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| - At long last, I finally had my chance to visit the supposed king of Vegas megaclubs, the often-touted (and also doubted) Hakkasan...
Was it as epic as Instagram makes it out to be? Somewhat.
Were there areas where the club could work on improving itself? Absolutely.
I had tickets to see Hardwell during HK's grand opening back in April 2013 (which coincided with my 21st birthday), but I never had the chance to make my way to Vegas - I ended up spending the weekend at Coachella instead. (No complaints from me, that's for sure.)
A lot of people seem to complain about Hakkasan's notoriously long lines. I have no problem with buying presale tickets for a nightclub - especially one that's marketed to a high-end clientele. If you're looking to have a killer night for a reasonable price, it really boils down to being able to pick the right weekend to visit. My girlfriend and I scored tickets to see Bingo Players at HK for an absolute steal ($30 for me, 20 for her), and we didn't have to go through the stress of drunkenly waiting in the general admission line. I can't stress enough how useful it is to scope out the Events Calendar on the HK website ahead of time - you'll save yourself plenty of waiting/money by going with presale - just keep an eye out for the right deals!
But I digress. Let's talk about the club itself.
I expected HK to look a more extravagant; the place gives off a sort of Asian cavern-themed aesthetic. There's no outdoor section of the club to venture to if you're in search of some fresh air (unlike the open pool deck provided at Marquee even during nightclub hours), so be prepared to encounter some mild claustrophobia as you're making your way through Hakkasan's dimly-hit hallways.
The production setup at Hakkasan - like the club's overall design - was memorable, but not game-changing. During our visit, I took particular notice of the visuals that accompanied Eva Shaw and Bingo Players during their respective sets. These visuals have a remarkably high resolution and clarity, and they're quite mesmerizing (and I've been to my fair share of shows, mind you).
As advertised, you shouldn't encounter much difficulty getting an ideal view of the main room DJ - regardless of whether you have a table or not. Unlike those at Marquee (where bouncers constantly redirect patrons around the room to keep multiple walkways clear), Hakkasan's bouncers are pretty cool about letting clubgoers scope the scene out from the perimeter of the dancefloor. I also appreciate how there's little-to-no waiting for anyone who's looking to make their way onto the actual dance space.
What ultimately sinks the ship for me is the hit-or-miss quality of the staff at Hakkasan. On one hand, you've got the bouncers:
Although it seems like everyone and their mother seems to despise these guys, I found them to be pleasant and cheery dudes. The bouncers who checked our IDs at the door even gave the lady and I some resounding congratulations after we mentioned that we were celebrating our six months together! Similarly, other bouncers who worked inside the club itself were happy to tell me where they purchased their suits from (I'm that guy that goes to a club and eyes other dudes' suit fits, I'll admit.)
My biggest gripe of my entire evening at Hakkasan however, was the total ineptitude of the bartending staff. Let me set the scene for you:
We approached a bar located in the HK main room. Just getting a bartender's attention was a challenge in itself; the guy serving our segment of the bar repeatedly glanced over and around us, as though we weren't there! Understaffed or not, a "be right with you!" would have gone a long way. Hell, even eye contact would have been an improvement over being ignored like a pair of ghosts...
In any case, after finally managing to get a bartender's attention, we asked for a Hakka to split. (For those who may not know, the Hakka is one of HK's signature cocktails, made with Belvedere, coconut, passionfruit, and lychee.) We hadn't been told, however, that Hakkasan Restaurant and Hakkasan Nightclub didn't share the same drink menu. Honest mistake, right?
Well, instead of providing this simple explanation, our bartender informed us that he "didn't have all the ingredients" and that we would have to go "downstairs to the Ling-Ling bar" in order to order a Hakka. So off we went, through a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, to the floor below - and after a similar long wait with this bartender's counterpart, we're told that Hakkasan Nightclub doesn't offer the Hakka. At all.
Again, it wasn't so much their inability to provide the drink that upset me so much as it was the obvious lack of adequate training and overall employee knowledge. Suffice to say, my girlfriend and I promptly had to order a pair of AMFs just to drown out our anger for the time being.
Premium product and eye candy marred by some sloppy execution. The very definition of 3/5 stars.
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