Palembang Nightlife: 7 Best Nightclubs

Palembang is the second largest city in Sumatra after Medan. It does not receive a lot of foreign visitors apart from Malaysians and Singaporeans.

As with most provincial towns in Indonesia, you'll remark the following features when partying in Palembang:
- Most clubbers are males who either take drugs, get hammered drunk or look for paid sex
- The music program management consist of selecting pretty singers or pretty DJs, regardless of their skills
- The concept of a dance floor is non-existent. Instead, you have high tables that are available if you take at least a bottle (or less when the club isn't crowded)
- If you are hoping to meet a girl in a Palembang club, your chances are slim as most girls are either working (as GROs/LCs) or the girlfriends of the other guys
- Alcohol is always expensive, even in lower-end places. If you go somewhere with abnormally cheap alcohol, you're probably drinking methanol.
- The police does occasional "razzias" on clubs when they need some cash

To meet normal girls in Palembang, day-time action is much better, in particular though dating apps. Check Indonesian Online Dating Apps and Websites for more information.

I found the nightclubs to be quite far from each other. For this reason, I strongly recommend you to book a hotel in the city center.

The best ones in terms of quality of service and location (near the nightlife/bars/clubs) are the following:

Budget Hotels (under $30): Amaris Palembang, Red Planet Palembang, Favehotel Palembang
Expensive Hotels ($50-$80): Aston Hotel and Conference Center, Novotel Palembang, The Arista Hotel 

NB: I get a commission if you make a booking using one of these links (the price is the same for you).

Best Nightclubs in Palembang:

If you are traveling or working in Palembang, here are my nightclubs recommendations (honestly, only the first 4 are suitable for most people):

Center Stage is one of the most famous and expensive nightclubs on the Palembang nightlife scene. It is rather simple: You have a main large room with an elevated podium for the DJ and a large screen behind it. 

The music is progressive house and EDM. The kind you want to hear if you are drunk or high. They have regular sexy dancers, but no striptease. They love to have pretty female DJs. You usually have a band playing at the beginning of the evening.

It is part of Novotel Palembang and you'll also find an executive karaoke inside named Papillon. Open from Wednesday to Saturday Night starting 9pm until 3am. Free for ladies. Rp100,000 FDC for men.

Twitter: CSNovotel

Instagram: CenterStage Palembang

Facebook: Center Stage Nightlife Palembang