Biggest Beach Club In South East Asia Opens It’s Doors In Bali

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The launch of Bali’s new beach club has been much anticipated. The grand opening of the Holywings Bali Beach Club had the potential to be spoiled by the company’s recent blasphemy scandal but thanks to high-profile stakeholders, new management, and a whole new brand image the launch has gone ahead without any further publicity disasters. 

Holywings is one of Indonesia’s leading bar chains with venues across Java, Sumatra, and Sulawesi. In June 2022 the company found itself at the forefront of a blasphemy scandal after staff created a drinks promotion that was widely considered to be religious blasphemy. While Bali’s population majority Balinese Hindu, Indonesia is the world’s largest majority Muslim country with 86.7% of people identifying as Muslim.

The drinks promotion offered a free bottle of gin for men named Mohammad and any women named Maria, every Thursday. Since drinking alcohol is considered taboo in the Islamic faith, the drinks promotions triggered a backlash that led to authorities in Jakarta to removing the business licenses for all 12 outlets and arresting six employees.

Despite the recent scandal plans for the opening of the company’s latest development remained in place. The venue has been opened under a different name than excepted and is branded noticeably different from other Holywings venues throughout Indonesia. 

Atlas Beach Fest is a giant new development in Canggu that is being promoted as Bali’s largest one-stop lifestyle center. The venue includes the Atlas Beach Club which claims to have the longest bar in Asia and according to its website is the world’s first beach festival. The website also notes that the venue has the longest poolside in South East Asia, and hosts the biggest street market in Bali.

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A post shared by Dr. Hotman Paris SH M.Hum (@hotmanparisofficial)

The grand opening was attended by some of Indonesia’s most popular celebrities and influencers, some of whom are also stakeholders. TV host and attorney Hotman Paris told the press during the grand opening event on Monday that ‘Everything is here, one-stop entertainment, we open jobs for the Balinese people, cooperate with MSMEs, invite entrepreneurs to work together’. He announced that the venue can accommodate 10,000 people across 52 different restaurant and merchandise outlets.

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A post shared by Atlas Beach Fest (@atlasbeachfest)

Atlas Beach Fest opens with 1,000 new employees, many of whom are from Bali. When reporters asked about the fate of the employees in Jakarta who lost their jobs due to the closing of the outlets, Paris replied ‘Anyway, for now, we are still handling it. The details cannot be given in detail. But indeed it is the hardest for us’. 

Given the recent scandal, reporters also poked at Hotman Paris and asked about the permits and paperwork for the new venue and the last-minute name change. He responded ‘”I don’t think there is a problem with the permit, everything is smooth and has met the requirements for the beach club, just like the beach club next door’.

Atlas Beach Club is now open for the public to explore and enjoy. On Tuesday 19th July the venue will be hosting a live DJ set from world-class entertainer Danny Avila. The venue hopes that despite the delays in opening due to the pandemic the club will be a destination for all people to enjoy.

Offering an exceptional array of food outlets, a department store, street market, nightclub, and beach club the Holywings teams have catered to every visitor’s every need and wish.

General admission to the beach club starts at IDR 150,000 and includes a drinks voucher. Visitors can hire VIP poolside daybeds from IDR 1,000,000 up to IDR 5,000,000 for the premium cabanas. Booking is being advised, but access to the Atlas Communal Area is free for all, except on event days, and is where visitors can explore the Culinary Ground, Department Store, and Thematic Street Market.