Inside Chinois, the Intimate Membership Refusing to Get Swallowed Up by Ibiza’s Company Circus

Ibiza has spent the last decade selling itself, and somewhere in the transaction, it forgot what it was selling.

The storied Spanish party island is small enough to drive across in an hour yet vast enough to contain entire universes of sound, memory and mythology. For decades, it has functioned as a kind of secular pilgrimage site where dance music enthusiasts arrive by the hundreds of thousands each summer, chasing something they can rarely name but instantly recognize when they find it.

The trouble is, somewhere between the corporatized superclubs, the VIP economics and the mainstream headline DJs, that ineffable thing got harder to find. The music remained, but the dancefloors began losing their soul as the rituals around them grew increasingly curated for the camera rather than the body.

The White Isle has always been many things to many people, but lately it has been most profitable as a mirror held up to those who look into it with the wrong intentions. In other words, there’s a version of Ibiza that exists on social media and one that used to exist on those dancefloors, and the distance between them grows grimly wider every summer.

Enter Chinois. It’s one of the only remaining clubs, along with the trusty Amnesia, where you can experience some semblance of the old version.

Nestled within the sumptuous Ibiza Gran Hotel in the heart of the scenic Marina Botafoch, Chinois is betting on an old truth: that the best nights out have never really been about the venue at all. They have been about a specific song arriving at a specific moment, catching a stranger’s eye across a dark room and feeling, briefly, that the world outside has been placed on hold.

Chinois is built around the belief that this experience is still achievable and that Ibiza, beneath its commercial surface, is still hungry for it.

The club’s fifth season is launching in April with its ‘Chinois Presents’ showcases as well as the return of the beloved parties ‘TRIP’ and ‘BOHO’ and the club’s Chinois Presents showcases. DJ residencies will be revealed in the weeks ahead but the schedule has been confirmed to include Claptone’s ‘The Masquerade,’ Bedouin’s ‘SAGA’ and a hotly anticipated debut from the storied Defected Records, which in 2022 was named by EDM.com as the year’s best record label.

We spoke with Sharon Selene Arianna Simonetta, Global Director of Marketing at Island Hospitality, the company behind Chinois, to discuss the venue’s approach. Simonetta also leads the marketing of TEDxIbiza, the island’s official TEDx conference. Read on to discover our Q&A.

Chinois Ibiza.Credit: Image courtesy of Press

EDM.com: What specific moment made you realize that Ibiza’s nightlife scene needed disruption, and how did Chinois deliver?

Sharon Selene Arianna Simonetta: Ibiza today reflects both the evolution of the dance music world and the society we live in. The island already has legendary venues, but we felt there was space for something more intimate and more emotionally connected to the dancefloor and the community.

A lot of nightlife had become bigger and more transactional. With Chinois we wanted to bring the focus back to the Ibiza community, where locals can feel at home and visitors can discover another side of the island’s nightlife. Strong atmosphere, great sound, and a real relationship between artist and crowd, creating a room that feels energetic and where genuine connections can happen.

EDM.com: Ibiza has legendary venues with decades of brand equity. What’s your strategy for competing with institutions that have generational loyalty?

Sharon Selene Arianna Simonetta: You can’t compete with history, and we have huge respect for the venues that built Ibiza’s legacy. In many ways, all the clubs together create that unforgettable magic that makes Ibiza what it is, each one plays a role in the experience of clubbing on the island. Our goal was never to replicate that, but to offer something different.

Chinois focuses on curation, atmosphere, and musical identity. Because the room is more intimate, every detail matters, from sound quality to programming to the energy on the dancefloor. We also place a strong focus on community. We want locals to feel at home, and visitors to experience a side of Ibiza that is rooted in connection and music culture. In that way, the nights at Chinois feel personal, energetic, and close to the original spirit of the island.

EDM.com: What specific elements of Chinois’ atmosphere do you believe set it apart from those venues?

Sharon Selene Arianna Simonetta: One of the defining elements of Chinois is intimacy. The room brings the artist and the crowd very close together, and that proximity creates a completely different energy. The design is theatrical, but also fun and welcoming. The sound system is powerful and precise, and the programming is carefully curated.

We also have a terrace without music, which becomes an important social space where people can step outside, talk, and connect before returning to the dancefloor. All of these elements together create a club that feels alive, connected, and truly driven by the music.

EDM.com: What aspect of traditional Ibiza nightlife culture are you most determined to preserve, and what are you actively trying to leave behind?

Sharon Selene Arianna Simonetta: What we are most determined to preserve is the original spirit of Ibiza: freedom, musical discovery, and the feeling that people from all over the world can come together on the same dancefloor. What we try to move away from is nightlife becoming too transactional or purely status-driven. The magic of Ibiza was never about exclusivity for its own sake, but about connection, music, and shared moments that feel authentic. That’s the energy we try to protect and nurture at Chinois.

EDM.com: Ibiza’s nightlife has been criticized for becoming overly commercialized, with high prices and a focus on VIP culture. What’s your response to those who say the island’s soul is at risk?

Sharon Selene Arianna Simonetta: It’s a conversation we hear often, and it comes from a real love for the island. But Ibiza has always evolved. Every generation has reshaped nightlife in its own way. Today’s responsibility is to ensure that as the industry grows, the essence of Ibiza, its music, openness, and the feeling of freedom on the dancefloor, isn’t lost. At Chinois we try to protect that by focusing on atmosphere, strong musical programming, and a community-driven approach. When the experience is authentic, the soul of Ibiza is still very much there.

EDM.com: Social media has fundamentally changed how people experience nightlife, especially Gen Z, who is often more focused on content creation than being present. How do you design experiences that satisfy both the Instagram generation and purists who want authentic connection to music?

Sharon Selene Arianna Simonetta: Social media is simply part of how people experience culture today, and nightlife is no exception. The key is making sure that the music and the energy of the room remain at the center of the experience. At Chinois we focus on creating an atmosphere that feels immersive and visually beautiful, so people naturally want to capture and share moments. But the real goal is always the dancefloor. There are nights when the energy is so strong that people don’t even take their phones out because they are completely in the moment, and we love seeing that happen.

EDM.com: The IMS Business Report in 2025 noted the explosive growth of electronic music in markets like South Africa, Mexico and India. How is Chinois positioning itself to attract and resonate with this increasingly global audience?

Sharon Selene Arianna Simonetta: Electronic music has become a truly global culture, and Ibiza has always been a place where those different scenes come together. At Chinois we try to reflect that through our programming. We host artists from emerging markets, such as Major League DJz from South Africa, and we’re always interested in discovering new sounds coming from different parts of the world.

Our Chinois Executive Director is Danny Whittle, co-founder of IMS, who helps ensure that our programming stays internationally minded and connected to the wider evolution of electronic music. Our team itself is also very international. The owners come from India and Germany, and the team is spread across different countries around the world. That diversity naturally keeps us curious and open to new influences, sounds, and audiences.

EDM.com: If you could eliminate one widely-accepted practice in the nightlife industry tomorrow, what would it be and why?

Sharon Selene Arianna Simonetta: If I could eliminate one thing, it would be the feeling that nightlife is about posting on social media or chasing status. Clubbing should be about music, connecting with other people, falling in love, and feeling free on the dancefloor. When the focus shifts too much toward FOMO or image, something essential gets lost. That’s also why our tagline is ‘The Sonic Temple of Ibiza.’ At its best, the dancefloor can feel almost spiritual — a place where people connect through music, emotion, and freedom.

EDM.com: What do you want Chinois’ legacy to be beyond just being another successful club?

Sharon Selene Arianna Simonetta: Beyond being successful, we hope Chinois will be remembered as a place that helped protect the spirit of Ibiza. A club where music always came first, where artists and crowds could truly connect, and where nights felt fun, authentic, and full of energy. A place where locals felt at ease, and visitors from around the world experienced something special and wanted to come back. If people remember moments on our dancefloor that felt emotional, spontaneous, and real, then we’ve done our job.