Ibiza Town's oldest hotel, a Belle Époque palace built in 1933 on the Vara de Rey promenade, carries its neoclassical facade with the unhurried confidence of a building that has watched the island transform around it several times over. When the Experimental Group took over and relaunched it as Montesol Experimental, the challenge was clear: how do you honour a century-old institution without embalming it? The answer came through the Paris-based studio's characteristically deft collision of eras — the colonnade of Ionic pilasters and white balustrades left exactly as found, while the 33 rooms behind those louvred timber shutters were handed to a sensibility closer to a Balearic artist's house than a grand hotel. Arched rattan headboards upholstered in bold geometric textile, wavy-edged pine side tables, terrazzo-speckled lamp bases, and abstract custom rugs printed with organic shapes establish a palette that feels simultaneously Ibizan and mid-century Mediterranean. Downstairs, the restaurant pulls the same registers into a more social register: diamond-format white ceramic tiles climb the open kitchen wall, rattan bar stools ring a copper-trimmed counter, and a custom sectional sofa in amber linen anchors the centre of a floor laid in large-format patterned stone. The rooftop, furnished with woven bamboo chairs and terracotta-tiled banquettes, frames the silhouette of Dalt Vila and the cathedral of Ibiza directly ahead — a view that no amount of design decision-making could improve upon.

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Nearly a century of stories unfolding under one roof. An icon of Ibiza, a jewel at the feet of Dalt Vila. A Balearic gateway for Hollywood’s biggest stars throughout the 1950s, paving the way for peace & love in the decades that followed. Ibiza’s original hotel still stands. Spanning 33 rooms, a restaurant and rooftop bar, Experimental Group has reimagined the iconic hotel and the heart of Ibizan social life for centuries. Designer Dorothée Meilichzon designed the bedrooms with cool, calming colours & inspirations from Bohemian Ibiza. Cosmic elements, local designers pieces & a bit of sparkle. At our restaurant, café Montesol chef Alex Larrea infuses local delicacies with a touch of whimsy, concocted with produce from the area. Tapas style dishes for sharing, washed down with a cold beer or some of Spain’s best small producer wines. It's the embodiment of decades of stories, whispered from table to table.