In Praise Of San An

A well-manicured, mid-30s woman on our plane to the White Isle is talking to the young couple sat next to her. As you do on an Easyjet that's headed to a holiday destination, she asks them where they're staying.

"San Antonio."

Her voluptuous lips curl in disgust. "Oh God…"

"What's wrong with it? Have you stayed there?"

"Stayed there? I haven't even been there! Wouldn't be seen dead," the woman scoffs.

Like many, her opinion is derived from hearsay and decade(s) old headlines along with the misconception that the notorious West End is San Antonio.

She's wrong. Not only were there strong signs of a San Antonio renaissance this year, but anyone who writes off the original Ibiza party town is wrong. Forget the snobbery and open your mind. Here's why San Antonio shouldn't be written off.

Ibiza's current popularity is primarily due to it being the epicentre and birthplace of rave culture. That culture started in the West End of San Antonio and although the legend goes Nicky Holloway, Trevor Fung and their now superstar DJ cohorts discovered the Balearic sound listening to Alfredo in Amnesia (which is actually in San Antonio's boundaries), their first port of call and the place they spent most of their holiday were the West End bars and clubs. Nicky Holloway even opened the infamous Milk Bar there.

The West side of the island is renowned for its beaches. San An right in the middle of all the best ones – to the south Cala Comte & Cala Bassa – to the north Cala Gracio, the rock plateaus of Punta Galera and then Cala Salada. Cala Des Moro in San An, opposite Buddha, is the best beach in central San An and always busy with workers and young Brit clubbers.

The Sunset Strip, where Café del Mar, Savannah and Café Mambo dominate, witnesses thousands of people in peak season, cheering and clapping as the sun goes down. It's possibly the most famous sunset in the world. And further along the coast line, in July and August, people are still in the sea at Cala des Moro as the sun goes down.

When it comes to bars, the West End isn't everyone's café con leche but Babel, Ibiza Rocks Bar, Itaca, Tulp, Bay Bar – all examples of great bars that serve good cocktails with a pre-party vibe: the prices are more reasonable than elsewhere on the Island - and if you get a free shot it's because you're a regular or the bar staff like you, not because they're trying to pull stag parties off the street. San Antonio is also an incredible place to spot up-and-coming talent. It was Viva in the West End who gave Hannah Wants her first residency, and many more big names cut their teeth in the unpretentious DJ bars and clubs nearby. And most of all, Café del Mar, Savannah and café Mambo in San Antonio are possibly the best places in the world to see big name DJs for free thanks to their massive pre-parties for the likes of Solomun+1, Luciano, Music On, Insane and so on. This summer you could hear Guy Gerber at one bar and Marco Carola at another, just 30 yards away.

San Antonio is still the centre of worker culture on the Island. Living in San An, although expensive, is still cheaper than Bossa and Ibiza Town and that is why most workers head to San An in the first place. Workers have historically been tastemakers. They're organic, they're real, they're slightly undernourished, and they're not the result of a marketing campaign. There's a camaraderie, which can lasts a lifetime and San Antonio, with its worker-friendly bars and networks, is a big part of that.

San An is probably the only chance the island has of not imploding in a cataclysm of concierge culture and all-inclusive resorts. Booze-binge-ing Brits are starting to decamp elsewhere, giving San Antonio a fantastic opportunity to reinvent itself.

Andy McKay, the man behind Ibiza Rocks (the hotel, Pike's and Diner are all in San An), is passionate about San Antonio because he understands how important it is for the future of Ibiza.

"Ibiza is an ecosystem and to me the foundation of that ecosystem is youth. San Antonio is and always should be the entry portal to the island. It is the vital organ that the island must keep healthy.

Twenty somethings make the future; they are the disrupters. Without this market the island's entertainment industry will shrivel as the next big thing will happen elsewhere."

This year one of the biggest stories on the island was DJ Harvey's short residency at Pikes. A short drive outside San An, everyone knows the history of the venue: opened by Ibiza legend Tony Pike in the 70s and now owned by Ibiza Rocks, it's part of the mythology of the Island – scene of Duran Duran videos and Freddie Mercury birthday parties in the 80s and superstar DJ and rock star excess in the 90s. The combination of the intimate relaxed vibe of its timber roofed club and a DJ like Harvey brought the stars out this Summer and suggested a template for San Antonio when it comes to reclaiming its place as a clubbing destination.

The iconic glass pyramid of Es Paradis may have languished thanks to some weak promoter choices and an outdated soundsystem but, while it celebrated its 40th birthday this year it's still an incredible, unique venue with amazing potential. Eden had a nightmare with Gatecrasher last year but the millions spent on the refit are evident with the lighting, sound system and décor. Ibiza Rocks continues to bring once-in-a-lifetime DJ and live talent to San Antonio every week. And a new, three-storey club is being built by the Marina on the site of the old Pussycat club. There's a reason that Radio One have broadcast from the Sunset Strip for 20 years. San Antonio is real, it's authentic, there's loads to discover and it's getting better all the time. Don't let any snobs on the plane tell you otherwise.