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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)

One club is named
after the famous surf spot at the North Shore.
Dancing the evenings away under the swawing
palm trees is a breeze in Honolulu.
One of the locals' most popular Saturday night activities is a weekly
event called Feng Shuiat the Hyatt. With a different theme each
week, it turns the upstairs bar at the Hyatt into an upscale club scene.
The bar, which has an outdoor walkway overlooking the beach is, well,
nice! It's classy not casual, or at least not Hawaiian casual, so shoes
not sandals are required. Other nights, the Hyatt bar can accommodate
those souls without soles.
Another
hot promoter party is Skyline, Put on by Flash, promotions guru
at the famous Wave, it's a dress-to-impress affair for a 30ish upscale
crowd. It's 30 floors up in the Hanohano Room, of the Sheraton Waikiki.the
first and third Saturday of the month and reaches capacity by midnight.
Click
here for the latest party Skyline parties.
Keeping with the surf theme, at least in name, is Pipeline.
It's about twice the size of The Wave and 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. The crowd is a tad younger than at The Wave
and a bit more club-dressy. The one downside to Pipeline and
it's an easy deal-with-it situation is that it is swarmed with
flashlight-waving security guards keeping the walkways clear. Fortunately,
they are concentrated around the entrance and are not pushy by any means,
so it's best to be in other parts of the club.
One of the most popular dance spots is Locus, 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).
The most casual dance club in town is the friendly Red Lion.
How friendly? The doorman smiles when he let you in. How casual? If
it weren't for the dancing, this would be a great dive pub. Instead,
it's a great dive dance club. A major redevelopment project by the Outrigger
hotel chain has chased it from Lewers Street to the UH area. Locals
still love the place because it always has drink specials.

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.
A similar scene is evident at the exclusive John Dominis. It
is a bit expensive, but has style. Venus is a left-of-center
club that's best on Sunday nights.
Moose McGillycuddy's isn't much of a pick-up place, but the
soldiers and sailors who just moved to town don't know that yet. They
flock here like it's general quarters and are attacked by attractive
and overly-eager he/shes. It can be amusing to watch the action (from
a safe distance, of course). Okay, we confess that this is not always
the case. In fact, Tuesday it has dollar drinks and Wednesday is Ladies'
Night with drinks specials.
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."
Next
stop on the Hawaii Party Bus: Sightseeing!
Honolulu
Nightclubs Listing
| Bar/Club |
Address |
Phone (808) |
| Feng Shui (Saturdays) |
Waikiki Hyatt |
N/A |
| John Dominis |
43 Ahui |
523-0955 |
| Moose's |
310 Lewers St. |
923-0751 |
| Ocean Club |
500 Ala Moana Blvd |
531-8444 |
| Pipeline |
805 Pohukaina Street |
589-1999 |
| Red Lion |
University Area |
N/A |
Skyline Two Party
www.skylinetwo.com
|
Sheraton Waikiki |
922-4422 |
| Venus |
1349 Kapiolani Blvd |
955-2640 |
| W Hotel |
2885 Kalakaua Ave |
922-1700 |
| * The Wave |
1877 Kalakaua Ave
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CLOSED! |
| STRIP CLUBS |
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| Deja Vu |
2301 Kuhio Ave, #301 |
922-5566 |
| Exotic Nights |
909 Halekauwila Street |
596-8923 |
| Femme Nu |
1673 Kapiolani Blvd |
947-3444 |
| Rock Za |
1770 Kapiolani Blvd |
949-1134 |
* The Wave, Hawaii's most famous bar with live music,
is being replaced by condo development. A sad, bad "development"
for Honolulu's nightlife scene.
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