WARM UP WITH DIEGO CALVO
Tennis, hotels and new ways to experience Ibiza
Diego Calvo, founder and CEO of Concept Hotel Group, has spent years creating hotels and spaces that reinterpret Ibiza through design, music and entertainment.
We spoke with him about his relationship with tennis, the evolution of MINI OPEN, the world of Concept Hotel Group and his new vision for Ibiza nightlife with Nocturna.
1. What's your personal relationship with tennis, and what place does it hold in your daily life right now?
I grew up at Ibiza Club de Campo and played there between '85 and '98. My parents had a beautiful casa payesa — a traditional Ibizan farmhouse — 400 metres from the club, and my brother and I cycled over every day.
I remember pinning up magazine cut-outs of Gabriela Sabatini, Agassi and Kournikova. After 27 years I've picked up a racket again with my brother thanks to Mini Open, and now I play three or four times a week.
2. Tennis is going through a new boom that reaches beyond the courts and into fashion, design and culture. Why do you think it's happening now?
Everything classic comes back around, and tennis has a really appealing aesthetic. A lot of fashion brands are drawing on classic tennis looks right now.
3. MINI OPEN mixes sport, music, entertainment, fashion, brands and communities. What makes that formula work?
Mixing sport with culture and fun is wonderful — and even better when it's done with good taste. Part of the appeal is bringing people together on a really special day, in a way that's very different from how the people on the teams would normally meet.
4. How do you remember the birth of MINI OPEN, and when did you start to think it could become more than a tournament?
When Oscar and Iván suggested bringing the event to Ibiza alongside Concept Hotel Group, I loved it straight away. We have a very similar philosophy, so I fell for the idea immediately. I'm a big believer in looking for what sets things apart in the things I'm passionate about.
5. What is it about Ibiza that makes MINI OPEN fit so naturally?
Concept Hotel Group, haha. Mostly that it's an international destination with a steady flow of former tennis pros and famous faces from film, fashion and art.
6. Every Concept hotel has a universe of its own. How does a cultural reference become a hotel experience?
More than a universe of their own, each one has its own concept — the universe is the group of hotels as a whole. I'm a firm believer that hotels should have a story of their own to tell, and that they shouldn't just be hotels: they should always offer something more. In fact, the group's tagline is NOT JUST HOTELS.
7. If you had to match Concept's hotels to different types of MINI OPEN player, how would you pair them up?
Tropicana – Róisín Murphy
Dorado – Leiva
Cubanito – Ciller
Paradiso – Felipe Pantone
Romeos – Edu por las Noches
Grand Paradiso – Little Spain
Mongibello – Arturo Valls
Los Felices – Casey Wisenbaker
8. Where is MINI OPEN right now, and where do you think it could grow?
It's in an incredible moment. In Ibiza, the change of club is going to take it up a level, and I think Oscar and Iván will end up exporting it to other cities around the world, because it's a hugely attractive project for brands and destinations. There's already more than just rumours…
9. What did you want to bring to Ibiza nightlife with Nocturna?
Our aim was to create a place where people who love Ibiza nights can enjoy a 300-capacity dance floor with no phones, interiors very much in keeping with our universe, and an incredible sound system with eclectic programming.
It'll be the ideal spot for the Mini Open closing party.
10. Nocturna is built around a phone-free dance floor. Did we need to relearn how to go out?
What we need is to learn how to switch off.
11. To finish: any advice for surviving that week in Ibiza?
Hydrate like crazy with DiLYTE.
