Pikes, Ibiza
Pikes hotel, Ibiza, Spain; exact filming position not pinned
1983 · music video
Club Tropicana: Pikes becomes a film set
The hotel pool, Tony Pike’s screen appearance and one room behind the holiday fantasy in Wham!’s video.
Duncan Gibbins’s Club Tropicana video turned Pikes in Ibiza into a fictional holiday destination in 1983. The hotel’s own history locates the pool scenes, Tony Pike’s appearance behind the bar and the interior sequence in a room later renumbered 16. A real hotel supplied the spaces through which the short film’s story unfolded.
Explore the places
These historical places remain in the list while their map positions are researched.
- Pikes, Ibiza — Position not yet established
A pool at the centre of the picture
Pikes identifies its pool as the centre of much of Gibbins’s video: George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley float, swim and sip cocktails while the holiday party takes shape around them. Tony Pike appears as the barman in a Panama hat. The location and its owner became part of the performance rather than merely providing an anonymous background. The hotel’s white walls and outdoor spaces helped give the fictional club its visual identity. [1]
One room plays several interiors
The hotel’s room history says the preparation scenes were filmed in a single room, originally numbered 2 and renumbered 16 in 2011. Different angles make the interior seem more extensive. Cast and crew occupied other rooms while this one was reserved for filming. That small production detail changes how the sequence reads: a compact hotel room became several apparent spaces through camera placement and editing. [2]
The holiday ends with a reveal
The later scenes turn the holidaymakers into airline crew preparing for work. Pikes connects the packing, shaving and dressing sequence to the same room, before the characters cross paths on departure. The video gives its setting a narrative rhythm: arrival, leisure and return to a working life. Today’s room number belongs to the hotel’s later history, so it should not be mistaken for the number the crew would have encountered in 1983. [1] [2]
The story in real places
Reading the place today
Pikes remains a hotel and entertainment property. Consult its operator for access arrangements. A room’s historical filming association does not imply access without a booking or permission.
Sources
- Caught on camera: Club Tropicana — Pikes Ibiza. Checked 2026-10-17.
- Inside Room 16 — Pikes Ibiza / White Ibiza. Checked 2026-10-17.