Location: Ibiza, Spain
Capacity: 4,500
Finishing its last season on a massive Hï, pun intended, expectations were huge for this latter-day White Island mainstay as 2020 arrived, thanks to a host of big-sell 2019 residencies. These included Black Coffee, Tale of Us’ Afterlife, David Guetta’s F*** Me I’m Famous, and the iconic Glitterbox, which released its own movie, ‘Where Love Lives’, earlier this year.
Needless to say, though, the past 17 months have been unnervingly quiet at the Playa D’en Bossa hotspot; its doors closed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with authorities keeping indoor clubs shuttered for the duration. At the time of writing, there is still no fixed date for the resumption of normal service, although there has been some action coming from the address. For example, a collaborative livestream with Defected Records featuring Melon Bomb, raising money for Ibiza Food Bank. Even without parties, though, Hï’s position in the 2021 DJ Mag Top 100 Clubs poll is understandable, considering our most recent memories of this spectacular address.
Room One’s Italian amphitheatre-inspired setup is arguably the biggest selling point, a cavernous space boasting the island’s most technologically advanced production gear, with razor-sharp audio via a custom-built Adamson Soundsystem and a visual rig that’s so powerful it can effectively change the entire look and feel of the place from one night to the next. Those moving kinetic lights and LED screens behind the booth and across the walls are truly transportive.
Lower-ceiled and generally more underground in vibe, Room Two contrasts the bigger one with sparse but vivid hues set in and among darkness, an eye-level DJ booth creating a deceptively intimate situation.
Last but not least, the so-called Wild Corner is an unofficial third club hidden in the unisex bathroom. Decks in the round, sleek speaker stack maximise space, while a revolving door of notable faces have played often-unannounced sets: Fatboy Slim, MK, Idris Elba and DJ Pippi, to namecheck a mere handful.
Topping it all off — or, more accurately, surrounding the building — punters roam freely over two outdoor zones: The Secret Garden and The Magic Garden. Ideal for cooling off after marathon spells deep in the action, the lush surrounds pack unique installations, trees and more, ensuring that while Hï Ibiza is very much a 21st-century benchmark venue, it retains the all-important and thoroughly timeless al fresco clubbing elements that have drawn revellers to the wildest and most free-spirited Balearic island for decades.
Of course, words can only do so much justice to a place like this, and while the future remains unclear, one thing is obvious: along with sister address Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel, you can expect a serious turnout at Hï once the music is finally allowed to play again.