Some venues on Ibiza carry a certain magic, before you’ve even stepped foot inside. Bora Bora is one of those names.
Mention it to anyone who knows the island and you’ll instantly get a nostalgic nod, a memorable story or the classic response, "you should have experienced it back in the day". We all know the one.
The spiritual home of Ibiza’s legendary daytime party scene, Bora Bora became famous for its hedonistic all-day sessions. Although the island has moved on, Hot Creations is determined to bring that spirit back this summer with four key dates at the newly refurbished complex.
Coming in HOT!
Founded by Jamie Jones and Lee Foss in 2010, Hot Creations laid the foundation for what would later become Jones’ Paradise party (indeed, 2012's debut year was called Hot Creations presents Paradise). Fast forward 16 years and the label has returned to Ibiza.
Last week, we headed down for the opening party. Perhaps more importantly, it was both Becky and I's first time experiencing it in its current glory. I say that without an once of embarrassment. We won't be making any apologies for being born too young. Better late than never…
Legendary, though the name may be, Bora Bora isn’t frozen in time.
The holiday apartments bearing its name remains in its famous spot. Meanwhile, the surrounding space including the beach club and bar has since transformed into Playa Soleil. That distinction is important to make, although walking into the venue's poolside courtyard, you can still feel the history hanging in the air.
Arriving at the door at 15:00, the Spotlight team had been invited down for lunch by the promoter alongside a handful pf influencers and notable TikTokers. After a late night (because, well, Ibiza), sushi, salads and Bloody Marys felt like a very necessary recovery prescription.
Sudden replenished, we now felt ready to go again.
Having only previously attended Playa Soleil after dark, we were pleasantly surprised to see how much energy it had during the day. The restaurant was already buzzing, with a DJ playing and people dancing with their feet in the sand between sunbathing sessions.
Were these the types of scenes typical of the Bora Bora of old? Being young enough never to have experience it ourselves, it was certainly the impression our imagination conjured. Older visitors may disagree, but ignorance is bliss in our case. Allow it.
After a couple hours of dining and lounging around, it was time to head through next door to the new-look Bora Bora.
Surrounded by hotel rooms with balconies overlooking the dancefloor on either side, a modest pool and canopies to create shade over the crowd and a handful of VIP tables, it has that rare Ibiza feeling of a party happening somewhere it probably shouldn’t.
First up was Joe Rolét, one of West London’s finest selectors and the very man behind last summer’s Hot Creations anthem No Hesitating. He eased everyone in perfectly with Deep House gems slowly building the energy as the dancefloor began to fill.
Then came Joshwa, another familiar face from the Hot Creations family. He picked up the pace with a more current House sound, which the crowd absolutely lapped it up.
Speaking of the crowd, that was one of the biggest surprises of the day.
With such an iconic label behind the party, I expected a more seasoned Hot Creations crowd, but Ibiza’s younger generation turned up in numbers. The kids clearly know their House history. That, or they're just massive Luke Dean fans! Hmmm. The jury's out.
Whatever their motivation for being there, the most important thing was that they were.
The best part of the day was seeing the generations collide - and not just on the dancefloor.
Young gun Locky went back-to-back with founder Lee Foss, while fledgling Luke Dean teamed up with old Garage head MJ Cole, creating a perfect mix of fresh faces and dance music royalty.
Despite a few minor sound issues, the day was full of fun - and, regardless of the year on the calendar, that has always been the most important ingredient. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise, irrespective of how many years service they have given Ibiza.
The older generation can lead the way, but the kids will always take it and make their own thing out of it.
It genuinely felt like stepping into one of those grainy archive Ibiza videos from a decade ago. Hot Creations brought back a little piece of Ibiza’s golden daytime era. If you missed this, fear not, you have three more opportunities later this summer - and the line-ups are just as good, if not better!
Across 7 August and 4 and 25 September, you can catch the likes of Dusky, Miguel Campbell, Patrick Topping, Richy Ahmed, wAFF and special guests TBA, as well as a host of the newer generation.
Tickets and line-ups to all three dates can be found below or by visiting out definitive party calendar.
PHOTOGRAPHY | by Fernando Valencia
