Hacienda Na Xamena

When the Belgian architect Daniel Lipszyc began building on the Na Xamena cliff in 1969, there was no road, no water and no electricity. He and his wife had been coming to Ibiza since the 1950s and had bought 150 hectares above the north coast. The hotel opened in 1971 with 54 rooms, 180 metres above the sea, and in 1995 his son Alvar and Alvar's wife Sabine took over. The family still owns and runs it, and the house now has 69 rooms and suites.

Every room has a jacuzzi and most look out to sea; the Suite Junior Eden and the Suite Eden add a private mini pool. The spa, La Posidonia, is the other reason to come. Its Cascadas Suspendidas are eight outdoor pools at the edge of the cliff, heated to different temperatures and fitted with jets aimed at different parts of the body. Children may use them from the age of 12 and a height of 1.50 metres, and the spa also takes outside visitors.

The hotel opens from late April to the end of October. There is no beach below the cliff; the nearest is seven minutes away by car, and the hotel recommends a hire car. The cliff and its pine forest belong to the protected area of Es Amunts. Edén, the main restaurant, takes a large share of its vegetables from the hotel's own organic garden, and Los Nidos, the rooftop bar above it, serves cocktails and small plates at sunset.