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Montesol Experimental, Ibiza
Ibiza, Spain · Experimental Group · Accessible Luxury
Gran Hotel Montesol opened on 4 June 1933 as Ibiza's first grand hotel, a neo-colonial house by Joan Gómez Ripoll on Passeig de Vara de Rey. Franco slept there a month before the inauguration; Orson Welles, Pink Floyd, and Princess Caroline came later. Experimental Group reopened it as Montesol Experimental in 2023, two years after it left Hilton's Curio Collection.
- 33 rooms
- Opened 1933
- Neighborhood: Ibiza Town
- Rooms from 226 sq ft (21 m²)
- Architect: Joan Gómez Ripoll
- Interiors: Dorothée Meilichzon
About Montesol Experimental, Ibiza
- Gran Hotel Montesol opened June 4, 1933 as Ibiza's first grand hotel, designed in neo-colonial style by architect Joan Gómez Ripoll at Passeig de Vara de Rey in Ibiza Town.
- Future dictator Francisco Franco slept at the Gran Hotel in May 1933, one month before its official June inauguration, because Ibiza lacked any lodging worthy of the newly appointed Balearic military commander.
- The Army commandeered the hotel after the Spanish Civil War erupted in 1936 and held it until 1945, when it reopened as Hotel Ibiza before adopting the Montesol name in 1958.
- Spain listed the building a Bien de Interés Cultural in 2002, protecting the yellow and white façade that has watched over Ibiza Town's main square for nearly a century.
- Orson Welles, Pink Floyd, and Princess Caroline of Monaco all stayed here during the hotel's 1950s through 1980s heyday as the island's premier celebrity gathering spot.
History
Gran Hotel Montesol opened on 4 June 1933 as Ibiza's first grand hotel, designed in neo-colonial style by Joan Gómez Ripoll on Passeig de Vara de Rey. The Army held the house from 1936 to 1945. Spain listed the yellow-and-white façade a Bien de Interés Cultural in 2002. It flew Hilton's Curio Collection until a 2021 sale; Experimental Group reopened it as Montesol Experimental in 2023.
The setting
Gran Hotel Montesol Ibiza stands at the northeast corner of Passeig de Vara de Rey, the tree-lined pedestrian boulevard at the civic heart of Ibiza Town, named for local hero General Joaquín Vara de Rey. Opened in 1933 as the island's first grand hotel and a magnet for Hollywood royalty through the 1950s, it sits at the foot of UNESCO-listed Dalt Vila. The Phoenician-Roman necropolis of Puig des Molins is nine minutes on foot, the Catedral de Santa María a 16-minute walk uphill, and Platja de ses Figueretes beach 20 minutes away. 8 km from sandy Platja d'en Bossa.
Restaurants and bars
- Café Montesol — Café · Traditional dishes with a playful touch, served to share
- Montesol Rooftop & Cocktail Bar — Bar
- Experimental Beach — Poolside
- Bar en la azotea (rooftop) — Bar
Experiences
- Excursión en barco — Boat trip organised by concierge with local professionals; the hotel's favourite recommendation, so book ahead.
- Excursión de un día a Formentera — Popular day trip to Formentera; the team arranges tickets and transport.
- Paseo por Dalt Vila — Walk through the old town with walls, lookouts and cultural heritage, five minutes on foot.
Amenities
- Pet-friendly
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