On an island with some seriously chic places to stay, this year's big hotel launch, Playa d'en Bossa's five-star Ushuaia (ushuaiabeach
hotel.com) will give more established names a run for their money. Built on the cachet of the Ushuaia beach club to appeal to grown-up party people, it has swim-up rooms, geisha holograms in the sushi lounge and big-name DJs and bands playing the poolside stage.
Head northeast to find the cool parties among the palm trees at Atzaro (atzaro.com), a swish agriturismo (Shakira's favourite) with rural-luxe rooms and a vast spa that must have left Bali short of a few fixtures and fittings.
New from the Danish couple behind last year's super-cool hotel opening, The Giri Residence (thegiri.com) — all fabulously tactile design, a genuinely warm welcome and ultra-indulgent spa — is the Giri Café, a restaurant that's bringing a buzz to sleepy northern San Juan.
Santa Gertrudis village is still the inland lunch spot — its traditional white walls and soft lines somehow hold 42 cafés and restaurants. Bar Costa, the granddaddy of them all, is famous for its art, and shares pedestrianised street space with funky boutiques. But for seriously want-it-all shopping, just outside the village is Sluiz, which recently relocated into this bigger space for its design-led furniture, homeware and clothes.
As for beaches, the southwest's trendy Cala Jondal and its informally swanky restaurants, Yemanja and Blue Marlin, remain the best for peoplewatching — keep an eye out for the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Moss and Paris Hilton.
And while Café del Mar, just outside San Antonio, still pulls in the chillout crowd for sunset, those in the know head west to Cala Conta, near Elle Macpherson's villa, and the hippy-chic Sunset Ashram. Grab a beer from the beach bar, find a rock and enjoy.
Travel essentials
Way to go
BA flies to Ibiza from London City (summer only) and Gatwick.
