Kin.ki @ City Hotel

On January 19, 2014, in Mr TIpplys, RnB, Top 40, by J T

A birthday tonight, its time to revisit this place!

James Tran and Mario Sydney

Kin.Ki @ City Hotel (updated 2014)
(Review combines visits on 20/5/2012 and 19/2/2014)

About: Coming from the same promoters who do the “Perfect” @ Pontoon / “Flow Fridays” event, the name “Kin.Ki” is based on its location on King St. Regardless, word was that this place was getting popular, so here we go!

Assessment Times: 12:10AM – 3:30AM (20th May 2013), 11:25PM-2:30AM (19th Jan 2014)
Opening Hours: 10:00PM – 3:30AM (on expected busy nights it may extend to 4:00AM-5:00AM)
Lockout: Unknown
Address: 347 Kent St (Corner of Kent and King St)
Venue Website: http://www.cityhotel.com.au
Event Website: http://www.facebook.com/Kinki.Saturdays
Promoter Website: http://www.syndicateevents.com.au
Occurrence: Every Saturday night since February 2012
Outside Line: We arrived a bit late, but lucky for us the line is barely there, and we got in within 5 minutes. (We did try coming here on an Easter Weekend, and the line was about 2 hours long and we gave up – so be careful. ) It was quite cold tonight and I was pretty happy to actually pay this amount, just so I could get out of the cold. If you were on the guestlist, you had to actually wait a bit longer (to time you out of discount entry).
Dress Code / Door Policy: Guys are expected to wear at least collared shirts and jeans/pants to fit in. Girls are expected to look “chick”. i.e. dress your best. Most are dressed well. No hats, thongs, singlets, runners or dirty shoes allowed. Clean sneakers appear to be okay. I had jeans / sneakers / skinny tie / collared shirt.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: Guestlist entry $20 before midnight. I paid $25 full entry. For a special guest appearance night (e.g Mario) it is $30.
Guestlist: Send them to your preferred promoter (not me) or kinki.saturdays@gmail.com ,
Inside: Walk inside to the atrium area where there is a second room up the stairs on your left. Seating and the main bar are right in front of you and serves as the non-smoking chill out area, while the DJ and dancefloor are on the other side of the bar. The bar is of circular configuration against the right wall. It takes up about half the width of the floor space.

The dancefloor itself is just a big square floor with lounges along the walls with the DJ booth in front. Overall it is  of medium size, but compared to other “Asian” oriented events, the floor relatively larger, and can enough to hold about 150 people or so. Continue onto the rear outdoor smoking area where there are numerous more tables, couches and a second mini bar on the outside serving limited variety of shots.

Front of the dancefloor

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A birthday at Arthouse tonight. We kind of debated for half an hour outside in the cold, outside the venue, to whether we should go in or not. Of course, we went in eventually. A second visit for tonight’s event, let’s see how it fares:

AJ Rafael performs (1:30AM)

Flirt Saturdays @ Arthouse Hotel – Saturday Night – 11th August 2012
(some content will be similar to last week’s review)
Assessment Time: 11:35PM – 3:55AM
Opening Hours: “10:00PM” – 3:55AM. The quotes are subject to how long it takes for these guys to setup the DJ equipment and venue for the event. 
Lockout: Unknown
Address: 275 Pitt St, Sydney (near Town Hall Station)
Venue Website: http://www.thearthousehotel.com.au
Event Website: http://www.fb.com/flirtsaturdays
Promoters: Urban Agent in conjunction with 1nitestand, VIPList, Eso, and others. 
Occurrence: Every Saturday since July 2012. 
Outside Line: There is a general line and a guestlist line. When we were debating whether to go in or not, there was a line of about 10 people. After deciding to go in inside, the line had been cleared by then – we got in without trouble.  Considering the rain, at least they put one small table canopy up for whoever was standing in the front of the guestlist line. 
Dress Code / Door Policy: There was no enforced theme/dress code, so casual was definitely okay. I had a long jacket with a double layer t-shirt (Breaking some fashion crimes there) with cardigan, jeans and casual shoes. I looked very daggy, but I was cold, and I didn’t care how I looked today.  Half the crowd were casual and half were dressed smart proper. 
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $20 on the guestlist before 12:00AM, otherwise $25. I would recommend getting your name on a discount guestlist. 
Guestlist: Send lists to your preferred promoter or check the Facebook page for details. 
Inside:  Main Room: Enter via the cashier entrance and you are at the back of the room- It’s a large, tall, long-ish room – now split it as such. The whole left wall is lined with lounges, tables and stools. The right wall is the main bar to hold about 5 bartenders at a time, with a secondary “shots bar” with a small selection of shots. This leaves a narrow path in the middle for which people line up and mingle. Right at the front the area widens for what is the general dancefloor area to hold about 40-50 people comfortably. DJ is right at the centre front, with a sight adjustment tonight – there is a large-ish podium in the middle. This was to be reserved for AJ Rafaels performance. Guys and girls were not allowed up on here. Arthouse has gone through a few additions since my last visit, to make it more ‘club’ friendly. There has been a proper segregation between tables/lounges and the mingling area with an open panel wall in the middle – people can dance and others can drink in peace. Also laser lights and squares of LED colour lights have been installed. Let’s also chuck in a few ribbons as well to break up the space – this defintely helps in making the place feel a bit more intimate as the ceiling is like 10 metres high. There is also a common back area for smoking, general chit chat. 
Inside: Second Room: Again, the second room had a private party! Luckily the party was to end at midnight so I had the chance to finally get my grubby feet into the House music. Enter the room via cashier entrance and you are at the front. DJ on your right and bar on your left on the far end wall. In between is just dancefloor with lounges lining one wall, with large barrels (literally those barrels you see on pirate ships) along the middle length of the dancefloor to break it up. Also a tall room, and its pretty dark in here.

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Promoters have launched a new event at the refurbished Arthouse Hotel! Lets check it out – Here we go!

Flirt @ Arthouse Hotel – 4th August 2012
Assessment Time: 10:00PM – 2:45AM
Opening Hours: “10:00PM” – 4:00AM. The quotes are subject to how long it takes for these guys to setup the DJ equipment and venue for the event. People were let in at 10:30PM.
Lockout: Unknown
Address: 275 Pitt St, Sydney (near Town Hall Station)
Venue Website: http://www.thearthousehotel.com.au
Event Website: http://www.fb.com/flirtsaturdays
Promoters: Urban Agent in conjunction with 1nitestand, VIPList, Eso, and others.
Occurrence: Every Saturday since July 2012.
Outside Line: There is a general line and a guestlist line. Nobody lining up at 10PM, so we were the very first! A bit worrying as I expected at least someone to be lining up. When the doors finally opened at 10:30, there were about 30 people in line, and I was literally beginning to shiver – it was bloody cold. I felt a bit sorry for the people behind me in line, as I hear the security guy whisper to his colleague “Let them in 5 at a time – keep it (the rate of letting people in) slow” – So it is true! promoters want to keep a visible presence with people outside, while said people freeze outside. I plead on behalf of us payees, please keep us warm with an outdoor heater or something. A general tip for any clubs with separate lines – if you don’t care about entry fees, line up at the general line to get faster access into the club – security purposely let full fee payers go in as a priority, for obvious reasons.
Dress Code / Door Policy: Tonight the theme is a school uniform party – so ties and shirts were seen, but most just wore whatever they had on. Casual was okay. Girls had their one pieces on and guys were a mix of casual and well dressed. It was more of a casual affair though – my impression anyway. I had some old converse chucks, pants, cardigan with a collared shirt and my old “Class Captain” pin from primary school.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $10 if you were in school uniform theme. Free entry before 10:30 if you had your student ID! Well, lucky old me had a student ID, so I got free entry. The promo girls were nice to come outside to give free entry cards to whoever was in line just before the doors open, despite it being after 10:30PM. $20 on the guestlist before 12:00AM, otherwise $25. Bit pricey in general but normal for the Asian events – I would recommend getting your name on a discount guestlist at the very least.
Guestlist: Send lists to your preferred promoter or check the facebook page for details.

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After a short period of refurbishment (to which Sweet Saturdays moved to City Hotel as the Kin.ki event), Civic Hotel upper level reopens with a new event. Let’s check it out!

Midnight crowd. DJ corner in the far right.

Yolo (You Only Live Once) Saturdays @ Civic Hotel (Rooftop)
Assessment Time: Midnight – 3:15AM
Opening Hours: Unknown (probably 10:30PM) – 4:00AM
Lockout: Around 2:30AM
Address: 388 Pitt St (oppposite World Square)
Venue Website: http://www.civichotel.com.au
Event Website: http://www.facebook.com/YoloSaturdays
Promoter Website: Unknown, but it could possibly be self promoted???
Occurrence: Today is Grand Opening night and it is to run every Saturday.
Outside Line: Didn’t appear to be a line. We got in right away without much trouble.
Dress Code / Door Policy: Nobody was wearing hats, except for the MC, so not sure on the hat policy. Guys are generally a mix of casual and collared shirts – you could get away with most clothing here. We were also a large contingent of mixed guys and girls and got in without issue tonight. Girls were dressed with their casual dresses and only a handful wore body tight dresses.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: One of my friends knew someone, who knew someone else, who got us free entry. So lovely of them. Standard cover charge ? we had no idea, but based on past history of Asian clubbing events at Civic Hotel and the cross promoting before the event launched, I would make the educated guess that it was $25 standard entry, with $5 discount if you were on a guestlist, and entered the premises before perhaps 11:30 or midnight.
Guestlist: yolo@civichotel.com.au , or check the facebook website for mobile phone contact details

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A friend’s birthday. Thank the lord the venue isn’t a packed Asian club because I had a horrific experience over the Easter weekend trying to get to any club. Tonight it’s Zeta Bar, and we are let in – here we go!

Dancefloor area at 12:30AM

Saturday Nights @ Zeta Bar Sydney
Assessment Time: 10:45PM – 2:55AM
Opening Hours: Bar opens at 5PM, but DJ music is up from 7:30PM
Lockout: Unknown, but probably 30 minutes before closing.
Address: Level 4, 488 George Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. The entrance is via George St – take the elevator up to Level 4.
Venue Website: http://www.zetabar.com.au and http://www.fb.com/zetabarsydney
Event Website: See venue website above.
Promoter Website: Self Promoted (?)
Occurrence: Every Saturday Night
Outside Line: The line on ground level was minimal, and we were let in right away.
Dress Code / Door Policy: Pretty much as the website states, it is a sophisticated dress code. Smart casual is the minimum to be here. Pointy shoes, collared shirts, vests for guys.. girls should look their best.
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: $20 for everybody. Even though a guestlist was sent in, the price was the same.
Guestlist: drink@zetabar.com.au
Inside: Take the elevator up to the 4th floor. Walk out past the register and on your right is the dancefloor to hold perhaps 50-70 people comfortably. An open wall separates the floor from two large U shaped lounges each to hold probably 20 people. On your left is the long bar along the wall, while opposite the bar are curtained off lounges for private parties. In between is the narrow walkway spanning the length of the bar upto the secondary bar on the far northen end wall. As you walk up to this particular area, there are spotted lounges along the walls, and note the outside courtyard on your left, with some trees in the middle of it providing you with a plentiful source of leaves. Courtyard could hold another 50-100 people.. very tightly though – there isn’t much room to move around here.

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When walking down Park Road near York/Kent St, you’re gonna hear some club music. Where is it coming from? Look up, and you can see flashing lights! Dropped on by to quickly have a look

More men and creepy looking Asian guy in the back.

Dropping by: Saturday Nights @ Sweenys Hotel, Sydney

Assessment Time: 11:40PM- 12:00AM
Venue Website: www.hotelsweeneys.com.au
Promoter Website: Self promoted
Occurrence: Every weekend
Outside Line: No line
Dress Code / Door Policy: Very casual here
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: Free all night
Guestlist: None
Inside: It’s like a small courtyard with a small bar to go with it. It could hold about 50-80 people.
Cloak Room: None
Bar Prices / Line: Didn’t drink here tonight.
Music Style: House and some trance. It was good to shuffle to, bass thumping, but the tunes themselves were unfamiliar. 
Crowd: Mostly locals as well as backpackers. Mixed ages from 20’s to 30’s
Ratio: Approximately 80% guys. 
Atmosphere: The whole are was pretty busy so it was an okay atmosphere but everyone was smoking, and it got a little hot just even mildly dancing around. The actual dancing area in front of the DJ, not many were actually dancing, so it was difficult to pick the crowd up. The two of us danced away and got a lof of guy attention, and some of them end up dancing with us. Fun times?? Also on the way up, the lower floors smell quite dirty.
Video:
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Arrivederci
After we had enough sausages, we left. 

Final Thoughts & Recommendation

I wouldn’t come here solely to dance. This seems to be more of an added service to patrons who already come here for a dance, rather than to separately attract outside people here.

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A venue I’ve always wanted to visit. I made plans, cleared the night, and tonight was the night. Here we go!

Dance podium area

Saturdays @ “The Club” Nightclub, Kings Cross, Sydney
Assessment Time: 12:30AM – 2:00AM
Opening Hours: 21:00PM – 05:00AM
Lockout: Unknown
Address: 33 Bayswater Road, Potts Point, Sydney. 
Venue Website: http://theclubsydney.com  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theclubsydney
Event / Promoter Website: Self promoted
Occurrence: Every weekend. 
Outside Line: There’s two lines, one for re-entry and one for ‘first time’ entries. Our ‘first time’ line took about 5 minutes, while re-entry was only a few seconds. Security were pretty lenient on scanning. 
Dress Code / Door Policy: Being situated below Hugo’s, one would believe the dress code would be strict, but it suprisingly isn’t. T-shirts and hats were allowed for guys and so were singlets  allowed for the ladies. There is a simple explanation for this later on. 
Entry Fee / Cover Charge: Tonight was $25. 
Guestlist: you may enquire within at info@theclubsydney.com but we are not sure if you are guaranteed a response. 
Inside: Walk past the counter to enter the common pre-club hangout area where you can either move onto the main room, a side room, the bathroom or the outdoor smoking courtyard area. The side room is quite small and has a small DJ set on a table, with lounges and a small bar staffed by 1 person. Bathroom to the left and main room on the right. The first set of steps takes you to the main bar area, which is basically: big long bar on the left, with lounges around the whole floor. There is even a darker corner of lounges on the far left. Continue walking and approach the second flight of stairs, which leads you to the main dancefloor. The area can hold about 200-300 people easily and if you watched the video, our first reaction was “wow”, just seeing this big space snugly hidden underground from the outside view. Big giant disco ball overhangs while there is a large podium/stage area with not 1, not 2, but three dancing poles. That is pretty impressive. It is no surprise to learn that this place was a former strip club.

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