Raymond Gutierrez dives into his experiences being one of the people at the forefront of the evolving nightlife industry in the Philippines.

Palace Pool Club Day Lounge Manila

It all started when the doors of the country’s biggest nightclub, Valkyrie, first opened to the public in late 2014. Fast-forward to June 5 of the following year, when partyphiles in droves celebrated the grand launch of The Palace Pool Club, the country’s first day and night club with two outdoor pools. With Café Naya now serving delicious coastal cuisine just above the Pool Club and The Brewery being flocked by beer-lovers of all kinds, The Palace complex has become the premier entertainment destination for millenials, and even people from Generation X who are looking for a good time.

Palace Pool Club Raymond Gutierrez

As the biggest nightlife destination in Asia slowly takes its shape, we talked to one of the co-owners, Raymond Gutierrez, about what it’s like to be at the forefront of the dynamic night entertainment scene in the country.

Are you here at The Palace everyday?

Raymond Gutierrez: Yes, especially during internal meetings with the team and the co-owners. I also handle Sundays at Palace Pool Club, The Sunday Social, with Emel Rowe and Mikaill, who are both DJ’s. That’s how my days are.

(Find out more about Mikail's passion for music through Pulse Radio Asia here.)

Tell us more about The Sunday Social.

RG: It’s hard for a club to open on a Sunday because it’s usually family day, or church day, and the next day is a workday. Everybody was kind of skeptical about doing a Sunday themed party, but I was adamant about it so I took it. So, we came out with The Sunday Social, which has been very well received. On July 5, we’re officially launching The Sunday Social, and we are flying in two resident DJ’s from Burning Man, the music festival in Nevada. I’m also working with Chef Mikko [Reyes] and Erwan [Heussaff] for barbecue on Sundays.

Palace Pool Club Sunday Socials

How do you come up with the themes for each day of the week?

RG: We usually have a brainstorming meeting with all the partners who want to handle a night, and we have to discuss how it’s going to be different from each other. For Thursdays we have the Aqua Zoo, which is targeted towards the college crowd. Wednesday is ladies night, and it’s called Siren. Saturday is usually the big night, so that’s when we have the EDM-Top 40’s. Friday is hop-hop. Each night is a brand of its own and people should remember it.

Your group has been building a lot of “firsts” in the country; can you tell us what goes on when you brainstorm on which business ventures to go into?

RG: We want to be at the forefront of doing things that have never been done before, especially changing the landscape here in Manila not only in the nightlife scene, but just giving the people something to be excited about and offering them new experiences. We’ve done many firsts, and we are becoming one of the largest night venues in all of Asia, and the largest in the Philippines. That is just with Valkyrie alone. Now that we’ve opened The Palace Pool Club, it’s also the first of its kind here in the country, and there’s actually not a lot of pool clubs in Asia.

How did you arrive with the concepts for The Palace? If for The Palace Pool Club you wanted to channel the clubs in Vegas and Ibiza, what about the Brewery, Revel Room, and the Japanese place?

RG: What’s nice about The Brewery is that it gives you a taste of draft beers from all over the world. In terms of Naya, it was really the brainchild of our chef, Mikko Reyes, and Erwan Heussaff. In terms of what’s coming soon, we are opening Revel Room, which is a smaller lounge-type of nightclub. What’s nice about it is if you want a more intimate setting, you can actually hear yourself when you’re having a nice chat. We will have a really beautiful cocktail bar, and I’m very excited for that to open in September. The Japanese restaurant is coming last, opening maybe early next year.

Palace Pool Club Cabana

There are a lot of you working on this project; can you give us an idea on how many you really are, and how many times have you worked with them?

RG: There are a lot of investors, but I can say that there are about 10 of us who are highly involved with the day-to-day operations. It’s a very tight-knit group and I am very happy to call them my friends. Erik [Cua] first got in touch with me two years ago for 71 Gramercy, so that was my first entrepreneurial venture. It did very well, and he saw that I was enjoying it and I worked very hard, so he offered me again to be a partner for The Palace. Who am I to say no? This is such a great business opportunity.

(Find out what co-owner GP Reyes had to say about 71 Gramercy here.)

Please give us an idea on your role in the group, since this is quite a large one.

RG: I come in as a creative consultant, and I also do marketing and I also handle my nights. What I like about it is I can design my night the way I want it to be—from the visuals to the communications, choices of DJ’s, music direction—that’s what I enjoy. But my daytime role is really as a creative consultant. I work closely with my marketing team and my graphic artists.

Would you call this your passion project?

RG: For me, it’s a job but it doesn’t feel like a job because I like it so much. It’s something I’m very proud of and proud to be a part of. There have been hurdles along the way, but I’m happy that I’m working with people who are experts in their field.

Palace Pool Club BGC

Since you mentioned hurdles, can you tell us some of the challenges you encountered along the way with The Palace?

RG: Everything—from construction delays to the rowdy guests—you expect from opening a venue of this size. All of the things you can imagine, they probably happened here. We just handle it the best way we can.

A lot has happened since The Palace opened, what has been the most memorable moment for you?

RG: There are too many memories. Each night you create new memories here, so it’s hard for me to choose just one. But I do remember the first time we opened it, when I first set my eyes on how grand it was. That, to me, was a little overwhelming. Coming into the place when it’s fully done, it was like a dream that was realised.

When we finished construction of The Palace Pool Club, I was actually in the States. My partners would send me photos of the place, telling me it’s almost done. When I arrived and came here, I couldn’t believe we actually made this happen. There’s two swimming pools in the venue!

This truly is a grand endeavour for the group, but at this point in time are you already planning on what comes next once The Palace is completed?

RG: Right now we are focused on The Palace. There are so many things here that I still want to do, you know? On the second floor, I want to turn one corner into a tiki bar. The Revel Room and the Japanese bar are opening soon. We have world-class acts coming up this year. Definitely the future is here since there are so many things we can do on this place.

Palace Pool Club Dress Code

I just have to ask, what do you have planned for the rainy season here at The Palace Pool Club?

RG: What’s great about a pool club is the less clothes, the better, right? People can still jump in the pool and enjoy in the rain. We’re planning on investing on a circus-type of tent to cover the tables. There are places for you to be dry but we encourage people to just enjoy what’s here.