“I want a dancer’s bottom”

Nikki Beach will be holding this season's legendary Red Closing Party on 29 September.

Living here as long as I have – 18 years plus a stint back in the 80s – you sometimes tend to forget just how much there is on offer on the Costa del Sol to take advantage of. As going to the recent Full Moon Party at Nikki Beach made me realise.

Nikki Beach has become an institution on the Coast, holding some of the most glamorous parties and playing host to stars, billionaires and those that aspire to the celebrity culture we live in. If you’re a cynical old coot like me, you’re easily led down the grumpy old man route on how everything is expensive, false and just plain wrong… so it was with some trepidation and a little bit of grumbling that I went along…

But you know what? Nikki Beach do what they do very, very well indeed. The Full Moon Party was a perfect excuse to sit in lovely surroundings, looking out at a magnificent beach and sparkling sea, with the dining area candlelit under gently billowing sails, whilst scantily clad dancers gyrated in the background. All this is going on as you sip on a fresh cocktail made exclusively for you by the helpful and friendly staff. What’s not to like?

My semi trance-like state was interrupted by my wife saying very clearly that she wanted a dancer’s bottom. I wasn’t sure if she meant that she wanted one to take home, or if it was the name of a new cocktail. No, she said it again and expanded on this by saying that all her life she has tried to have a dancer’s bottom and then proceeded to explain the many different exercises she had tried, but to no avail. My mind raced with hundreds of responses but sensibly I kept silent.

A little girl there obviously thought a lot of the dancers, too, and spent a happy time making them pose for photographs. The dancers were relaxed and cooperative and non diva-ish.

The Full Moon Party boasted a lot of entertainment, in fact the evening programme included dancers, trumpeters, a violinist and drummers. After the dancers, we had Ruben, a great musician who managed to make music that embodied the atmosphere, enabling me to fall back into the happy reverie I’d been in.

Nikki Beach – part of the international Nikki Beach family – has been on the Coast for 10 years now, and will be holding this season’s legendary Red Closing Party on 29 September. They are situated on the beach behind the Hotel Don Carlos in Elviria and are open from May through to the end of September. Nikki Beach opening hours in September are from 10am to 8pm and meals are served all day.

After all the chicness of Nikki Beach we went for a drink in Cabopino, a lovely, bustly port about 5 minutes along the coast. It’s full of restaurants and we called into Alberts, which has been there for ages and which recently had a complete makeover. It was packed, so we settled for a drink and a snack at Julie’s where we watched people ambling by and boats coming and going.  My wife and I spoke at the same time, “Why don’t we do this more often? It’s lovely, it makes you realise why so many people come here to visit and why so many buy here. We should do this more often.”

So, from now on, I’m going to go out every week to find my wife a dancer’s bottom.