After a summer of gorgeous British sunshine, we forgot about having an actual holiday, so we decided, last minute to do a week in Ibiza, to just relax. I’ve been to other Balearic Islands before, but not Ibiza, I’ve always been put off by the clubbing culture. But there is much more to this beautiful island than DJs and booze! There is a quieter, relaxing side of life thanks to its beautiful beaches, rugged cliffs, and lush landscape.
If you are looking for secluded beaches, incredible sunsets, and a quiet spot to recharge, Portinax, located on the Northern tip of Ibiza, around 40 minutes from the airport, is a great escape from Ibiza’s clubbing vibes due to its laid-back chic bohemian vibes. This former fishing village is a cute spot that has two main beaches in secluded bays with gorgeous clear turquoise water, a handful of bistros, as well as a range of hotels to choose from.
We opted for the adults-only Barceló Portinatx, which underwent a refurbishment during lockdown, and has a contemporary all-white sleek exterior feel with a rustic feel with rustic wood and wicker furniture in common areas. It also has two outdoor pools with large sunbathing areas, an outdoor wellness centre offering restorative massages, and is literally minutes away from the smaller of the two beaches on offer in Portinatx. There is also the main restaurant, which serves breakfast and dinner in a buffet format, and a pool bar that has an extensive menu. In addition, there is a separate bar for the evening with a covered outdoor area.
Rooms at the Barceló Portinatx, Ibiza
The other appeal of the Barceló had to be the spacious rooms, inside and out, as Covid has made us look at hotels differently, and having our own space is an important factor now. Half of the rooms at the hotel are junior suites, some offering sea views with a hot tub, outdoor showers, and sun loungers on a large terrace. We went for a junior suite with a hot tub, which was a little splurge, but worth it for the extra space.
Our room had a comfortable and large king-size bed, which came with a pillow menu for added comfort, as well as a separate lounge area complete with tea and coffee facilities and a fridge. The only thing that wasn’t luxurious about the room had to be the bathroom set-up, basically, the sink is separated by a mirror and a curtain from the rest of the room, while the toilet is behind a flimsy door. This isn’t the bathroom set-up if you prefer privacy, but as I was with my husband, we got over it pretty quickly.
Also, it is worth noting that the hotel offers a lot of toiletries, there is shower gel, shampoo and conditioner in the shower, and they also provide bamboo toothbrushes, toothpaste, hand soap, and even a razor, which all help when you are utilising hand luggage.
Outside was a large area, with a hot tub, two sun loungers and two deckchairs, and a pretty nice view over the cove. Some of the rooms did have day beds, which offered more shade options, and I think, if I had known about them, I would have requested a room with more shade as our outdoor space was a suntrap.
Food at the Barceló Portinatx
As I said, the hotel has two food options as part of the complex. The main restaurant offers all-inclusive and half-board guests access to breakfast and dinner buffets. For breakfast, there was an array of hot dishes, pastries, toast, fruit, cereals, nuts, and the biggest array of juices and smoothies I’ve ever seen offered. While for dinner, the buffet has regional and international-themed choices.
We went all-inclusive for this trip, which is something we don’t normally do, but it was a great deal. But to be honest, unless you are a big drinker I don’t think it is worth it, as we only did one dinner buffet. I don’t know about you, but for dinner on holiday, I want to get dressed up, I want nice food and a relaxing atmosphere. The Barceló Portinatx main restaurant doesn’t offer you that. Half the time, the food is cold or lukewarm and the vegetarian options are severely limited. Also, finding a table that is clean and with cutlery was hard going, and the hotel wasn’t even full or in peak season. It was also hard work getting drinks, it was easier to go to the bar ourselves. It was disappointing, to be honest.
The one good thing though with being all-inclusive meant we had access to the pool bar, where the menu was definitely better than the dinner buffet options. Here you can get nachos, burgers, pasta, fish, quinoa salad, rice bowls, toasted sandwiches, and a great selection of smoothies and milkshakes. It is open until 7pm, so we generally ate here twice, for an early lunch and an early dinner before it closed, and then just headed into Portinatx for drinks.
Magical Portinatx
As well as the hotel’s main restaurant and pool bar, there is also a beach bar close by, overlooking the beach, where if you are all-inclusive you get free drinks and a discount on food. The menu here is very fish and meat-heavy, there wasn’t a vegetarian option, so we did cocktails here but didn’t actually eat. It is a cute spot though, I loved the rustic beach-shack decor, and it was nice that they have live singers and musicians playing most days.
Just note that if you prefer the beach to sunbathe and are all-inclusive, Magical can’t serve you drinks to take back onto the beach, you have to drink them inside. This is because they don’t have a license, instead, there is a bar on the beach. The bar owner is also the one to talk to about hiring sunloungers, parasols and a table for your drinks. For a day, 2 sunloungers and a parasol cost us €28, so not cheap, but it made a change from sitting by the pool, and I much prefer having a dip in the sea.
What to do in Portinatx, Ibiza
Basically, not a lot. If you are happy with sitting by the pool or having beach days then you will be all set up here. But there isn’t much else, close by, without having a rental car. You can rent paddleboards and small boats, and you can hike to the lighthouse, and visit the handful of shops in the town. But apart from that, this is a relaxing spot in Ibiza.
In all honesty, I think it was a little too quiet for us both. I loved Ibiza, I was surprised by how green it was, and the weather was lovely, but I think if we came back we would rent a car and see more of it, as Portinatx makes for a quiet, relaxing base, but can be a little too sleepy in the evenings.
