Why 24 hours in Ibiza is always a good idea...

What's a (mostly) reformed party girl to do when one of her favourite interiors brands announces a collaboration with the legendary Pikes hotel in Ibiza, which also happens to be the very same place all of her best friends are congregating to celebrate a very special girls 40th birthday party? It's a sign, right?? Riiiiight?

Well, as far as last minute decisions go I took this one to the wire. When one of my best friends TJ told me she was hosting an epic 40th birthday party on the White Isle this Spring my immediate thought was "Bugger!" Because I already had my brothers wedding in Cyprus AND my sister-in-laws hen do already booked in for May and how the hell was I going to swing a wild long weekend in Ibiza as well?!?

Wham's Club Tropicana video was filmed at Pikes. We had better inflatables ;-)

So I said no. I opted out. It was painful. But I decided to be a big girl and suck it up. And for a while I was revelling in the JOMO (Joy of Missing Out) telling myself I was out of practice and wouldn't be able to keep up with the 24 hour party people anyway. And just imagine the hangover!

Then a few weeks ago I got an email from super cool Rockett St George alerting me to the fact that they had collaborated with the notorious (for the all the right reasons) Pikes Hotel. Pikes (aka Ibiza House Rocks) is the place where Wham filmed Club Tropicana and was also the venue for Freddie Mercury's debauched 40th birthday party. By now, the JOMO was rapidly turning to FOMO and now there was a work reason to go too!

Tony Pike and Freddie Mercury on the tennis court at Pikes

So with less than a week to go until #TJIBZ I took the plunge, booked the flights and just a few days later I arrived at Pikes for sun, cava sangria and snazzy interiors. My idea of heaven.

I arrived early and the birthday crew were in bed catching up on Zzzz's after the obligatory Friday night in Pacha. Which was fine by me as it gave me chance to check out the RSG refurb which came about after Pikes co-owner Dawn Hindle (she and her partner Andy McKay were behind Manumission and Ibiza Rocks) had seen the company's awesome pop-up shop in department store Liberty last year, loved their stuff and approached RSG founders Lucy St George and Jane Rockett about working together.

Having now been to Pikes it's obvious that these two brands are a match made in heaven. The hotel is a treasure trove of quirky, eclectic pieces from vintage signs to life sized painted crocodiles. The RSG pieces are in keeping with that Pikes rock 'n' roll aesthetic and bring an added air of glamour and gloss.

The first evidence I saw of the Rockett St George revamp was the super cool disco ball garland covering the courtyard. RSG have created three disco balls as part of their Pikes collection, ranging in size from a sparkly 36cm in diameter to a downright outrageous 1m wide giant amongst glitterballs, which has taken up residence in Pikes' nightclub Freddie's, named after it's most famous guest.

My eye also caught sight of a number of Rory Dobner murals scattered around the hotel from a collaboration with the artist, who is a friend of Dawn's, from a few years back.

It is one of Rory's large scale cat murals that marks the entrance to Room 9 which has been given the full Rockett St George treatment. Unfortunately the room was occupied by someone who wasn't in the #TJIBZ crew so I couldn't get in for a look around while I was there but I would have been disappointed if it was in a state to be photographed anyway. That would not have been very rock 'n' roll.

The Rory Dobner mural exterior of the RSG styled Room 9.

Luckily for you, I have lots of images of the 'grotto-fabulous' room revamp, for which the brief was to create an "after-party glamour vibe". To achieve this, Dawn has agreed to go over to the dark side and painted the wall's of the room in RSG's signature black. There's a cheeky 'Kiss Me' neon on the headboard and quirky typewriter lights on the bedside tables, while the bed is draped with a Moroccan style Handira blanket, making a nod to Ibiza's boho roots.

Elsewhere the walls are adorned with specially commissioned neons, and the brand's trademark quirky kitsch pieces are scattered around the room, including a giant wall mounted zebra.

The room is also packed with plenty of faux greenery and glamorous gold accessories from coffee tables and wire chairs to my all time favourite Rockett St George piece, the retro fabulous Palm Tree Floor Lamp.

The typically Spanish tiled floors have been glammed up with cowhide rugs...and guests can keep the boho vibes going by day by lounging on the porch in two 70's style rattan peacock chairs.

The end result of all this is a truly rock 'n' roll playpen which stays true to Pikes heritage as the White Isle's premier party destination for those in the know.

As well as the Room 9 revamp Rockett St George have also given the hotel club Freddie's a spruce up. Situated under the main hotel, walking around the mini club, it's easy to conjure up images in your head of some of hotel's famous former clientele going wild under the arches.

Paying homage to this atmosphere, the back wall of the main room has been covered with a specially commissioned wallpaper featuring Tony Pike's famous portraits, which adorn the walls of the hotel. Rockett St George have also had bespoke velvet cocktail chairs covered in the iconic print and set them up alongside the Palm Tree Floor Lamps and Birds Feet side tables to create a chill out spot for anyone needing to take a break from the dancefloor...not me, I might add!

Elsewhere in the main bar area the gargantuan glitterball dominates proceedings and the light bounces off this and onto the walls, covered in posters of former guests, including Kasabian and Boy George, before hitting the shiny tin tiles which Rockett St George have clad the bar with, to uber glamorous effect.

Under the glitterball sits one of Rockett St George's Bronze Effect Horse Head Coffee Tables. I think he looks very at home there, don't you agree?

Beyond the refurb of Room 9 and the Freddie's spruce, there are pieces dotted all over the hotel, which you discover as you wander around and I have a feeling there's plenty more I would have discovered if I had more time. This neon is part of the Pikes at Rockett St George range and sums up pretty well how I'm feeling just over 72 hours after my return from the most epic of 24-hour parties. I can officially confirm that these guys know how to throw a party.

Told you we had better inflatables...sorry George!

Safe to say what goes on tour stays on tour but the whirlwind 24 hours included a Club Tropicana themed pool party, inflatable pizza slices/unicorn/flamingo/watermelon, lots of Cava Sangria, Champagne, Tequila, one gold necklace lost and found, Flamenco dancing, Studio 54 afterparty, sequins (lots of sequins), Sonny's bathtub karaoke in Freddie's Suite and an epic DJ set by Bushwacka (minus Layo) . A suitably special/glamorous/bonkers birthday bash for this gorgeous girl. I'm so glad I was there to be a part of it. Happy birthday babe!