Adele F.
Yelp
Oh lawdy, where do I begin.
Ushuaia is what I imagined Ibiza to be. When convincing my friend to add Ibiza to our itinerary, my one-line hook was, "it's the Las Vegas of Europe." + amazing beaches + nature + larger quantity of attractive Europeans + more cray cray - gambling - pretentiousness.
Ushuaia is currently advertised as a day club, which correlates with the fact that most of their shows end at midnight compared to 7am for other Ibiza venues. Tickets will run you around 35€, which tends to be on the cheaper side. As most Ibiza virgin guides will tell you, it saves money to buy tickets in advance. However, if you buy online, you'll need to print your tickets. It's also possible to get the same price (or cheaper, if you go earlier) via ticket vendors and promoters. They can be found all along the streets and will have tickets for almost all of the clubs.
We were told that a picture of your passport suffices as ID, but when we arrived at the club entrance, the lady said I didn't need to bother and allowed us in. My friend and I were already excited out of our minds for Hardwell's Revealed Recording's Opening Party on 6/14 with R3hab, Sick Individuals, and Deorro, and the venue's layout only made it better. Like a Vegas day club, there's a big pool in the middle of the venue, which is inaccessible during the show. To the left of the entrance is the stage, complete with background screens, lights and lasers, pyrotechnics, confetti contraptions, and air blasters. Everywhere else is ample dance space, which, interestingly, is surrounded by hotel rooms (that must be a huge plus of staying at Ushuaia's hotel). Well-maintained restrooms are on either side of the stage, and there's a small gift shop to the left.
As for the show, Ushuaia has the lights and sounds down. It even has airplanes that fly overhead throughout the show, due to its proximity to the airport. As with most Ibiza clubs, drinks are preposterously priced, and water is 9€ for a 250ml bottle (which is bigger than the water bottle Space gives you, btdubs). Pro tip: drink a bunch of water before entering the club (my friend and I downed 1.5L each) to prevent dehydration without breaking the bank. The bathrooms are a short walk away. Oh, and there doesn't seem to be a dress code, so wear comfy clothes and shoes. Given the amount of space, we didn't have any issues with people stepping on our feet (but we did at Space since it was so packed--oh the irony).
My guess is that the relative affordability and spaciousness of Ushuaia is due to the fact that the venue is more Las Vegas than it is Ibiza in terms of show times and DJs, so it may be less popular with Europeans. But dancing in a spacious, open air venue with amazing theatrics, planes flying overhead, and DJs playing songs I knew made Ushuaia my fav. Though I know my European friends frown upon the "Americanization" of the Ibiza EDM scene (Ushuaia recently bought Space across the street), I'm smiling a bit wider :)