Cocaine in Your Cornflakes: Inside the Pikes Ibiza where Kate Moss and Grace Jones Played
The Pikes Ibiza still pays homage to it’s most famous residents, including Grace Jones.
Welcome to Pikes Ibiza, the legendary party hotel where rockstars, royalty, and rebels have all checked in—and rarely left unchanged. Founded in 1978 by the charismatic and controversial Anthony “Tony” Pike, this luxury escape in the Ibizan hills became the unofficial playground for the world’s most famous hedonists. Everyone from Freddie Mercury to Grace Jones, Kate Moss, and Jade Jagger passed through its decadent doors, turning every night into a myth in the making.
Pikes first exploded onto the international scene when Wham! filmed their 1983 music video for “Club Tropicana” there. George Michael famously played the barman, but his connection to the hotel ran far deeper.
“I joked that he must have women throwing themselves at him. That’s when he told me he was gay. I blurted out, ‘What a f***ing waste!’”
In his 2017 memoir Mr Pikes: The Story Behind The Ibiza Legend, Tony Pike recounted a surprising encounter with the singer. “He was such a good-looking c***,” Tony wrote, adding that they later made “tender and passionate” love. Whether you read that as bravado or behind-the-scenes truth, it captured the anything-goes spirit of the era.
Fatboy Slim makes a special appearance at Pikes.
The hotel was known for more than just celebrity cameos. Its wild, invite-only sex parties became the stuff of legend, with themed rooms, flowing champagne, and fantasies lived out without shame. Pikes wasn't just a place to party—it was where taboos were tossed aside in favor of freedom, connection, and sensual abandon. Even today, it hosts events that blur the line between performance and play, offering a safe haven for open-minded adventurers.
Tony recalled one memorable exchange with George Michael, saying: “I joked that he must have women throwing themselves at him. That’s when he told me he was gay. I blurted out, ‘What a f***ing waste!’” George burst into laughter—Tony figured it wasn’t the first time he’d heard that line, though back then, George’s sexuality was still a tightly guarded secret.
Grace + Tony
And that was just the beginning. Tony, who once described himself as a “sex addict,” never shied away from sharing his escapades. He claimed to have slept with more than 3,000 women—including, according to him, 80s icon and Bond girl Grace Jones. Their tryst? It began at an orgy. “It was pitch black,” Tony said. “The air thick with the scent of sex and weed. Music pulsing through the room. Candles melted low, casting a faint flicker across the tangle of bodies on the floor.”
Tony later revealed that his steamy 15-month affair with Grace Jones was more than just tabloid fodder—it was the best sex of his life. He described her as “entertaining and warm,” with a magnetic presence that turned every room into her stage. “We’d walk into a place and everything would stop—people just stared,” he said. “She had this untouchable, almost supernatural allure.” Grace, never one to shy away from honesty, returned the favor in her 2015 autobiography, writing that Tony had an “enormous penis” and she was “happy to take care of it.”
The hotel when Tony arrived to Ibiza.
But it wasn’t just the hookups that made Pikes Hotel legendary—it was the parties. And none were more decadent than Freddie Mercury’s 41st birthday bash in September 1987, thrown not long after the Queen frontman received his AIDS diagnosis. The guest list was a who’s who of glam rock royalty and fashion elites: Tony Curtis, Naomi Campbell, Bon Jovi, Spandau Ballet. According to People magazine, the night included 350 bottles of champagne, a firework show so wild it lit up the skies of Majorca, and a towering dessert modeled after Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia.
Of course, the cathedral-shaped dessert collapsed—because of course it did. But the party didn’t miss a beat. It was replaced by a two-meter-long sponge cake decorated with the musical notes from Freddie’s anthem, “Barcelona.” The celebration went on for three days straight, finally coming to a dramatic end when the front of the hotel caught fire and a wall gave way. Tony, ever the raconteur, claimed, “Money was no object” for Freddie. “He sought sanctuary in this hotel. What he wanted was a party the world would never forget.”
Rumors swirled around Pikes Hotel, including one particularly wild claim that guests were being served cocaine on their cornflakes. Tony later brushed it off, quipping that would’ve been a “waste of good cocaine.” Still, the resort’s decadent reputation eventually drew the gaze of the authorities, and tension between Tony and local law enforcement began to bubble.
Enter Spanish singing legend Julio Iglesias, who Tony credits with saving the day in the most dramatic way possible. According to Tony, Julio hosted a meeting by the pool bar—himself, the police chief, and Tony side by side. With a theatrical flair, Julio threw his arms around both men and pulled them into a kind of friendly headlock.
“Now, I want you to be friends,” Julio declared. “You two are very important people on this island. If you fight, it will be disastrous for Ibiza.” Just like that, the truce was sealed poolside, under the Mediterranean sun. “I was left alone after that,” Tony later said with a grin. “So thank you, Julio.”
In the 1990s, Tony made attempts to sell the club to the well-known Italian television producer Enrico Forti. However, tragedy struck unexpectedly when Tony's son, Anthony 'Dale' Pike, traveled with Forti to Miami. In a shocking turn of events, Dale was killed in February 1998, his lifeless body being dumped in a forest after being shot in the head twice.
Forti was ultimately convicted of Dale's murder, but this conviction was widely seen as a miscarriage of justice in Italy, leading to significant public outcry. Last year, Forti returned to Italy, raising questions about the legal proceedings surrounding the case.
