Benidorm Palace: Spain’s last successful music hall

Benidorm Palace first opened its doors on July, 12, 1977 at a time when boites, night clubs and music halls were the venues to go to for entertainment and fun.

Benidorm Palace has seen legendary acts and artists throughout its life, including Louis Armstrong, Gloria Gaynor, The Platters, The Drifters, Four Tops, Lola Flores, Carmen Sevilla, Isabel Pantoja, Rocío Jurado, Rocío Dúrcal, María Jiménez, Marisol, Paloma San Basilio, Peret, Pimpinela, Rafaella Carrá, Raphael, to name a few!

Despite the change in musical tastes seen throughout the years, as well as the rising popularity of clubs, Benidorm Palace has not only managed to survive, but thrive, 45 years later.

Benidorm is home to various large and acclaimed nightclubs, such as the legendary Granada or El Gallo Rojo, none enjoyed the success or long-life that Benidorm Palace has had.

The Climent family has run Benidorm Palace since the 90s, first renting the hall and later going on to buy the establishment in 1997.

Vicente Climent, explained to El Confidencial in an exclusive interview, that the secret to Benidorm Palace’s success is “betting on quality, renewing the show every year and being open to a family audience for a good time from grandfather to grandson”.

Climent is now retired, and recalls that had they “sold the land to build a hotel, they would have made more than twice as much money from the land alone as they did in a whole year of hard work.”

Despite this, Climent is proud the family did not sell, as his son David is a magician at Benidorm Palace and his daughter is the current casting director of the venue.

In addition his wife Cristina Climent is in charge of booking tribute bands and was even the star of a reality show on British television.

The early 2000s brought with them a period of brief difficulty for the venue, however, the British reality show ‘Escape to the Sun’ helped revive business at the venue.

In the first year the show ran, Benidorm Palace received an extra 70,000 people who came to see the show because they had seen the TV programme, and the ‘knock-on effect’ lasted for years due to the constant reruns of the show in other countries.