Bambuddha Grove - Ibiza - oriental oasis in the Mediterranean

You’d probably never know it just by looking at me, but Miss W’s favourite occasion has always been Halloween. While I didn’t grow up anywhere that trick or treating took place, I always envied those American kids and as I got older, aspired to become somewhat of a scream queen. When I arrived in Ibiza, I was thrilled of course to realise that Halloween was a Major Event on the social calendar, one that required maximum effort and military like planning precision…

Even more so than frocking up for a night at Pacha in the summer!


The place to be in Ibiza on Halloween is (and has always been) the hallowed temple-like grounds of Bambuddha Grove, and 2009 was no exception. This year, guests received strict instructions to arrive before 1.30am as the doors would be closed from hereon in – though those in the know will assure you it’s essential to reserve a table for dinner in order to guarantee your group some space to breath and a meeting place later on in the evening, as well as the restaurants famous MediterrAsian delights.

Driving along the San Juan road, there was a huge cloud of smoke hovering over the roof of Bambuddha Grove, illuminated by the not-quite-full-yet moon, looking altogether ominous and spooky – and that was before we were greeted by the car park attendants in monster masks and hoods, accessorised by their obligatory fluoro yellow jackets. Were they actually directing us to an available parking space (and let me tell you they were few and far between by midnight) or was it merely a ploy to lead us to our imminent gory deaths?



Thankfully, we made it though this ‘stage’ unscathed and the next step was to join the scary hordes (more on that in a minute) on the red carpet, single file only folks as we slowly filed into the very crowded bar. I was overcome with a feeling not unlike waiting to board a roller coaster or enter a haunted house type of amusement park ride – fear, nerves and excitement all mixed together.

Bambuddha’s usual Asian influenced décor had clearly been possessed by something a little more evil tonight, as spider webs, skeletons, masks and all sorts of scary memorabilia draped from the celing, walls, buddhas, trees. At the same time, Ibiza’s one and only fancy dress shop must have been very busy, as there wasn’t a single person inside who wasn’t costumed to the max. From fake blood and fangs to wigs, zombie face paint and even fake animals.

The beauty of dressing up on Halloween in Ibiza is that you don’t need to choose a character – you simply need to be SCARY!

And scary they were indeed (check out our galleries for the photographic evidence!). We saw Snow White’s evil queen, a dead ringer for Heath Ledger’s Joker, complete with custom dyed green hair (in fact, Miss W was a little scared that Heath had risen from the grave this Joker was so authentic). There were knives through heads, creepy dolls, a phantom of the opera, pirates of the Caribbean, scary priests, werewolves, witches, skeletons – in fact, anything you’ve ever been scared of and had to convince yourself couldn’t possibly be real… well, it was real and it was right here in Ibiza.

Of course, I’m sure the question you’re all asking yourselves right now is just who did Miss W dress up as? I can’t tell you, or I’d risk revealing my true identity… or would I?

DJ Ryan O’Gorman was spinning some scary tunes in the back bar, which resembled the set of Michael Jackson’s thriller video what with all the ghouls and ghosts dancing their hearts (and brains!) out. Unfortunately, as we arrived the bar in here was closed, meaning we had to do a complete 180 and head back into the cocktail bar – along with the rest of the room – no mean feat in itself..... "