HONOLULU
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The best bars and nightclubs and the nights to be there are reviewed on this site with words and photos.

Nightclubbing in Honolulu

People get wild at Honolulu's nightclubs.

I's a Hawaiian tradition. Days spend at the beach are followed with an evening of dancing at the clubs.

This is hardly New York, mind you. Honolulu's club scene is much more laid-back. The dress codes are relaxed, the clubbers far less intense and the staff usually know who's coming in the door.

There is little point in arriving before midnight. It is possible to beat the weekend rush of people coming from the just-closed bars and pubs by arriving prior to 1 a.m. Otherwise, the entrance line provides the opportunity to win over a few new party friends before going inside.

The clubs are located a few blocks inland from the beach. It's best to take a quick 5-minute taxi ride from the major hotels or other area bars.

In addition to the dance spots, Honolulu's strip clubs are popular party spots, even among local women. Scroll to the er, bottom, for the scoop on where to see the strippers.

Dance Clubs (For Honolulu Bars & Pubs, Click Here)

For fun in Honolulu, look for the Flash – and his entourage.

Dancing the evenings away under the swawing palm trees is a breeze in Honolulu.

In Waikiki, the casually elegant Rumfire is right on the beach at the Sheraton, and it's a winner of a location. It has the an open-air bar and two patios, plus it recently recently expanded to include the entire pool area. Shorts, rum and a sensational view make it one of Waikiki's best spots. Don't be bashful about arriving long before midnight. Just bring a credit card to maximize the menu of the great rum drinks; the rum is from all over the world and drinks are in the $12-20 range.

It also has PubClub.com's Best Happy Hour with $3 beers and live entertainment (5-7, seven days a week) and a cool crowd in a Vegas-style lounge that's still casual because it's right on the beach. The weakness of Rumfire, unfortunately, is service. Other than Charlie, who may be the best bartender in the entire Hawaiian islands let alone Waikiki, it's as slow as the pace of life here. This is compounded by the fact that a policy prohibits ordering a drink from the bar and taking it to a table, for the place wants patrons to order from a server. The problem is that the servers are like US Navy submarines, and that is to say they are nearly invisible. Still, if one can navigate through these rough waters, it's a place to toss out the anchor for the night.

While Rumfire is a lounge, Honolulu's biggest dance club is called, appropriately enough, Pipeline. Bonsai!

It's a fairly roomy club that has a huge video screen behind the deejay. It has two "VIP" rooms, but gaining entrance is as simple as walking up the stairs (this isn't exactly the Foundation Room at the House of Blues in L.A.). The room by the dance floor is fairly posh with couches and a low-lit bar while the one by the entrance is more like a sports pub, giving it a cool "pubclub" type of atmosphere.

One of the most popular dance spots is Lotus, with its three rooms and packed weekend crowds ($10 cover, long pants required but stylish tees okay). "It's the sickest club in town," one local says. Then again, it was pretty sick local that said it (ha, ha).

Locals, and some tourists, dance till sometimes dawn at Zanzabar (Waikiki Trade Center). Venus Nightclub & Lounge is another really late-night spot; there's a club with the nearly all-night lounge around the corner.

Club partying, Aloha style

For those who wonder where in the heck they are going to wear that black dress or black shirt and slacks they packed for a trip to Hawaii, Honolulu does offer some upscale club choices. The Ocean Club at Restaurant Row is a bar and dance club. It's most popular among well-dressed locals on Tuesdays and the last Saturday of each month it has something called the "piranha room." Here, people start lining up at around 10. Shorts and not even jeans are not allowed – this is definitely a "scene" club.

Like its popular cousins in New York and Los Angeles, the W Hotel at the base of Diamond Head has a lively lounge. The view from the bar is tough to beat, and we don't just mean the ocean. On Fridays and Saturdays, this is where the classy and affluent singles mainly in their 30s and 40s can be found. The problem with the W is that it could be anywhere –  Dallas, Atlanta, New York – and there's no hint of Hawaii.

For a much more Hawaiian leid-back style, Lulu's Surf Club is a hip nightspot with a view overlooking Waikiki Beach. The people are fun, the drinks are strong and the food is good, making it a place to really hang loose. It's one of the city's best places to hang loose on a Monday for SIN night.

A similar scene is evident at the exclusive John Dominis. It is a bit expensive, but has style.

For promoter events, Skyline Two (www.skylinetwo.com ) has all kinds of cool activiites, including poolside parties under the moon.

Diamond Head isn't the only landmark in Honolulu. For nightclubs, it's The Wave, as much of a local ritual as tanning, as big a legend as The Duke. At least it was, until condo developers came in and took over the property, reducing The Wave to a mere memory.

Strip Clubs

The strip clubs in Honolulu are so good, even women frequent them.

Unlike other major metropolitan cities, Honolulu strip clubs allow full nudity while getting drunk as a skunk (hard booze, beer & $100 bottle of Korbel champagne for the ladies). Although touching the dancers is not allowed, many of the dancers will touch you (over and over again). Some of the most famous porn stars can be seen in Honolulu for special performances. Plus, many of the strip clubs serve outstanding free food and $2 beers at Happy Hour.

Local favorites are Rock Za because it has the hottest chicks, Deja Vu - almost as "infamous" as Rock Za – Femme Nu because the girls tend to touch a lot and Exotic Nights because it has, according to one local, "the most bang for the buck."

First Friday in Honolulu!

Honolulu Nightclubs Listing