Club Privé Bijou sits out in the countryside at Contrada Suvarelli, in the hills inland from Palermo, and it opens two nights a week. Fridays run from 22:00 to 01:30 and Saturdays from 22:00 until four in the morning; Sunday it is closed.
It is a members' club in the Italian mould — entry reserved to soci — and it describes its evenings as being for couples and singles alike, in a setting it calls discreet, elegant and absorbing. A party night brings a buffet supper laid on by the house, a lounge bar for drinks and cocktails, and a DJ. There is a wellness area as well, for which the club advises booking ahead.
Booking is the way in generally: the club asks visitors to call or message ahead on +39 375 5416344, and runs a separate WhatsApp line, +39 389 1106670, for its event nights.
This was the first time we were in this club and our opinion was positive for many reasons. We had a great welcome from the owners, really friendly, simple, joking people and above all a lovely couple. We will definitely be back. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
The opinion we're reporting is obviously personal, and it's unthinkable for a couple like us, who frequent clubs in northern and central Italy, not to make comparisons. We could describe the place in one word: embarrassing. But let's argue. Between the end of August and the beginning of September, we toured Sicily from Syracuse to Palermo. Our first experience was at the most "famous" club in Sicily: one Friday night, we decided to drive 40 minutes, and once we arrived, we saw very few cars in the parking lot. At the entrance, we were advised to... come back another night because the place was practically empty! On a Friday night in late August??? Oh well, that's fine. Once we arrived in Palermo, we read the reviews of the various places and decided to visit Bijou. On Saturday night, the parking lot was full, so they made us park our car behind another, and when we asked: "What if the car in front of us wants to leave?" the answer was: "We'll come and call you!" And that's off to a bad start. The place was converted (adapted) from a private residence. Zero privacy at the entrance...behind us were two singles practically 20 cm apart who could hear everything that was said and/or asked. We paid what was asked of us (without being told how much for the card and how much for the entrance), the card was not given to us. We entered: 60s furniture (but really 60s!), a room with lots of people dancing close to each other... We continued and found the DJ station and the bar counter (?)...we continued...a corner sofa with wet wipes ('''!!) on it without any towels to put on it...we continued...bathroom, small room with a bed (was it the kitchen of the house?), another room in a sort of veranda with a massage table and a round bed...another sofa: whoever designed the furniture obviously thought of something completely different! We go up to the first floor and the situation doesn't change... a succession of squalid, bare rooms and rooms. We go downstairs and... the icing on the cake: group dancing with a train set!!! Are we in a private room or at a village festival? We stop at the buffet (which is rich, varied, and delicious), take a look outside (but the evening wasn't the best weather-wise): there's an above-ground pool and little else; we return just in time to hear over the microphone (!!!???!!!) that... the model car needs to be moved... license plate... It's not ours, but we laugh imagining the owner of the car that needs moving hearing the announcement while playing a game!!!! We're deliberately leaving out our opinion on the look of almost everyone in the room (in a private room, we think clothing is also very important: sophisticated, sexy...). Between one dance and another, the room slowly emptied, and before the "games" began, we decided to leave (we didn't want to disturb anyone with the potential problem of moving a car). And indeed... after the owners' astonishment (the evening had just begun...stay), the problem of having to move another car to let us out arose again!! And again the announcement over the microphone... We thought we were in for a joke!
In conclusion: the people there seemed to be having fun (and they certainly were), the atmosphere was like a village festival, but everyone has their own way of having fun. So, our criticism isn't about how everything is managed: if people come so heavily, it means they like it (or that there are no alternatives), and therefore it's fine as it is. Ours is just a description of what couples and singles accustomed to frequenting clubs in Milan, Florence, Bologna, Modena, (the ones we frequented....) will find so they can decide whether to travel 45 minutes (from Palermo) or go to dinner in a nice place by the sea!
I've been attending the Club since I was with my partner. I currently have a membership for the whole of 2022, but since I'm single, I don't think I'll attend. However, I highly recommend it to everyone; it's like a unique family there.
