Today the space, renamed El Silencio by its new French owners, has morphed into a sand-on-the-floor seaside restaurant with gorgeous wabi-sabi-like styling, a pool out back and a menu by young-gun chef Jean Imbert, known as the Jamie Oliver of France.

On the rock face above them a series of legends, gobbets of feel-good hippie wisdom, had been written in paint.Not to be missed are the multicoloured installation by artist Miranda Makaroff and chef Jean Imbert’s avocado dish – it’s oven-baked and delicious. On a hot day it bustles with beautiful people who come for chef Rafa Zafra’s impeccably prepared fish and shellfish.

Lying in bed the next morning with the dazzle of a flaming June day filtering through the shutters, I looked up at the ceiling of my bedroom at Can Domo. The group has overhauled the house and its grounds, drawing on a deep knowledge of the area’s traditional architecture. Rechristened Casa Lhasa, it now specialises in natural and biodynamic wines, though the homespun decoration has been lovingly maintained. The old north-south divide is also increasingly redundant: you’re as likely to discover a cool boho scene among the glitz of the south as a whopping heavyweight resort on a wild northern beach. Which almost sums it up, except the rebooted San Lorenzo bar also does a great line in small plates such as Iberian pork loin with courgettes.Though most of my friends here have moved away, a few stubbornly cling on, resisting the sky-high cost of living in a spot that’s become a magnet for the super-rich.

Here, the reinvention effort was a labour of love, taking an Eighties, plain-Jane family hotel to the next level with a total overhaul, a fine, Italian-inflected restaurant in La Mesa Escondida, wonderful gardens and rooftop tables for soaking up the extraordinary panorama. The original fixer for anything you want organised while in Ibiza, from villas to chefs, drivers to yoga teachers. Everything was still in post-Covid recovery mode and a strange, faintly dazed feeling was detectable. The great dome of Privilege up on the heights of San Rafael looked forlorn and unkempt, the encroaching vegetation making it appear like a Mayan ruin in the early stages of being reclaimed by the jungle.Finally, the island gets the avant-garde coctelería it’s been wanting for years, set in the foodie hub of Santa Gertrudis. You might find a sparkly W hotel in a bustling little town never previously noted for its glamour (Santa Eulalia). A 300-year-old casa payesa in the classic ibicenco style, this gorgeous San Lorenzo property had stood abandoned for 80 years before its exemplary six-year restoration job.