Yahoo News No One Quite Like Nikki: Legendary Beach Club Nikki Beach Celebrates 25 Years of Revelry and Relaxation
In the pretty and peculiar seaside town of Marbella, Spain, everybody knows Nikki.
She’s the woman behind lavish birthday celebrations and family reunions alike; the dazzling magician whose wand weaves together music, art and culture in spaces that are at once intimate and inviting; the gracious host who always has a seat at the table for guests who quickly become family.
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“Nikki” is Nikki Beach, the beach club oasis on the Costa del Sol that celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. But “Nikki” is also Nikki Penrod, the late daughter of founder Jack Penrod, who was determined to not let his daughter’s zest for life be in vain.
After a drunk driving accident cut Nikki’s life short at the age of 18, Penrod and wife Lucia (now the CEO of Nikki Beach) decided to honor their daughter’s memory by creating a safe space for people to cultivate community and foster moments of joy. The first Nikki Beach opened in Miami in 1998. After a string of other successful openings, Nikki Beach Marbella was unveiled to the public in 2003.
Twenty years later, Nikki Beach Marbella is as hot as ever – literally and figuratively. On a recent weekend, the beachfront beds were packed with sunbathers as stylish guests dipped their toes in the Mediterranean Sea. Cabaret-style performers lined the pool area, before giving way to a raucous drumming duo and jazz saxophonist — a Nikki Beach signature. Plates of seafood and Spanish jamon were passed around in the open-air restaurant, alongside the beach club’s now-iconic “Sexy Salad.” And sharply-dressed waiters surprised guests with the heliophilia, a decadent mango and passion fruit dessert inspired by Nikki Beach Marbella’s home on the Costa del Sol, and the “journey of the sun,” a symbol of rebirth and new beginnings all season long.
Lucia Penrod says Nikki Beach has always held the motto, “Celebration of Life,” as a guiding principle for the venues’ activations and programming. But more importantly, a “Celebration of Life” is the feeling Penrod wants guests to take away from every visit. “Our incredible staff wake up every day ready to ‘Celebrate Life’ and it’s that energy, combined with impeccable service and a welcoming aesthetic that have helped us to build a cult following,” she says.
THR caught up with Penrod to talk about Nikki Beach’s anniversary, her favorite celebrity moments at the club, and why true ‘luxury’ begins by making everybody feel at home.
Congratulations on 25 years of Nikki Beach! What was the process like for opening your first beach club all those years ago?
Nikki Beach was originally launched in remembrance of a family tragedy, a tribute of love from a father to his daughter. In 1997, when our founder, and my husband, Jack’s 18-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, Nicole, passed away in a car accident, we chose to honor and celebrate her life, transforming our existing business at One Ocean Drive, Miami Beach – [then-called] Penrod’s Beach Club – into a beautiful butterfly garden by the sea named Cafe Nikki in her honor. The energy in the garden was magical and organically grew to be the place to be and be seen, drawing in young local surfers and aspiring models as well as an affluent new clientele – including many celebrities. One of our business philosophies is to listen to our customers and give them more of what they want and expanding Cafe Nikki towards the beach area was a natural move. In 1998, the first Nikki Beach was officially born.
One Grand Adventure
Did you ever think that the Nikki Beach brand would be as big as it is today?
We never intended to build a global brand. We didn’t even initially think of expanding. It was actually at the request of our guests that we decided to open beach clubs in Saint Tropez and then Saint Barth, and we’ve continued to grow from there. Twenty-five years later we’ve built a multifaceted luxury lifestyle and hospitality brand with 11 beach clubs, five resorts and hotels, a fashion division, special events, and Nikki Cares, a 501c3 non-profit charity. It’s incredible to think about what the brand has become over the years. We were able to transform a simple beach club business into a global luxury lifestyle brand.
It’s truly amazing to see that Nikki Beach has had such longevity. Why do think people keep coming back?
We were the first and original luxury beach club business turned into a luxury lifestyle brand. At the time when we launched, most beach clubs were mom-and-pop seasonal operations. We were a truly innovative concept that helped this business model earn its own place in the hospitality industry. Now you can find luxury beach clubs around the world. We continue innovating, upgrading and renovating our properties year after year and implementing exciting new programming within our six core pillars: music, dining, entertainment, fashion, film and art. Much of our success over the last 25 years can be attributed to our six signature elements which we seamlessly intertwine to create the magic of Nikki Beach. Each element is present daily in the way we run our business, creating an atmosphere that caters to foodies, culture seekers, art enthusiasts, and fashionistas from across the globe.
How has Nikki Beach evolved over the years? What are examples of some things that maybe worked 20+ years ago that don’t work now?
We’re growing up with our guests! We have clients that have been visiting us since we first opened our doors 25 years ago. Now they’re visiting with their children, and sometimes you’ll see three generations of family all having lunch at the beach club together – it’s beautiful.
We have of course had to evolve over the years to remain relevant and cater to what our clients are looking for. That’s the nature of the hospitality industry. Today, we’re putting a bigger focus on dining. We’re really proud of our global menus and the Michelin-star chef events we have scheduled this summer. We also have an amazing lineup of guest DJs and some exciting brand partnerships. Rather than hosting themed events which used to be very popular, we’re going back to our roots and perfecting the day-to-day experience that is Nikki Beach.
What has been your most memorable celebrity moment over last 25 years at Nikki Beach?
Naomi Campbell’s birthday party in Saint Tropez is one of the most memorable events I’ve attended over the years. We hosted her birthday party in tandem with the opening of the property back in 2002. She requested an all-white theme and the party was packed with celebrities in head-to-toe white.
We’ve also hosted some really impressive singers for New Years Eve in Saint Barth over the years. It was incredible to get to see Mariah Carey, Beyonce, and John Legend perform for our guests in our intimate beach club space.
Nikki Beach Marbella is 20 years old and Nikki Beach Miami turns 25. What are you looking forward to in the next 25 years?
I’m incredibly excited to see where the brand is 25 years from now. We already have so much to look forward to. We’re continuing to expand, with upcoming openings within our resort division in Muscat, Baku and Antigua over the next two years. I’m so excited to bring our Nikki Beach Celebration of Life to emerging travel markets and to give our loyal clientele new destinations in which they can experience Nikki Beach.
We have such an amazing and dedicated team – many of our staff members have been with us for 10 or even 20 years, and I look forward to continuing to build our Nikki Beach family across the world. It’s a privilege for me to be able to build this legacy.
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