Hostal Cervantes

About Hostal Cervantes

Hostal Cervantes suits travellers who want a simple, well-placed base in Sant Antoni de Portmany rather than a resort compound. The address on Calle Del Mar puts you 0.3 km from the town centre, so the bay and the north-shore sunset strip are reached on foot. Couples touring the west coast by car, friends on a short break and families who prefer a small guesthouse to a large hotel all fit here. The guesthouse holds two stars.

The stay is straightforward: a two-star hostal with a listed set of facilities that runs well beyond the category, including an outdoor pool, a garden, a solarium, a terrace and a fitness centre. There is a 24-hour front desk, a lounge and a pool bar. Room facilities listed include air conditioning, a TV, a minibar, a balcony, a safe and a hairdryer. It works as a comfortable, unfussy base rather than a destination in itself.

Location: Sant Antoni de Portmany

Hostal Cervantes sits in Sant Antoni de Portmany, on Ibiza's west coast, where the bay faces due west and the north shore is the sunset strip. The town is one of the five municipalities of the island and one of its busiest summer centres, with the waterfront walk and the harbour as the focus of the evening. Ibiza Town port is 14.4 km away and Ibiza Airport 13.7 km, so the guesthouse works as a west-coast base rather than a town-centre bolt hole.

Walking covers the town: the centre of Sant Antoni de Portmany is 0.3 km from the door, and the bay, the sunset strip and the bus services for the rest of the island are within that radius. Beyond it, a car, a taxi or a seasonal bus makes sense. Cala Salada and Cala Saladeta are 2.8 km away, Cala Comte 7 km, Sa Talaia 7.3 km and Cala d'Hort 12.4 km. In high summer the town is loud and busy; in May, June and September it is calmer and easier to walk.

Rooms and facilities

Late arrivals are covered by the 24-hour front desk, luggage storage and a wake-up service, and the lift saves hauling bags upstairs. Couples tend to use the solarium, the terrace and the pool bar; families appreciate the outdoor pool, the cot, the garden and the games on offer, which include table tennis, darts and mini golf. Practical extras listed include free wifi, air conditioning, a safe, a hairdryer, an iron and board, and a minibar. Cleaning and housekeeping are listed too.

Confirm the room type and what it includes before booking: the balcony, the minibar and the air conditioning appear in the listed facilities, but it is worth asking which rooms carry each of them. Ask about a cot if travelling with a baby, and mention a late arrival so the desk can note it. Check whether the pool and the fitness centre are open for the whole of the stay, and whether the car rental service and currency exchange are running at the time of travel, since services change with the season.

Getting there

Ibiza Airport (IBZ) lies 13.7 km from Hostal Cervantes in straight line, in the municipality of Sant Josep. A taxi covers the run directly with luggage; buses link the airport with Sant Antoni de Portmany, with more lines in summer, and the timetable is worth checking with the island bus operator before you fly. A hire car collected at the airport gives the most freedom for the west coast coves, and the guesthouse lists a car rental service and a 24-hour front desk for arrivals at any hour.

Ibiza Town port is 14.4 km from Hostal Cervantes; it handles ferries to Formentera (La Savina), Palma, Barcelona, Valencia and Dénia, and Sant Antoni de Portmany has some mainland routes in season. Arriving by sea, take a taxi or collect a hire car for the 14.4 km run, or a bus towards Sant Antoni and walk the final 0.3 km from the town centre. Sailing times and seasonal bus lines thin out in winter, so confirm them with the operators before travelling.

Beaches, sights and food nearby

Three coves shape the days here. Cala Salada and Cala Saladeta, 2.8 km from Hostal Cervantes, are the closest swim; Cala Comte, 7 km away, is known for shallow clear water, islets offshore and its sunset; Cala d'Hort, 12.4 km, faces Es Vedrà, the limestone islet about 380 m high that nobody lands on. Sant Antoni de Portmany itself is 0.3 km away, and the climb to Sa Talaia, the island's highest point at about 475 m, starts 7.3 km from the door.

Food on Ibiza is built around fish and rice. Bullit de peix and arròs a banda are the island's fish stew served in two courses, and fresh fish with rice dishes fills the rest of the menu in the west-coast towns. Dalt Vila, the walled upper town above Ibiza Town port, with its 16th-century Renaissance walls and cathedral, is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site listed in 1999, together with the posidonia meadows, Sa Caleta and Puig des Molins. It makes a half-day outing from Sant Antoni de Portmany.

A day from Hostal Cervantes

Start early with the 0.3 km walk into Sant Antoni de Portmany for coffee and bread, then drive or take a bus the 2.8 km to Cala Salada and Cala Saladeta for a morning swim before the coves fill. Return, cool off in the pool at Hostal Cervantes through the hottest hours, and head out again in the afternoon. Cala Comte is 7 km away and faces west, so it makes the sunset stop, with the islets offshore and the shallow water still warm.

Give the second day to Sa Talaia: the highest point of Ibiza, about 475 m, is 7.3 km from Hostal Cervantes, and the climb is best done before the heat builds. Then take the road south-west to Cala d'Hort, 12.4 km away, for a swim with Es Vedrà, about 380 m of limestone, offshore. In the evening, walk into Sant Antoni de Portmany, 0.3 km away, for the sunset strip on the north shore of the bay, then dinner in town.

Practical tips

On Ibiza, much of the tourism business closes roughly from November to April, so confirm Hostal Cervantes's opening dates before booking a winter stay; the main towns keep going all year, though flights and seasonal buses are fewer. The busiest weeks fall in July and August, when Sant Antoni de Portmany fills and Cala Salada, 2.8 km away, gets crowded early. The Balearic sustainable tourism tax, the ecotasa, is charged per person per night by the accommodation, with rates that vary by category and season; check the Govern de les Illes Balears for the current rules.

Questions about Hostal Cervantes