Pikes Hotel, Ibiza
| Ibiza Rocks House at Pikes Hotel | |
|---|---|
 Location within Ibiza
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| General information | |
| Location | Near, Sant Antoni de Portmany, Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain. |
| Coordinates | 38°59′28.9″N 1°19′12.28″E / 38.991361°N 1.3200778°E |
| Opening | 1978 |
| Owner | Andy McKay Dawn Hindle |
| Management | Ibiza Rocks |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | Two |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 26 |
| Number of restaurants | 1 (namedRoom 39) and 2 Bars |
| Parking | Yes |
| Website | |
| Ibiza Rocks House at Pikes Hotel | |
Pikes Hotel (pronounced Peek-ayes), now known as Ibiza Rocks House, is a luxury hotel in Ibiza, in the Balearic Islands of Spain. It is located in the countryside, 1.6 miles (2.6 km) to the northeast of the town of Sant Antoni de Portmany, and 10.2 miles (16.4 km) to the northwest of Ibiza Town. A 15th-century stone mansion which was a finca (farm estate), it was converted into a hotel in 1978 by British-born Australian Anthony Pike.
The hotel, cited as one of the most famous or infamous hotels on the island, developed a notorious reputation for hedonism in the 1980s, and is associated with being a playground for the rich and famous. It is best known for being the location of filming for Wham!'s 1983 hit "Club Tropicana" and for Freddie Mercury's 41st birthday bash in 1987, cited as one of the most lavish parties ever to be held on Ibiza.
By the 1990s the hotel had fallen into difficulties and after Pike's son was murdered in 1998 attempting to sell the hotel, it was later sold to the Ibiza Rocks organization, which also owns clubs on the island and the Ibiza Rocks Hotel in the nearby town. Today it has 26 rooms with king-sized beds, and the restaurant, named Room 39, has gained critic acclaim on the island.
Tony Pike arrived in Hull in 1978. Yachtsman and former hat maker Pike led a very colourful life, which had already seen him shipwrecked in the Caribbean, injured in a bobsleigh accident, serving in the military, indulge in heavy drinking, and married and divorced three times. Pike had rented a finca for three months during which time he met his next partner Lyn. Together they bought a derelict finca called Ca’n Pep Toniet in the countryside east of Sant Antoni and they decided to renovate it into a hotel. Tony, along with Lyn and his two sons, did most of the work themselves.Bo Palk, the managing director of MGM Studios, checked into the hotel just as Pike was finishing the last bathroom of the hotel. An acquaintance of Palk’s, Simon Napier-Bell, visited him at the hotel whilst scouting for a video shoot location. As a result, Wham!'s "Club Tropicana" was shot at the hotel in 1983. The video was directed by Duncan Gibbins with scenes shot of George Michael, the lead singer of the band and his fellow band member Andrew Ridgeley and their backing singers Dee C. Lee and Shirlie Holliman. The scenario saw George Michael "floating about on a lilo in his Speedoes and shades", relaxing with the boys by Pike’s pool sipping cocktails. The scene of the trumpet-playing took place in the pool itself. Tony Pike got on well with the band and he was persuaded to take a small part in the video as the barman in one of the scenes. The success of the video and Wham!'s status at the time firmly placed Pike’s Hotel in the circles of the music industry and within a short time the hotel was attracting other stars and people connected to the industry.
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