€40 Million Makeover For New Tanit Hotel Ibiza
Written by Dan Kirwan
Long a popular, all-inclusive staple on the San Antonio Family Hotel market, the much loved Fiesta Tanit Hotel, will wave a sad farewell to its old three-star British package holiday image when it reopens as a luxury all-inclusive, Adults Only Hotel in May 2022. The Hotel, one of the biggest in San Antonio, holds a special place in the heart of old Mr Matutes, as it was the star performer for many years in his indigenous Fiesta Hotel Chain, which he built from the ground up in the 1970s after Franco had encouraged local investment into the mass tourism market. It is sure to be a poignant moment for the Matutes family, as the closure of The Tanit will mark the end of the Fiesta Hotel Group which has operated for six decades on the island and is the parent of its more privileged Palladium Group today.
With so many luxury brands now indentured into the Matutes Group, Tanit from next season will be part of its latest rebranding vehicle christened TRS Hotels {it operates four hotels in the Caribbean} offering, “a unique holiday experience where you can enjoy freedom and comfort in an exclusive setting, with a wide range of premium services, extensive dining options, and personal, 24-hour service: all in an exceptional setting right in the heart of nature. Our ‘Infinite Indulgence’ all-inclusive service will surpass your expectation”.
The Matutes group was required to refinance its latest expansion program last summer to ensure they could pump €57 Million into old hotel property in Sicily and Menorca and transfer them into their tried and tested adults-only model, which was fine-tuned in Ibiza for the past decade.
That investment into the traditional format of high rise All Inclusive rooms feels a risky one in today’s shaky tourism sector. If the industry does not rebound quickly, the group could find itself exposed. Many are selling rather than buying hotels after Covid19 changed utterly the way we travel with the Green Party who are in Government in Ireland stating earlier this week that, “Cheap flights to sunny holiday destinations will become a thing of the past in a bid to save the planet.”
The Matutes family are known to have their finger on the pulse of the tourism sector. They seem to be betting all-in on the luxury market, ditching the family deals in preference to the more lucrative, Adults Only model, where pints of warm San Miguel are exchanged for chilled Mojitos and Martinis shaken, not stirred, please.
As we speak, work is well underway after locals were permitted to remove old and tired furniture to start the multi-million euro refurbishment in what has always been a special area. Both the Cala Gracio apartments and its next door companion the Hotel Cala Gracio are also been refurbished. The Tanit, like its sisters in Playa den Bossa, will receive a €40 Million euro makeover in the style of Hard Rock and Ushuaia.
No demolition will take place, just a complete overhaul of its interior and exterior aesthetic appearance so the Hotel should have no problems opening for May 2022. I would expect its exterior to resemble the design concept for Palladium Hotel Menorca pictured above.
The ascendency of Tanit to 5* reflects the end of an era for Ibiza Tourism.
The desolation of the family hotel market in Ibiza has been surprisingly swift. The beautiful resort of Portinax, the gateway to exploring the unspoilt and boho-chic municipality of Sant Joan, was five years ago, predominantly an all-inclusive family-friendly resort, with over a dozen hotels catering to that market. I have not witnessed such a sudden overnight change in direction in all my years visiting the island.
Now, I think there is just one family hotel remaining, which is on the endangered species list. Alongside San Antonio, the unspoilt green coastline of Ibiza’s most northern camarc is currently where all the investment is taking place.
In July, Six Senses will open its latest Hotel and Spa at nearby Cala Xarraca Bay ( on the road to Portinax) under much fanfare. The Hotel is promising Beach Cave Parties, and famous chef Eyal Shani is considered the father of new Israeli cuisine. The Hotels 116 rooms have been constructed under environmentally sustainable and ecological conditions, the buzzwords in the Spanish Tourism sector these days.
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