Me with one of the fans in the attempt to keep the temperature cool

It’s my birthday weekend, but I really didn’t plan anything for Saturday. A friend has invited me to Sanctuary Hotel – The last time I walked in, the air con wasn’t working correctly for large crowds and it became stuffy and overheated. Since then I have been assured things were ‘fixed’. So let’s check it out – here we go!

The views expressed below are those of the author and NOT of Phat Entertainment

Funky (Buddha) @ Sanctuary Hotel (edit 16TH sept: THIS EVENT IS NO LONGER RUNNING)
Assessment Time: 12:15AM to 02:45AM
Opening Hours: 10:30 – Unknown
Lockout: None
Website: http://www.funkybuddha.com.au, http://www.phatentertainment.com.au
Address: 545 Kent St – Corner of Liverpool and Kent St, Sydney. Behind 3 wise monkeys.
Dress Code / Door Policy: Casual ok. Hats allowed.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $25 standard. $20 on guestlist before midnight. 
Guestlist: info@phatentertainment.com.au
Occurence: Every Saturday Night.
Inside: The entrance is not at the normal Sanctuary Hotel entrance. It is via the TAB area further along on Kent St. The room upon entry is where people can have a chat and chill out without actually going outside. Walk in further to the main area, and the large carpeted room has been converted to a dancefloor. DJ on the wall, and a 3 tier podium smack in the middle, dividing the room into two halves. Bar along the far back wall.
Cloak Room: Cloak room is located upon entry. Not utilized tonight but I would imagine it to be the same rip off pricing as of previous nights at the previous Verandah Bar venue.
Bar: Did not utilize tonight, but the wait was a bit longer than usual. Line was 2 or 3 deep. Bar closed altogether at 2:30AM, in a safe assumption that too many fights spoil the bar.
Music: RnB, Pop and some House mashup
Crowd: Mostly Asian. Mostly teenagers or early 20’s. You can tell via the baby faces and hair styles. I fit right in.
Entertainment: Podium dancers throughout the night. It’s good enough.
Atmosphere: It’s setup to encourage lots of dancing, which is good. The humidity of the last time I was here is gone – Fans are installed and air con is setup just right for a danceable experience. People are not as friendly but what else do you expect from 18 year olds. Carpeted area gives the place a more friendly vibe as well as the second room to allow people a breather is also good. It’s also pretty busy on the dancefloor itself, enough to have your own dance, but not sardine packed.

Fights: I saw two fights break out tonight. One you may see typically at a club, but two in one night is bad. Ha. Teenage angst and alcohol.
Videos:

Walkthrough of the dancefloor area. 
[Video removed on request by Phat Entertainment]

360 View
[Video removed on request by Phat Entertainment]

Timeline:
The world cup
It only comes every 4 years. Tonight it was Australia vs Ghana. I sat for the majority of the match in the secondary room watching the game with my fellow clubbers. I know, it wasn’t utilizing the most of my $25 but I have to watch it. It was really upsetting to see Kewell red carded. Very unfair.

This definitely deserved a red card
So after the match I am trying to get through the crowd, but I face a wall of some dancers. I stand there for a few seconds waiting for a gap to open up so that I could continue on. A girl behind me pushes me. Ok, I was near their group so I step back a bit but I still can’t go through. Then, ANOTHER SHOVE from the same group, this time more violent – as if to tell me to fuck off already. HEY – IM JUST TRYING TO WALK THROUGH, AND COINCIDENTALY STANDING NEXT TO YOU GIRLS. I AM NOT EVEN LOOKING AT YOU. WHY SHOVE ME FOR?? Fuck you, fucking teenagers.

Used the birthday card
Was getting bored, and there was a circle of about 8 girls just dancing away. So I asked marty to jump in the middle and dance. He said no. I used my birthday card and forced him to go. He agrees and jumps in and dances. Great! It works and we all start dancing for my birthday. I think they were laughing at us rather than with us when we were dancing.

We have a fan from a previous clubbing night
an area in the back opened up and we go back to dance. another dude joins us, and I shake his hand after. He says he met us last time at Macquarie Hotel! I don’t remember him at all, but if he knows where I was in the past, then I believe him. It’s been a while since I’ve been recognized randomly- I was starting to miss it.

Arrivederci
Left just before 3:00AM from being bored. The place was beginning to die down ratio wise.

Recommendation
This is not such a bad place to go, and a definite improvement on Verandah Bar. Do keep in mind its Asian teeny bopper night here if you are of the older classy type. Seeings two fight break outs in the short time I was here was a little disturbing, but that is expected in any club with young people.

Funky @ Sanctuary Hotel – 6/10