We being born into Nepalese society having a mixture of tradition and culture, we love to party and enjoy to the fullest. Who doesn’t want to go let loose after a hard day at work? As of this the night club and lounge scene is rising at a fast pace in Kathmandu city and because of this you can find clubs and lounges at almost every corner of a hip location.

However, when we talk about clubbing and parties that are notorious for being grand and posh, only a handful of names come to mind. Privé Nepal is one of those names, leading the night club and party scenario. The brand new, sleek, and stylish venue built on 26000 square foot inside Soaltee Crown Plaza is the new mecca for nightlife and entertainment. To get in on how the establishment got to the point it is now; we had a conversation with

Mr. Deekay Shrestha, Marketing head of Privé Nepal.

HOW DID THE IDEA TO ESTABLISH PRIVÉ NEPAL ARISE? HOW DID IT START?

It is a joint venture as Privé Nepal is a franchise of Privé Hong Kong. We are a part of the Hong Kong group. This was a collective idea of many people who wanted a place; a common room, to hangout after the strenuous day they had. When it comes to our target audience, they are the corporate people in the city. They are the people who work 9-5 everyday. This place started with the idea to prove a common place for those people to relax and chill after the day they spend grinding at their jobs.

PRIVÉ NEPAL HAS AN INTRIGUING INTERIOR AMBIANCE AND DECORS. COULD YOU GO BIT DEEPER ON THE AMBIANCE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT AND THE REASON FOR SUCH DESIGNS?

The ambiance of the Common Room lounge has a rustic and edgy vibe, where as our club adjoining the lounge has a complete opposite ambiance to it. The main reason they are worlds apart is to differentiate between our lounge areas and club along with our other areas.

On the ceiling of the Common Room have hundreds of wooden angels. Different people have their own opinion on that but as for me; I am a big believer of Guardian angels and like to believe they are watching us from above. We leave it to our guests to have their own interpretation to what those wooden angels represent, adding in a little bit of fun factor. When you look at our paintings on the wall you will find it to have many mixtures of culture and traditions. Through these paintings we want our guests to experience a cocktail of tradition. The walls are also decorated with old utensils such as ladles, pots and pans along with vintage bicycle and their wheels which further add the rustic charm to the place.

The club on the other had is of posh designs. It is spacious and it gives off classy vibes. The same feeling carries out in our other areas including the karaoke rooms. The clubs does have some sitting areas but we did not want to separate it from the other crowds. That is why the club in on a single level.

“Privé Nepal is doing really great in this market. I would say the level we are in now is the optimum level we can obtain in present times.”

WHAT ARE THE STAND-OUT AREAS OF THIS ESTABLISHMENT AND WHAT KIND OF SERVICES DO THEY PROVIDE?

First off, we have our lounge area, ‘The Common Room’, where we serve authentic Italian cuisine. The idea is similar to the concept of ‘straight from the farms’. The lounge is also the place where we have our live performances. This area is basically to have people dine and listen to some live music. The Common Room is open all day except Mondays.

Then we have our club, which caters to the people who wants to party hard. This is where we have all our parties and events, both local and international. The unique feature our clubs stands out is the Funktion One sound system and we are the only establishment using this system. Even though our club is spacious enough, when we have huge events where we accommodate huge number of people, the walls adjoin the lounge and the club can be slid oven to make the both one. We open our clubs only on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Next we have two karaoke rooms, on which we host private parties only. One of them is equipped with a pool table for the guests to enjoy. We also have a green room for the ladies to touch up on their make-up. The karaoke rooms are provided as per reservation and private events.

TALKING ABOUT THE PRESENT, WHAT IS THE CURRENT MARKET SCENARIO FOR NIGHT CLUBS AND LOUNGE AREAS IN KATHMANDU? HOW IS PRIVÉ NEPAL DOING IN THIS MARKET?

We as Nepalese are extremely fond of parties. We have jatras and festivals all around the year. The night clubs and lounges market are booming in Kathmandu as people are getting more aware on these being a great source of enjoyment and having fun. Now-a-days, more people are into going to clubs and lounges because partying is like a second nature to us as our history, culture and traditions are embedded with festivities and events on almost every occasion.

Privé Nepal is doing really great in this market. I would say the level we are in now is the optimum level we can obtain in present times. As I mentioned before, the people in Kathmandu are getting aware of the trends including music and our clients have come to know Privé Nepal as a place where they can let their hair down and have a great time.

Partying in Nepal has become challenging. You need good ambiance, good music, great crowd, a safe place and other facilities to have a great party, and Privé Nepal has been providing these to our audience since we first started.

RECENTLY PRIVÉ NEPAL HOSTED A LARGE EVENT COLLABORATING WITH INTERNATIONAL NAMES SUCH AS THE CLEAN BANDITS. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES WHILE DOING THOSE MULTI-NATIONAL EVENTS? WHAT WERE THE RESPONSES FROM THE AUDIENCE AND OTHERS?

The event with Clean Bandit was a challenging one as we had many restrictions. Those kinds of events where we are hosting international artists are always challenging to begin with. We have to respect the requirements of the organizers and in doing so; it creates many obstacles for us. Fulfilling those criteria are the challenging aspect of the putting forward those kind of events.

The response we got was nothing short of marvelous. Nitesh Jung Kuwar was the opening act and after him followed the Clean Bandits. People were singing along the artists and the environment was simply astounding. The Clean Bandits themselves were really impressed with the entire event and they loved it as well.

If I were to put the experience in one sentence, I would say the entire thing was lit!

WHAT UPCOMING EVENTS SHOULD WE LOOK FORWARD FROM PRIVÉ NEPAL? WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR THIS ESTABLISHMENT?

We have a lot of events and parties planned for the future. We are also planning to host events with international artists collaborating with local artists. We are also looking forward to host an event where we give back to the society. Privé Group was not founded just to earn profit but to give back to the community as well. And we want to continue giving people what they want as a place to chill and enjoy as we are doing at present.

INTERVIEWED BY BAIBHAV SHRESTHA || PHOTOGRAPHED BY GAURAV XHOMPATE SUNUWAR