Review - Ibiza Adult Nightlife Resort ⭐️
Update - Ibiza SL has now shut!
At the end of last Summer I went to the (now closed) Timor Isles, a Bali-themed resort. I was blown away by it. I hadn’t realised that such places, which mimic the look and feel of RL hotels, right down to checking in at a reception desk and having brunch in a resort restaurant, exist.
That stay ultimately paved my way to me producing this website, and I’ve now probably been to more Second Life hotels than anyone - 40 at last count.
The 40th place I stayed in, and the subject of this review, was the Ibiza Adult Nightlife Resort. And Ibiza in fact comes from the same team that built Timor Isles (they also built Winter in New York).
Like Timor Isles last year, Ibiza delivers an amazing experience, and I recommend it highly. Go and book a stay. Then maybe as Timor Isles was for me last year, it can be your gateway into the many other Second Life vacation experiences that exist.
Overall look and feel
Ibiza consists of several sections built around a sea. There’s a main hotel area, a restaurant and an amusement park, a series of beach spots, spa and yoga centres and a main reception building.
Three things really stood out for me.
First of all, the scale, it’s spread across three sims but it feels even bigger. Secondly, it’s very well designed, and has a bright and colourful feel to it. Finally, the attention to detail stands out right down to small touches such as a working air-conditioning switch in the room.
Score - 5 / 5
The rooms
Rooms range from 1500L to 3500L a night, with the top price getting you a penthouse with jacuzzi. Most of the rooms are arranged in a series of ‘hotels’ in one main building surrounding the pool. However, each hotel is in practice only one room, though you have your own lobby area and an elevator that you click on to get to the room itself.
We stayed in the Hotel Oro, a mid priced (2500L) option, as the name implies the decor is gold themed.
This includes a bedroom, large bathroom with a shower, and a private terrace, where the owners kindly provided breakfast.
Other options outside the main building include two smaller rooms with a terrace near the restaurant (these are the cheapest at 1500L), and a private yacht (2500L).
Based on what the resort has to offer, I think these prices are very good value, I’ve seen SL resorts charge more and offer less.
Score - 4.5 / 5
The facilities
As you’d expect the resort has a restaurant, beach areas a huge pool and a spa. Their spa looks like a spa in a five star RL resort, they have done a great job here. We booked a spa treatment, and the team that looked after us, did really well.
Then there is a mini golf arcade, a hill from which you can go hang gliding, and an amusement park with (among other things) a roller coaster and Ferris wheel.
What we really loved was the underground sea caves, which you can explore by swimming or by taking a boat through them (there are rezzers for mad pea inflatable boats throughout the resort). This part is stunning, and not to be missed.
Finally, be sure to go to the gift shop if you stay here, there are free gifts on offer, which is a nice touch.
Score - 4.5 / 5
The animations
Most of the furniture around the resort is adult enabled. In the rooms, there’s a Ruckus bed and shower. There were a few issues with PG sitting / cuddling anims in some public places, which took a bit of adjusting, but nothing too major. You can also rez your own anims for photos.
Score - 4 / 5
Other considerations
Ibiza is a private resort, meaning you book online and get a group tag when you ‘check in.’ That’s of course no different to RL, where you book a resort via a website, and rely on word of mouth recommendations or reviews from people like me to help you make your decision.
Nevertheless I’ve had push back in the past from a few readers about resorts that operate like this, saying they want to look before they book. But resorts cost time and money to build, pay tier and operate. Restricting it to paying guests means they cover their not insubstantial costs. It also makes for a better experience for guests.
Note that check-in is 4pm SLT, which is not so good for those of us on European time zones, but I’ve always found the owners of High Life Resorts amenable if you ask to arrive earlier. On the plus side, if you live in Europe it does mean you get a full final day, as check out is 3pm.
Is the resort adult? Yes - 90% of anims have adult options.
Lag? I run a 2019 MacBook Pro and my frame rate was down to a crawl (3) on ultra graphics settings when taking pictures. However on medium graphics settings, everything worked fine, and depending on the time of day and how many others were around, I was also able to run graphics on high without too many problems.
Prices? Start at 1500L a night
Privacy? This is a private sim, only staff and guests have access
Overall
This is easily one of the best Second Life resorts I’ve been. It was a magnificent experience, on par with the (sadly now shut) Lotus Palace Resort. Go and stay, it’s worth every L, and you’ll want to come back - we’re already planning our next visit.
