Isha Sesay
IT is the stunning beachside home that has left millions cooing about the beauty of Ibiza during the lockdown.
The sumptuous abode appears regularly in Netflix hit drama White Lines, about a DJ from Manchester who gets mixed up in drug-dealing on the Balearic isle.
Except the multi-million hideout is not on the White Isle at all… it’s in Mallorca.
Sitting in exclusive Cala d’Or on the south of the island, the four bedroom villa is actually named Can Pirata.
Owned by a wealthy Catalan woman, who lives between Madrid and Barcelona, it boasts jaw-dropping views and has direct access to the sea.
Renting on Airbnb from around €1,200 a night, it also counts on expansive gardens, an outdoor pool and now, the real bragging rights factor of featuring on a hit Netflix show.
Unsurprisingly, estate agent Montse Serradell from La Calma Rental Homes, who manages the property, has been inundated with requests to rent this summer.
“The interest has been huge since the White Lines crew reserved Can Pirata for 20 days in May and June for filming last year,” Serradell told the Olive Press.
And the show is one of the most popular crime series of 2020 so far.
Penned by Alex Pina, the creator of the highly successful Money Heist (Casa de Papel), the story revolves around Zoe, as she attempts to find out what happened to her murdered brother whose body has just been found dumped on the mainland in Almeria.
Offering a heavy dose of sun and sand in a world of hedonism, drugs and corruption, the 10-part thriller takes viewers on a rollercoaster ride while leaving many pining for a holiday on the beautiful island.
Yet the vast majority was filmed in Mallorca and features the infamous Restaurante Illeta in Andratx, the Son Oliver villa in the Serra de Tramuntana mountains, Tito’s nightclub in Palma, as well as Michael Douglas’ Valldemossa S’Estaca estate where a raucous orgy takes place in the first episode.
Although the show has already received much acclaim from critics, it has upset a portion of Ibiza residents due to its neighbouring island being used for most of the key locations.
British expat Gavin Harris who has lived in Ibiza for 15 years believes it has ‘taken advantage of the Ibiza brand but has given nothing back to the island.’
“Yet again people are trying to get rich off our island and not investing anything in return,” he told the Olive Press.
“It also hasn’t put Ibiza in a particularly favourable light and is solely centred upon the boring stereotype of sex parties and drugs which for anyone who lives here, knows that is not what our island is all about.”
The reason to hop across to Mallorca can be understood however when taking into account the excessively complicated bureaucracy in Ibiza where it is notoriously difficult to obtain licenses to film from local town halls.
“Mallorca is a lot more production friendly than Ibiza with a greater pool of specialist crew and way more locations to choose from,” Philip Finnegan, an audio-visual technician based in Ibiza, added.
“There are also hundreds of productions shooting all year round in Mallorca and it is known within the industry to be much cheaper.”
Serradell also echoed this claim, stating that the ‘possibilities for shooting in Mallorca are endless.’
