a surprise around the corner here.
Signature nights include Sundays at Pikes (a long-standing ritual), the rollicking Pikes House Party with the Pikes House Band and unabated chaos plus of course the now infamous Mondays at Pikes presented by Andy Manumission. A string of monthly residents bring their own flavours: Melon Bomb, Flash, Vitalik, Disco Disco, Back To Mine and David Morales all make regular appearances behind the decks at this much-loved Ibiza club. And then there’s DJ Harvey, whose four-week Mercury Rising residency at the end of summer remains the stuff of folklore, bringing disco devotion to Freddies with holy reverence.
Whether you come for the history, the mystery or the hedonism, Pikes Ibiza is an Ibiza club, it’s a feeling, a family and maybe even a little bit of a cult.
