For twenty years, San Antonio’s Ibiza Rocks has organised some of the biggest events of the summer, welcoming huge names and thousands of guests to its star-studded pool parties.
A brightly coloured square of hotel rooms overlooks the vast courtyard below, meaning tourists are never more than a minute away from the action.
But on Monday, as the summer festivities came into full swing, the venue announced it was pausing all advertised events.
It was the ‘right thing’ to do, it said, in the wake of two tragic deaths on its premises.
The statement came just hours after the death of Gary Kelly, a young British ice hockey player who fell from the third floor of the hotel just after midnight on July 21.
In the days before, the hotel had faced criticism over the decision to stay open following the death of Evan Thomson, who fell from the sixth floor earlier this month.
In their time of grief, friends and family bravely came together to share their pain and concerns for the safety of others.
Mr Thomson’s sister, Telia, urged that a glass panel atop the balconies would be enough to save ‘further families having to go through this unbelievable pain’.
James Shand, a friend, acknowledged it was not the first time someone had died at the hotel.
‘If something like this happened in the UK, the place would get shut down,’ he told Press and Journal, describing the venue as ‘inhumane’.
The tragedies have brought into focus past incidents at the resort and raised important questions about local regulations and responsivity to crisis.
Ibizan outlet Noudiari, reporting on Tuesday, assessed that the ‘latest incident adds to a worrying statistic that has led some people to refer to Ibiza Rocks as the «Death Hotel»‘.
There is nothing to suggest the hotel is responsible for the deaths. MailOnline has contacted Ibiza Rocks Hotel for comment.
Gary Kelly (pictured), 19 fell from the third floor of Ibiza Rocks Hotel just after midnight on Monday, July 21, in the party resort of San Antonio, where another Scottish holidaymaker also lost his life just a fortnight ago
Evan Thomson died this month after falling from the sixth floor of the hotel
FILE PHOTO: Ibiza Rocks on October 13, 2011
Nineteen-year-old Gary Kelly died after falling from the third floor of the Ibiza Rocks hotel in the early hours of Monday, July 21.
Police said that initial investigations suggested his fall from a balcony had been accidental.
Two ambulances were sent to the scene at around 12.40am, but paramedics were unable to revive the teenager.
Hours later, Ibiza Rocks announced that it was ‘pausing’ its advertised events programme, ‘given the seriousness of the situation and out of respect for those involved’.
‘The safety and wellbeing of our guests has, and always will remain, our highest priority.’
The decision came days after the death of 26-year-old Evan Thomson, who died at the venue on July 7, while on holiday with friends.
The young man from Aberdeen was found by friends after a fall from the sixth-floor of the hotel, before being pronounced dead by paramedics.
His mother, Lel Kellighan, confirmed her son’s tragic passing on social media.
‘We are all absolutely broken,’ she wrote, adding: ‘Please allow us some time.’
FILE PHOTO: The Ting Tings perform on the opening night of Ibiza Rocks in June 2009
Gary Kelly, pictured right, died on Monday, July 21. He is pictured with his girlfriend, Louise Essery, who remembered him as an ‘inspiring’ partner
Nineteen-year-old Gary Kelly died after falling from the third floor of the Ibiza Rocks hotel in the early hours of Monday, July 21
The hotel has seen two tragic accidents this month, prompting the decision to postpone
In the days that followed, his friends and family spoke to the press to raise their concerns around safety on site.
Blair Robertson, 25, told Press and Journal how excited his friend had been to see him as they met up at their San Antonio hotel.
‘I’d never been abroad, and being there with my mates made it special,’ he said.
He said Mr Thomson was ‘careful’ with how much he drank. ‘He wasn’t reckless at all – that’s why this is such a shock.’
After a night out, the group returned to the hotel. When Mr Roberston woke up, he found Mr Thomson was missing.
Mr Thomson had fallen from the sixth-floor balcony and was lying on the ground. Paramedics did not come for around half an hour, Mr Robertson said.
The friends were taken to the hotel manager’s office and allowed back to their room to pack up their belongings after about 90 minutes.
‘We heard the jet washes from the ground cleaning the area where Evan died and it had only been 90 minutes or so since he was found.
‘That was the worst thing for us to hear – how fast they tried to get things back to normal,’ he said in a brave recollection in the days following the tragedy.
The group were concerned that the balcony wall was only around 3ft high, according to the outlet.
His sister, Teila, said a panel on or behind the wall would ‘save upset from further families having to go through this unbelievable pain’.
Friend Remi Duncan, 23, also expressed concerns about how the incident had been handled.
‘It was disgusting. There was minimal respect for the situation, considering the music went back on soon after Evan had died. It puts a pit in your stomach.’
James Shand, another friend, said: ‘Seeing them post «are you all ready for the next event?» within hours of it happening was sickening.’
He observed that it was not the first time somebody had died at the venue.
Blair Robertson, 25, told Press and Journal how excited Evan (pictured) had been to see him as they met up at their San Antonio hotel
Following Evan Thomson’s (pictured) death, the hotel said in a statement: ‘This is a truly tragic and extremely sad situation’
FILE PHOTO. In recent years, the hotel has seen a spate of tragic incidents resulting in loss of life, and concerns raised around the safety of such events
On April 27, a 19-year-old Italian tourist died after falling from the fourth-floor of the hotel, having flown out the previous day.
She was said to have gone out partying before returning home to find she was locked out, and reportedly tried to reach her room via a balcony from a shared area of the hotel.
While climbing over, she lost her footing and fell.
Three days later, a British woman collapsed and died in her room at the hotel.
Paramedics and police rushed to the hotel and spent around 40 minutes trying to revive her, but she sadly died at the scene.
The 33-year-old, who has not been named, reportedly had a cardioverter defibrillator implant, which is used to monitor the heartbeat and treat abnormal heart rhythms.
In a statement regarding the deaths, Ibiza Rocks Hotel said: ‘Following the tragic events that occurred this week due to causes beyond our control, IRG expresses its dismay and extends its utmost support to the families of the victims, thanking people for respect for their privacy in a situation of immeasurable pain.’
Such incidents are sadly not uncommon. In August 2020, the hotel was praised for how it handled the untimely death of a young woman after she was found lifeless in her hotel room.
Amy Connor, 23, was staying at the famous party destination in the resort town of San Antonio, with her sibling, Toni, 26, and cousin, Alison, when she passed away in her sleep.
The group, from Coleraine in Northern Ireland, had been sunbathing before going back to their room to rest on August 20.
‘We had been down to the pool and then came back up to the room for a while, so Amy got into the shower and then got into bed,’ Toni recalled.
It was unclear what had caused the unexpected death at the time, but Toni did commend how staff were towards the family.
‘The hotel staff were incredible, we couldn’t have asked for better,’ she said at the time.
‘They went as far as making us priority booking, they paid for our cases. I had given them my card to sort our travel home and I told them I didn’t care what it cost just to get us home.
‘They even offered to fly us via London but we would have had to stay overnight in London and they offered to pay for that hotel too but we just wanted to get home as quick as we could.’
‘They packed our cases, they looked after us giving us food and water, you name it they brought it to us, I was so gob-smacked at their generosity in our time of need.’
Toni remembered her sister as ‘the kind of person if you met her once you’d definitely remember her’.
‘She’s so friendly and outgoing and she knows everyone, so we have been overwhelmed by the amount of people getting in touch since the news,’ she said.
Toni, left, remembered her sister Amy, right, as a friendly and outgoing person, always smiling
Amy Connor, 23, was staying at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel in the resort town San Antonio, where her body was found by her sibling, Toni
FILE PHOTO: The hotel is based in San Antonio and celebrating its 20th anniversary this year
Six years prior, Ibiza Rocks was at the centre of a probe into the actions of Spanish police after former rugby player Luke Rhoden died at the hotel.
Luke Rhoden, 25, died on September 2, 2014. Police said he had fallen from a first-floor balcony. He then picked himself up before running through the hotel screaming ‘someone’s trying to kill me’, a police source said.
Officers from the Civil Guard restrained him and put him into an ambulance to be sedated.
Rumours circulated on Twitter that Mr Rhoden had been beaten up by police before his death.
A Civil Guard source said: ‘Our officers do not beat people up.
‘They restrained him for his own safety and helped him into the ambulance where he was sedated.’
Paramedics spent 40 minutes trying to revive Mr Rhoden but he died at the scene.
Norman Rhoden, his father, later called for an investigation after reading reports his son was ‘excessively beaten’ by police on social media.
‘The feedback we have been getting on social media is suggesting something more untoward or sinister has happened as they were trying to contain him,’ he said at the time, reported by the BBC.
‘I’m not disagreeing that his behaviour may have been erratic, but what force have they used to subdue him? That’s my concern, that’s what I want to get to the bottom of.’
An inquest jury in Bolton, Greater Manchester, found in 2016 that Mr Rhoden had died of asphyxiation caused by the excessive restraining methods adopted by the Guardia Civil and an adverse reaction to drug use.
The Ting Tings perform on the opening night of ‘Ibiza Rocks’ at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel in 2009
Among the evidence the jury saw was phone footage taken by former Thomson employee Annabelle Smith on the night of the tragedy.
Coroner Kevin McLoughlin praised her and other independent witnesses for coming forward.
Ms Smith only stopped filming after a Guardia Civil officer visited her apartment overlooking the death scene outside the Ibiza Rocks Hotel in San Antonio’s West End and warned her to switch the phone off or she would be next.
On August 31, 2008, British holidaymaker Michael Robertson, 23, collapsed at the hotel and later died after taking Ecstasy.
The young tourist sadly died at the Can Misses Hospital after suffering repeated heart failure.
