Organic OASIS

Created by South African entrepreneur and philanthropist David Leppan, Los Patios in Ibiza will open this summer and provide a unique refuge of well-being and creative connection on the island known for its hedonistic party scene

- Kerryn Fischer

Ibiza’s reputation as a party island goes back to the 1960s, when hippie culture flourished here, and the island became a de facto place of creative inspiration for an international set of intellectuals, artists and hedonists, all attracted by its permissive culture and liberal freedoms

Of course, the island’s history is far richer than just the last 50 years. It was founded by the Phoenicians in 654BC, who are thought to have dedicated it to Bes, an Egyptian deity and god of protection. Bes used music, merriment and dancing to ward off evil, and his spirit clearly remains, if the droves of partygoers that descend upon the island every summer are anything to go by. There’s a tangibility to the island’s history, too, for in Ibiza’s Old Town the ramparts of the coastal fortress walls are considered the best-preserved in the Mediterranean, while the existence of some 4 000 sacred tombs, carved underground into the hillside, make it the largest necropolis in the world.

Ibiza has its fair share of mysticism, too. Just off its shores is an uninhabited island called Es Vedrà, where Ulysses was believed to have been lured from his ship by the sirens in Homer’s Odyssey. Not to mention Nostradamus, who predicted in the 15th century that Ibiza would be Earth’s final refuge after Armageddon. He could well have been referring to Los Patios, an organic hideaway that is set to become the destination of choice for in-the-know locals and sophisticated travellers seeking exquisite organic food and great company amid inspiring, beautiful surroundings.