A complete venue transformation spanning stage design, hotel renovation, branded spaces, and artist-led performance concepts.

01 The Brief

Ibiza Rocks Hotel needed a complete venue refresh to reposition itself for a younger, broader UK audience. The venue had built its reputation on live bands, rock, and pop, but the market was shifting. A new generation of electronic artists, DJs, and producers were now the headline draw, and the venue needed to serve both worlds without losing its identity.

The challenge went well beyond aesthetics. Every element of the guest and audience experience needed rethinking: a street-level entrance that would drive social media content, a poolside stage concept built around a headline DJ residency, branded bar partnerships that satisfied two sets of stakeholders, hotel rooms that could command premium pricing in holiday brochures, and VIP areas with proper sightlines and sound coverage.

The headline artist that season was Craig David, whose TS5 Pool Party residency would become the centrepiece of the entire venue concept. His performance style, DJing, singing, and engaging the crowd from a central position, demanded a stage design unlike anything the venue had seen before.

KEY CHALLENGES

• Tight 3-month deadline before season opening, requiring fast iterations and simple, clear concepts rather than photorealistic renders
• Dual brand approval on the Malibu Bar, requiring multiple design variations to satisfy both Malibu and Ibiza Rocks within a strict budget
• Designing VIP seating areas with clear sightlines to the central stage while maintaining crowd flow around the pool
• Audio considerations for a central DJ booth, ensuring sound quality for both the performing artist and the surrounding audience
• Bridging two musical worlds: the venue needed to feel right for both traditional band setups and electronic/DJ performances
  

02 The Design Work

Central Stage & DJ Booth

The cornerstone of the redesign was a purpose-built central DJ booth positioned at the heart of the pool area. Designed specifically for Craig David's TS5 residency, the booth needed to allow him to DJ, sing, and interact with the crowd from an elevated, 360-degree position. The circular truss structure, raised platform, and surrounding walkways gave the performer command of the entire space while keeping the audience intimately close. The design became so iconic that Craig David himself praised it in press interviews, calling the hotel setup unique.

Malibu Bar

The Malibu Rum Shack was a branded bar partnership that required careful navigation between two stakeholders. Multiple design variations were produced to satisfy both Malibu's brand guidelines and Ibiza Rocks' aesthetic, all within a tight budget. The thatched-roof beach shack concept delivered a relaxed, tropical feel that complemented the pool environment while giving Malibu a standout branded presence. Fast SketchUp iterations allowed rapid sign-off from both parties.

03 Rooms, Plans & Brand

Hotel Room Renovation

The bedroom redesign moved the rooms from a basic package-holiday standard to a bold, on-brand experience. A monochrome palette with graphic art feature walls gave the rooms a premium, contemporary feel that photographed well for brochures and social media. The designs were intentionally achievable at scale across multiple room types, keeping renovation costs manageable while delivering a noticeable uplift in perceived quality. The result was a positive response from holiday operators, with the rooms supporting premium pricing in package brochure listings.

Venue Layout & Site Plan

A comprehensive proposed plan mapped every element of the poolside venue: the central DJ booth and stage, VIP bar with tiered seating risers, Malibu bar shack, day beds, sun screens, LCD screens, podiums, overhead zipline rigging, and glass partitions. This plan was the operational backbone of the project, ensuring sightlines, crowd flow, sound coverage, and brand placement all worked together.

Brand Presence

Sculptural brand elements, like the oversized Ibiza Rocks plectrum statue, reinforced the venue's identity at key touchpoints. These Instagram-ready features turned guests into content creators, generating organic social media coverage at no additional marketing cost.

04 Outcomes & Approach

Results

• Iconic Entrance The redesigned entrance became a social media landmark, appearing in photo shoots and thousands of personal social media posts, driving organic reach and brand awareness.
  
• Artist Endorsement Craig David praised the central booth design and loved his residency. The unique setup was widely reported in the press and referenced in interviews, with David noting there is nothing quite like the venue's pool and balcony configuration.
  
• Premium Room Sales The renovated bedrooms received positive responses in package holiday brochures, offering a more premium feel that supported higher pricing and boosted sales.
  
• Dual-Brand Success The Malibu Bar satisfied both brand partners within budget, demonstrating that fast iteration and clear concepts can navigate complex stakeholder approval efficiently.

My Approach

This project was delivered through close, hands-on collaboration with the venue owners over an intensive three-month period. The client valued speed and clarity over photorealistic polish, so the workflow centred on fast SketchUp iterations, clear concept renders, and rapid turnaround on variations. This approach kept decision-making quick and allowed multiple design directions to be explored without burning time or budget on unnecessary detail. Audio analysis informed the stage positioning, while site plans ensured every element, from rigging points to sightlines, was coordinated before build.

What I Can Do For Your Venue

Whether you are refreshing an existing space or building something entirely new, I offer a complete design service covering concept development, 3D visualisation, site planning, brand integration, stage and performance area design, and coordination with artists and sponsors. I work at whatever pace your project demands, from fast conceptual iterations to detailed production-ready designs. Every venue has its own character and constraints, and I approach each project by understanding both before putting pen to paper.