Pangaea reigns supreme as Singapore’s poshest “ultra lounge,” where the super rich come to play, drink and dance the night away
Singapore was once thought of as the stiff, boring uncle of Southeast Asia, famous mostly for its fine hawker food and strict regulations. But that image has been completely transformed over the last decade or so, with Singapore becoming the region’s playground for wealthy jet setters and the glitterati. This new vision of Singapore is best exemplified by Pangaea, the so-called “ultra lounge” and club located beneath the casino of the Marina Bay Sands. This is nightlife designed to cater to the super elite, with an opulent yet intimate venue where an international crowd of the rich and famous can see and be seen.
Opened in 2011, Singapore’s Pangaea is but one in a family of similarly swanky clubs, all masterminded by nightlife maven Michael Ault. Ault has designed, built and owned over 25 nightclubs in countries all over the world, including New York, Miami, Los Angeles, London and Sao Paulo. He got his start working Wall Street by day and being a club promoter by night, spending over a decade helping to pack legendary venues such as Studio 54, The Palladium and Tavern On The Green. He is also credited with one of the nightlife industry’s biggest money making innovations, bottle service, which he pioneered at Chaos in New York City in the mid-90s.
In short, what makes Ault one of the premiere nightlife impresarios is his ability to anticipate the unspoken desires of the rich and famous, creating ways in which they can spend their wealth in the most deliciously conspicuous ways possible. Pangaea certainly gives well-heeled punters plenty of opportunities to do just that. In 2012, the club started offering Asia’s most expensive cocktail, The Jewel of Pangaea, made using gold-flecked Richard Hennessy cognac, a smoke-infused raw sugar cube with Jerry Bitters, topped with 1985 vintage Krug champagne and garnished with a Mouawad Triple X 1-carat diamond attached to a chain. This lavish libation will set set you back 32,000 SGD.
Simply getting into the club will cost you a mere 40 SGD, but to get the full Pangaea experience you’ll want to reserve a table, which will cost you 1,500 SGD and entitle you to bottle service courtesy of one of the lovely, statuesque Pangaea servers, who cater to their guests with geisha like charm. If you really want to splash out, you can pay 15,000 SGD for one of the VIP banquettes, strewn with cushions covered in African ostrich skins.
That’s right, ostrich-skinned. Pangaea features a luxe safari theme, with the 20,000 individual lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling casting their multi-coloured lights on such exotica as tables made from 1000-year-old sauer tree tops, crocodile-skinned sofas and African tribal masks from Ault’s personal collection. One of the more unusual features of the 40,000 square meter club is its lack of a dance floor. Instead, revelers are invited to groove out to the club’s state-of-the-art sound system by gyrating atop granite podiums that line the 19 tables dotting the room.
Getting people to let loose by putting themselves on display is part of the party formula that Ault has perfected over the years. Ault often alludes to house parties as the ideal for celebrations—affairs that are both intimate and raucous, filled with people you know and want to get to know—and that is the kind of atmosphere that he aims to create in Pangaea every night.
So how effective is Michael Ault’s party formula? Pangaea is considered one of the most profitable nightclubs in the world, grossing over 20 million SGD last year. It’s no wonder that the Ault Group, his nightlife consulting company, is much in demand. It is said he is advising on a new generation of clubs and other entertainment venues in Jakarta, Shanghai, Moscow and cities in Australia.
Whether you’re a high-roller or just want a taste of Singapore’s heady high-life, a trip to Pangaea is sure to satisfy in excess. Just be sure to wear your best threads and be ready to spend big.
(www.pangaea.sg/)
