MHow we rank

How we research Ibiza stays, areas and nights

Our area guides, accommodation recommendations and club verdicts are editorial judgements with stated evidence, limits, dates and commercial disclosures.

Last updated August 2026

Ibiza guides often start with a hotel list or a line-up link. We start with the decision that changes the whole trip: the part of the island that fits your pace, beach, budget, transport tolerance and plans. This page explains what is lived local knowledge, what is checked from current sources, what remains variable, and how commercial links do not set the answer.

How we assess areas and stays

A “best hotel” label is not useful if it ignores where the hotel is. Every stay guide starts with the area: journey time, beach shape, walkable food, noise, car dependence and the kind of traveller the base actually suits. We then use live accommodation availability as a planning tool, not as a ranking signal. A property’s exact room configuration, child policy, accessibility, transfer terms and cancellation conditions must be checked with that property for the reader’s dates.

Elena has lived on Ibiza year-round since 2017 and the area advice reflects that local experience. Where a statement depends on something changeable—transport, season dates, price, opening hours or availability—we date it, link to the relevant official source where practical, and tell the reader what to recheck. We do not claim to have inspected every hotel room or stayed in every property.

Some accommodation links earn a commission at no extra cost to the reader. They never decide which area we recommend, the order a guide takes or whether a property is described as a fit. Live-map results are supplied by an accommodation partner; the editorial analysis is ours.

Before we name a hotel or finca

A named property shortlist has a higher evidence threshold than an area guide. Before we publish one, we reconcile the official property identity and pin, operating status, the exact room or facility claim, displayed payment and cancellation terms, and any stated registration information. We use a dated evidence sheet, exclude a property when a material point cannot be verified, and never treat an affiliate listing as proof of quality or legality.

This does not mean we certify individual properties or replace the reader’s final booking checks. Accommodation policies and availability change by room and date. Before payment, readers should confirm the exact rate terms, room configuration and property details directly.

The five things we score

Every club is scored against the same five criteria, weighted as below. The weights are deliberately biased towards the room and the money, because those are the two things you cannot change after you have paid.

30%Sound and room: How the rig actually performs when the room is full, not what the spec sheet says. A converted space with bad sightlines loses points however famous it is.
25%Value for what you pay: Door, drinks and table minimum measured against the hours you get and the quality of the room. This is where the expensive venues lose ground.
20%Crowd and atmosphere: Whether people are there for the music or for a photograph. Mixed, music-led crowds score highest; bottle-service theatre scores lowest.
15%Programming honesty: Does the line-up match the billing, do headliners actually play the advertised hours, and is the residency built on the music or the brand.
10%Logistics: Getting in without a two-hour queue, and getting home without being stranded or overcharged at 06:00.

What the verdict words mean

We use three words and only three. There is no five-star scale, because a half-star is not a decision and you are trying to make a decision. Of the nine clubs currently covered, 5 are a Go, 3 are worth doing Once, and 1 is a Skip.

Go: Worth planning a night around and worth the money. We would send a friend here without hedging.
Once: Worth doing a single time for one specific reason — a signature party, a view, a novelty — but not worth a second night or a repeat spend.
Skip: The money buys a worse night than the alternatives at the same price. We say so and name the better option.

How the prices get checked

Prices are the most perishable thing on this site and the most common reason a page goes wrong, so they are handled separately from the writing. Door prices are taken from the door itself, in person, in peak season — not from the advance ticket page, which is almost always cheaper and therefore misleading. Bar prices come from a receipt. Table minimums are confirmed with the venue's reservations team, because published minimums and quoted minimums frequently differ.

Every price on the site carries the month it was verified. The full set is re-checked each April, before the openings, and spot-checked through July and August when the peak-season rates land. Where a figure is a range, the range is what we were actually quoted across different nights, not a guess with padding.

What we refuse

No guest list and no comped entry when a door price is being assessed. If we cannot pay for it, we do not rate it.
No paid placement in the rankings, and no venue has ever been moved up or down after contact from a promoter or PR company.
No affiliate link decides a verdict. Some links on this site earn a commission — that is disclosed on every page that carries one — and the commission is identical whether we tell you to go or to skip.
No sponsored posts dressed as reviews. If a page were ever paid for, it would say so at the top in the same size type as the headline.

What we do not claim

Authority is worth nothing if it is vague, so here are the limits. Elena Marí has not been to every night at every venue, and a residency can change character when a headline act changes. Where our coverage of a specific night is thin, the page says so rather than implying otherwise. We do not review venues we have not entered.

Not a DJ, not a promoter, and not employed by any venue on this site.
Does not attend on guest list or with comped entry when reviewing a door price.
Has not been to every night at every club — where coverage is thin, the page says so.

Corrections

If something here is wrong, we would rather hear it from you than leave it up. Send the venue, property, route or area detail, the date and what you found to our contact page. Price corrections are checked and, if confirmed, updated within seven days, and the page's verification date changes with them. Substantive corrections — a wrong verdict, a wrong policy, a venue we got materially wrong — are noted at the foot of the page rather than quietly edited.