IBIZA CLUB GUIDE

THE SEVEN MAJOR CLUBS

Ibiza possesses some of the most famous discotheques of Earth… Pacha Ibiza is the centre of an ever-expanding global franchise, Privilege is officially the World’s biggest discotheque, Space generally scoops up important ‘world’s best club’ accolades, El Divino has sensational views, Es Paradis is possibly the most unique of all, Eden is ever on the rise in terms of quality and ambition, while the ever-more beautiful Amnesia is the most euphoric clubbing experience imaginable. Others fluctuate in importance, when they are open (the powers that be have a habit of eventually crushing emerging rivals) but these seven endure, to millions of international observers they’re entirely what Ibiza is all about!

PACHA

Avda Ocho de Agosto, Ibiza Town

Despite its enormous size Pacha is the major venue with the most intimate vibe. The sensual Main Room has tiered levels, view balconies and podiums, with a vast VIP area that is as much a part of the visual entertainment for the main crowd as the exotic podium dancers. A perfectly appointed DJ box plays host to a relentless stream of Garage-House-oriented superstar DJ’s in the main room, with the smaller Global Room sporting leading underground alternatives. The intimate El Cielo ‘funky room’ is soulful and legendary, the Pa-Cha-Cha area suits middling tastes, then finally there’s a spacious, cooling, open air roof terrace up top. Glitz beyond belief!

EL DIVINO

Nuevo Puerto, Ibiza Town

The smallest, yet most marvellously appointed, of the major venues, located amongst the multi-millionaire yachts at the heart of the marina. Indeed the venue was once the exclusive reserve of the jet-set, before opening up to the masses in the mid-90’s. Its location has long been its Achilles heel though, with a long time plan to switch the yachting marina over to the teaming port side of the harbour, and use El Divino’s side for more major traffic – and that involves the demise of the whole structure, something supposedly in place to occur after this season. Though this is said annually. For sure many featured promoters have departed this season – Hed Kandi, Miss Moneypenny’s.and MN2S for example – perhaps jockeying for alternatives ahead of the inevitable. Nvertheless, the unmatched view from the long terrace across the water to Dalt Vila is one of the wonders of the island and without doubt the best club-scenario. The comparatively compact dance area is perfect for more intimate vibes, with promotions displaying a strong tendency for erotic entertainers and dancers.

SPACE

Playa D’en Bossa

Once renowned as a daytime After-Hours location, open from 8am daily, though in more recent years developing into a relentless 22-hours a day entertainment complex with five different musical areas. This has been reined in by the authorities a little over the last couple of seasons. The large, darkened main interior (the original club) still tends to preach harder driving Techno-Trance sounds from the vast DJ pulpit. The entirely enclosed ‘original’ Terrace usually opts for housier-oriented underground vibes, while the ‘newer’ semi-outdoor Terrace, on the opposite side of the venue, maintains the ‘Balearic’ tradition of the original. Upstairs on the roof the Premier Etage Terrace proves a fabulous chilling place, while the very underground Caja Rosa (Red Box) interior clubbing room is ideal for niche underground and alternative tastes. Incredible!

AMNESIA

Ctra Ibiza Town-San An, San Rafael

An amazing ‘clubbers’ club, a totally euphoric space, with the main room proving an incredible spectacle as crowds reach up in adoration towards the high DJ box and surrounding catwalk dancers. The clubbers are regularly shaken out of their trance-like state by gigantic freezing fog jets that blast down foggy refreshment. The magnificent glass-roofed Garden Terrace has continually been expanded in size over the years (they build a new wall on the outside and demolish the interior one – you never really see it happen!) and now offers similar pandemonium, with its encircling VIP balconies gazing down over an exotic dance-driven bohemian orgy.

PRIVILEGE

Ctra Ibiza Town-San An, San Rafael

Officially the ‘Worlds Biggest Discotheque’, with an aircraft hangar-like main room that has a large pool at the centre (the place was originally an outdoor swimming club, and gradually developed to cover the gardens). It’s a truly amazing spectacle when in full effect (like Manumission’s of the past), with the main DJ booth perched on a central bridge that spans the water. Privilege can be divided up, to suit crowd size, ensuring the intimacy required by each event. There’s the Coco Loco area - an invariably funkified and percussion-driven space, plus the generally more pounding Back Room. Three entirely separate open-air terrace areas allow for open-air cool-down.

EDEN

Avda Dr Fleming,

San An There’s an Amnesia-esque quality about the high, long main room, designed with dance euphoria in mind. This area is entirely encircled by a wide viewing and bar balcony upstairs, where a large glass-enclosed clubbing-bar is located. Then there’s the impressively intimate low-ceilinged Funky Room which offers superb, sexy and soulful antidote to the energised mayhem of the main room. A raised VIP area on the ground floor allows the connected to linger behind the DJ booth, there’s a sometime open interior VIP chill area too, while the adjacent Garden of Eden clubbing-bar sometimes merges with the club for extended adventure.

ES PARADIS

Avda Dr Fleming,

San An The islands’ most unique club interior, with elegant Greco-Roman columns, multiple levels and platforms, a circular sunken dance floor, marble, greenery, lush drapes… plus that distinctive pyramid roof. It’s majestic! There’s the upstairs Galeria clubbing room too, plus a high VIP area and – just outside the front door - a marvellous little clubbing bar called Cafe Paradis, free-to-enter and ideal for pre-club drinking and intimate dancing.

OTHERS

They really do come and go, though DC10 – closed last season - on the Salinas road, near the airport runway, was a notorious After Hours club long considered the EIGTH major, primarily due to the acclaim it received for Circo Loco on Monday mornings. ANGEL EL CEL, PENELOPE’S, HEAVEN IBIZA… all are the same venue, one that has tended to be closed more than opened over the years. It’s proximity to EL DIVINO should one day see it assuming much of that venue’s traffic, if and when El Div finally succumbs to the wishes of the town planners. Also in the area is LUCIFER, is cool and kitsch, cavern-like club hacked out of a rock face beneath the El Corso hotel – but it ebbs and flows. LA DIOSA was theoretically a huge out-of-town restaurant-bar-terrace, though nevertheless offered numerous huge clubbing events in its large interior areas in the early-to-mid part of the decade, before finally being ‘controlled. IBIZA ROCKS HOTEL in San Antonio is a part time event space of course, and BOHO is the latest name for EXSTASIS in San Antonio. The BLUE MARLIN at Cala Jondal is another popular and intimate clubbing locale, as is KM5 – but I’m getting even smaller here (if no less cool), so we’ll leave it at that.