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Pikes Hotel (pronounced Peek-ayes), now known as Ibiza Rocks House, is a luxury hotel in Ibiza, in the Balearic Islands of Spain. It is located in the countryside, to the northeast of the town of Sant Antoni de Portmany, and to the northwest of Ibiza Town. A 15th-century stone mansion which was a ''finca'' (farm estate), it was converted into a hotel in 1978 by British-born Australian Anthony Pike. The hotel, cited as one of the most famous or infamous hotels on the island, developed a notorious reputation for hedonism in the 1980s, and is associated with being a playground for the rich and famous.〔 It is best known for being the location of filming for Wham!'s 1983 hit ''Club Tropicana'' and for Freddie Mercury's 41st birthday bash in 1987, cited as one of the most lavish parties ever to be held on Ibiza.〔〔 By the 1990s the hotel had fallen into difficulties and after Pike's son was murdered in 1998 attempting to sell the hotel, it was later sold to the Ibiza Rocks organization, which also owns clubs on the island and the Ibiza Rocks Hotel in the nearby town. Today it has 26 rooms with king-sized beds, and the restaurant, named ''Room 39'', has gained critic acclaim on the island. ==History== Tony Pike arrived in Ibiza in 1978. Yachtsman and former hat maker Pike led a very colourful life, which had already seen him shipwrecked in the Caribbean, injured in a bobsleigh accident, serving in the military, indulge in heavy drinking, and married and divorced three times. Pike had rented a ''finca'' for three months during which time he met his next partner Lyn.〔 Together they bought a derelict ''finca'' called ''Ca’n Pep Toniet'' in the countryside east of Sant Antoni and they decided to renovate it into a hotel. Tony, along with Lyn and his two sons, did most of the work themselves.〔 Bo Palk, the managing director of MGM Studios, checked into the hotel just as Pike was finishing the last bathroom of the hotel. An acquaintance of Palk’s, Simon Napier-Bell, visited him at the hotel whilst scouting for a video shoot location.〔 As a result Wham!'s ''Club Tropicana'' was shot at the hotel in 1983.〔 The video was directed by Duncan Gibbins with scenes shot of George Michael, the lead singer of the band and his fellow band member Andrew Ridgeley and their backing singers Dee C. Lee and Shirlie Holliman. The scenario saw George Michael "floating about on a lilo in his Speedoes and shades", relaxing with the boys by Pike’s pool sipping cocktails. The scene of the trumpet-playing took place in the pool itself. Tony Pike got on well with the band and he was persuaded to take a small part in the video as the barman in one of the scenes.〔 The success of the video and Wham!'s status at the time firmly placed Pike’s Hotel in the circles of the music industry and within a short time the hotel was attracting other stars and people connected to the industry.〔 In the 1980s, the authorities on Ibiza grew very concerned about the wild orgies and drug use which were taking place at the hotel. They showed particular concern over the extensive cocaine use at the hotel. Julio Iglesias, a close friend of Pike, confronted the chief of police, inviting him and his wife to dinner at the hotel, and ever since the trouble with the law has been dropped. In 1987, Freddie Mercury celebrated his 41st birthday at Pikes, several months after discovering that he had contracted AIDS. Mercury sought much comfort at the retreat, and was a close friend of Pike.〔 The party, held on 5 September 1987, has been described as "the most incredible example of excess the Mediterranean island had ever seen", and "the most lavish party even Pike had ever thrown." It has been cited as a legendary party, with a celebrity guest list of some 500 people and up to 700 people in total which included Julio Iglesias, Grace Jones, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kylie Minogue, Nigel Benn, Anthony Quinn, Bon Jovi, Boy George, Five Star, Tony Curtis, Robert Plant, Naomi Campbell, and Spandau Ballet.〔〔 A notable feature of the party was its thousands of gold and black helium balloons which reportedly took three days to inflate, and a grand firework display at the end which was reported to have been seen on Majorca.〔 350 bottles of Moet & Chandon champagne,〔 and a cake in the shape of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia Cathedral were provided for the party, although the original cake collapsed and was replaced with a 2 metre-long sponge with the notes from Mercury's song "Barcelona".〔 The bill, which included 232 broken glasses, was presented to Queen's manager, Jim Beach.〔 By the 1990s the hotel was beginning to lose it reputation and a slow decline in popularity began which would culminate in tragedy for Tony Pike. In 1998, Pike had put the hotel up for sale. A deal was set up for the sale which turned out to be a scam and Pike was swindled out of £50,000.〔 His son, Anthony Dale Pike, flew to Miami to resolve the situation for his father. However, he was killed the same day of his arrival on 15 February 1998, shot twice in the head and dumped in a secluded forest at Virginia Key beach. Miami Dade Police detectives believed it was clear that he was killed by the people plotting to seize control of the hotel. The police arrested and questioned German tennis professional Thomas Heinz Knott over the murder, but the investigation led them to charge Italian TV producer Enrico Forti with fraud over the transfer of £50,000 from Anthony’s father.〔 In June 2000, Forti was also convicted of murdering Anthony Dale Pike in Miami. Forti is now serving a lifetime prison sentence at the Everglades Correctional Institution in Florida. Pike estimated that the hotel was worth $5 million (£3.2 million) in 2002.〔 He later sold it to Ibiza Rocks in 2008. At the time of sale, ''The Mail on Sunday'' said of Pike, "Stooped and shrunken, his face looks like a weathered Easter Island statue and when he walks he shuffles unsteadily, bowed by a life of excess. Pike's powers are fading."〔 A 2008 Sky Living TV documentary also showed him and the hotel in an unfavourable light, and it appeared to be living on its past reputation. In the summer of 2011, Pikes Hotel was re-launched as Ibiza Rocks House at Pikes Hotel. The hotel has been restored under the ownership Andy McKay and Dawn Hindle, the partnership behind the Ibiza Rocks, Ibiza Rocks Hotel and Mallorca Rocks brands, with new décor, whilst trying to maintain its rock'n'roll image of its most glamorous years. The new owners have made Tony Pike the first full-time resident of the hotel and he lives permanently in Room 25. Ibiza Rocks publicizes the hotel and its chain as "After sex and drugs, comes rock and roll". Scottish band Biffy Clyro and Kylie Minogue stayed at the hotel during the Ibiza Rocks Festival in 2011. The hotel has long been the favourite of Minogue in Ibiza since the 1980s and she is a friend of Pike who considers her "lovely and a real star".〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pikes Hotel」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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