Ibiza, Spain
Club / Indoor & Outdoor / L – 5-20k
City
Electronic
$$$$
VIP, Live music, Pool
Smart
Step into an unforgettable night at Privilege Ibiza and let yourself be taken down the rabbit hole.
Located just a few steps away from San Rafael’s city center, the world-renowned Ibiza veteran nightclub made its grand opening in 1979 and quickly earned a spot in Guinness Book of Records as the largest club worldwide.
The 10,000 capacity venue was constructed with night-long entertainment in mind – it offers multiple bars for your refreshment needs and uber-spacious dance floors.
A hub for electronic music and celebrated DJs such as Don Rafaelo and Eddie Queen, Privilege Ibiza is frequented by thousands of revellers. With its immersive soundscape experiences coupled with extravagant VJ-ing, it’s no wonder the atmosphere at Privilege is always buzzing.
A staple in Ibiza’s nightlife scene since forever, Privilege has seen the likes of David Bowie and Led Zeppelin passing through its doors. The typical club-goer is young and stylishly dressed, so if you want to fit in make sure you match this crowd.
If you are looking for the perfect place to party, look no further than the open-air Privilege in Ibiza. After all, even F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said that there is nothing more intimate than a large party.
Here’s everything you need to know about Privilege Ibiza.
Though Privilege’s reputation reaches far and wide, this iconic Ibiza club is worth a thousand words. What started as a restaurant in Ibiza‘s San Rafael later became a bucket list item for worldwide electro-heads.
Privilege Ibiza had humble beginnings serving food until José Antonio Santamaría, owner and hospitality guru, decided to shake things up.
Santamaría took over the hub and turned it into a tourist and celebrity attraction under the name Ku Club. Renowned for its events and hedonistic air, it was pretty evident that Ku would soon reach legendary status with its then-unique raving concept.
In 1993, Santamaría was murdered, forcing stakeholders to sell the club due to the unprecedented terrorist attack. The club was renovated, renamed Privilege, and kept expanding from 1995 to 1997, thanks to new owner Jose Maria Echaniz.
Manumission, a sibling-owned party series in Ibiza, took the club by storm as it garnered the love of club-hoppers from countries like the UK and the US.
The special event was known for its sexually-fluid nights, parties lasting till 9 AM, theatrical displays, and inclusive environment. Following some creative differences with Echaniz, Manumission came to an end in 2007.
Though the infamous event was halted, Privilege was still the talk of the town. The Ibiza nightlife spot proved worthy of comparison with Studio 54 as some referred to it as the open-air version of its New York counterpart.
While Privilege is a travel destination in its own right, San Rafael, where the club resides, is a marvel.
The village lies between Ibiza and San Antonio and houses two of the world’s most famous clubs, Privilege and Amnesia.
San Rafael is a quaint town with a white church of the namesake alongside a few bars and restaurants. It serves as a retreat from Ibiza’s pounding raves and visitors can sit on its edges while watching The White Island’s crowd flock from one club to the other.
Dubbed an artisan zone, San Rafael has ceramics and pottery handicrafts that make for perfect souvenirs. The village is a true Mediterranean haven with one-floored white houses, featuring blue finishes and oak touches.
The nightlife maze spreads across 6,500 square meters and can host up to 10,000 club-goers – no, it’s not a typo. Privilege is in an independent building best described as a make-shift aircraft hangar, and its dome is so iconic it has become the club’s logo.
With a pool in the middle of the dance floor, multiple gardens with towering palm trees, and the main room imitating a hall-shaped concert venue, you’re bound to be in awe of its massive floor-to-ceiling space.
The Coco Loco bar and The Terrace (formerly known as the Vista Club and Vista Blue) are modular spaces with VIP areas. The Terrace is a favorite as it dons large glass windows offering sweeping views of the town and sunrise.
Privilege’s main room has a large stage, and its design is industrial and minimal, leaving room for decorations to change depending on the night, theme, and event.
With concert-grade lighting and visuals, a night of immersive partying is always a safe bet.
With a club as grand in size and essence as Privilege, you can only expect top-notch sound quality. Funktion-One is the Ibiza nightclub’s sound system – but it’s not what you think.
The audio company deployed its most recent creation Vero, which has been utilized in festivals like Miami’s Ultra, considering the club is more like a concert venue.
Vero is a holistic system combining sound quality with A1 technology and prediction software. To put it simply, you’ll be melting into the ground as soon as the bass drops. Vero’s 32-inch horns are the stuff of your raver dreams offering unmatched sound and bass purity.
Though Privilege Ibiza is an electronic temple, it has hosted its fair share of legendary singers. During its Ku days, Freddie Mercury, Grace Jones, and James Brown have graced the club’s stage, leaving a legacy only Privilege could accrue.
The club’s singing days are now sporadic as the pop genre passed the baton to electronic tunes. A list of industry titans from the DJ-ing scene have spun the decks at Privilege. From Ben Klock, Adam Beyer, and Carl Cox to The Blessed Madonna and Deborah De Luca, the Ibiza club plays hardball.
Aside from its guest and resident DJs, Privilege has hosted renowned events such as Tale of Us’ Afterlife, Carl Cox’s Pure, and Michael Bibi’s Solid Grooves.
While the club seems larger than life, Privilege remains a somewhat affordable nightlife spot – but that doesn’t mean budget-friendly. Entry ranges from €20 to €50 for regular passes, while VIP tickets range from €250 to €500.
The club’s top floor – where The Terrace is – has six different VIP areas, with private entry and table services. If you’re looking to take a break on a nearby high chair, you can forget about it, as only VIP spaces have seating.
Privilege just called you poor for trying to rest your feet.
Worried about getting to and from the nightclub? Privilege has your back as it has its own shuttles moving from Ibiza Town and back.
In the early ‘90s, legislation and permits changed for Ibiza’s nightlife venues, and the open-aired Privilege had to lose one of its main selling points by building a roof.
The club, however, didn’t lose its charm after the renovation. Freddie Mercury performed with Spanish opera singer Montserrat Caballé in a filmed event during The Ibiza Festival on Privilege’s grounds.
Whether a gamer or raver, Privilege has left its mark on the public – the club was spotted in the 2011 game Test Drive Unlimited 2. Its influence on art doesn’t stop there, as Privilege was mentioned in the British comedy movie Kevin & Perry Go Large.
Unsurprisingly, the Ibiza nightclub has an insatiable hunger for success, but it may have flown too close to the sun in 2018. After building illegal partitions for expansion, the club’s license was temporarily suspended until the summer of 2019.
When we said Privilege Ibiza was iconic, we weren’t exaggerating – the club is legit record-breaking.
The club caught the eyes of The Guinness Book of Records as the book defined Privilege as a ‘super club’ with a capacity of 10,000 club-hoppers and the largest nightclub in the world.