Ibiza Property to Receive a Hard Rock Jolt

Ibiza’s property market will gain a new level of international credibility in May, when Hard Rock opens its first hotel in Europe on Playa d’en Bossa.

The 493-room hotel, set to open May 18, will include many of the features that make Hard Rock Hotels unique, including an open air concert venue and the usual array of hip, music-centric luxury amenities.

The resort’s Sublimotion restaurant has already been labeled “the most expensive restaurant in the world” by the Daily Mail, after menus were released with certain meals priced at €1,500 a person. (See video below.)

Hard Rock’s hip rock ‘n’ roll clientele fits nicely with the Ibiza brand, which is attracting property buyers from around the globe. Despite Spain’s well-documented woes, Ibiza’s house prices are holding up better than rest of Spain.

Although prices fell 20 to 30 per cent after the crash, the market is leading the way to recovery. Agents reported strong sales in January and February, the type of activity unheard of in recent years.

Ibiza has several fundamental strengths that are helping the market recover, despite the forces battering the Spanish property market. There is little new stock on the market in Ibiza, leading to a classic supply and demand imbalance. The current supply will likely sell out soon, which will lead to a period of acute shortage as almost nothing has been started in years, thanks to the financing problems in Spain. Already, top properties are often scooped up quickly when they come on the market.

Playa d’en Bossa, the beach where the new Hard Rock Hotel is located, has the potential to be one of the best urban beaches in the world. Featuring white sand, azure waters and the ready availability of a growing selection of hip beach bars and amenities that people value, the area has an ambitious redevelopment plan in the works specifically designed to attract more upmarket customers and attract an international elite. The Hard Rock, combined with the recent opening of the Ushuaia Beach Hotel, with its own concert venue, will only increase that international vibe of the Ibiza brand.

These resorts will have a long term impact on the local property market, where housing is fundamentally scarce. The smart money will go “long” on Ibiza, and the Playa d’en Bossa area in particular.

On May 21 the hotel is scheduled to host its first event, the Ibiza International Music Summit, the type of gathering that will help raise the area’s profile in the music world. But the Hard Rock’s decision to open its first hotel in Europe on the island also represents a sign of the island’s clout in the finance world, which is clearly responding to market fundamentals, not the latest pop trend.