Travel Diary: Romeo's Motel & Diner, Ibiza - San Antonio Bay

Having had a trip to Boston and Salem for my birthday, a pricey trip to Florida planned, and an important house move on the cards, we told ourselves we'd be sensible adults and go without a sun holiday for one year. That was until it got to August and the wanderlust once again set in for both my husband and I. A quick internet search later and we were away...but no, this isn't a motel in some small town in the USA, this stylish, retro hotel is actually in Ibiza. Here's a little look at our last minute trip to Romeo's Motel and Diner Ibiza...

Romeo's Motel and Diner Ibiza is a Route 66 themed hotel in the heart of San Antonio, Ibiza. Located around half an hour by car from the Ibiza airport Romeo's is part of the Concept Hotel Group of beautifully designed hotels, with this one offering a little slice of Americana "for lovers and sinners". With its Quentin Tarantino-esque diner, neon lit interior, genuine vintage cars, a wedding chapel, heart shaped pool and even a leopard print 'play room' with private bar and stripper pole, you can see why I might have found it so appealing.

It's easy to see from the décor what attracted us to Romeo's, but besides the gorgeous décor, staying at a Concept Hotel means you can also visit their other Concept seven sister hotels without the day pass fee (around 50 euro), allowing you to explore the different themes, hang out by the pool and partake in the delights from their bars or restaurant. The Grand Paradiso was a firm favourite for me - a pastille painted Wes Anderson-inspired movie hotel. It even has its own cinema and a pink Cadillac mini pool.

Another huge plus for us, was that all of the Concept Hotels are adults only spots which means no battling kids for the pool or dealing with screaming in the early hours. A perfect, relaxing safe haven. 

For the most part, and this is quite rare for us, we decided this would be a pool side holiday and charge our batteries. Naturally though, we did venture in to Ibiza Old Town for a chance to experience Ibiza culture, explore the many boutique shops and sample the culinary delights. 

Contrary to popular belief, there's much more to Ibiza than clubbing and partying. We found some beautiful shops, including a custom cowboy boot store, countless vintage boutiques as well as a number of high-end fashion outlets. Of course, there were plenty of places to stop off for a cocktail or a quick bite and we really enjoyed a stroll and taking in how quiet it was during the daytime. Minus the speeding electric scooters that nearly claimed my life.

The surrounding areas of San Antonio Bay and Romeo's isn't much to write home about. Clearly hit by COVID closures, there were a lot of empty store fronts and little to do for couples besides dining. Romeo's doesn't serve a dinner menu and so we were forced to leave our humble abode, and venture out in the area. Besides a Spar supermarket, arcades for kiddies, your standard tourist trap souvenir shops and some heavily English-influenced steak/BBQ houses, we were hard pressed to find too much to do right on our doorstep. We did find a few more higher end restaurants but be sure to book these in advance as they were very busy and with limited space. 

That said, Kumharas Beach Bar was almost exactly opposite and be one of my top recommendations if you find yourself staying at Romeo's. It's family friendly and, understandably, the trendy spot was very busy as it offers a perfect view of the Ibiza sunset accompanied by DJ sets, signature cocktails and a selection of street food trucks offering sushi, poke bowls and Mexican inspired dishes. It's absolutely worth getting here for doors open at 17.00 to secure a seat as tables cannot be pre-booked.

All in all, we had a great visit to Romeo's Motel & Diner. We had everything we needed, the breakfast and lunch offerings were great and it makes for a beautiful backdrop for when relaxing by the pool. I would absolutely stay there again. 

Stevie and I still talk about this trip fondly as one of our favourites, purely because it was so relaxed. It was genuinely so nice to have what we consider a 'lazy holiday'. It's so rare that we get the chance to just relax, as we so often visit a busy city or theme-park where feel like we need to cram in as much of the sights as possible. If you're looking for a laid-back, time-by-the-pool trip than I'd  recommend visiting Romeo's, or one of their sister-spots around Ibiza.  

You may have noticed from my infrequent uploads that I'm not quite as active on here these days (do people even blog anymore?). For the latest, you can follow my many adventures over on my Instagram (and sometimes TikTok) via @popcornandglitter. 

Until next time fellow-travellers,