 | We visited this club on a Saturday (Couples night) When you drive up to the new ‘Vanilla Alternative’ venue (Conveniently located in a former country pub and hotel right next door to the A1) the tall Victorian chimneys of the main building had me half expecting to be greeted by David Niven in his butler outfit (And had he still been around he may well have done) The premises, with its beautiful rear garden ensconced by the river Ouse is ideally located for the Northern Home counties and is a 45 minute drive from North London. On arrival we were greeted by Michelle one of the proprietors’ who showed us round the venue and to our rooms. The venue has 14 rooms on site and we strongly advise you book in advance should you wish to use them. As the club is still going through its refurbishment the owners will freely admit the rooms are presently at a basic standard, so bare this mind, they are however perfectly functional and more importantly clean and include television with free-view, en suite (Optional) and tea and coffee. The plan over the coming months is for these rooms to be transformed into themed suites but they are more than adequate for the time being. The club facilities themselves are all based on the ground floor. Outside there is ample parking for well over 50 cars. Once past the reception and cloak room you will enter the main bar area off which there is also a sunken spacious dance floor with DJ booth, well suited for the planned summer foam parties. The bar and lounge also has plenty of room for dancing, there is a pole, and a snug with a fireplace. (A snug with eight chesterfield sofas is a large snug in anyone’s imagination) Beyond the main social area are the playing areas of the club. From a central corridor there are three open playing areas each with a vast amount of space, three smaller more enclosed beds are also connected to these rooms which have curtains that can be closed for privacy. The jewel in the crown is the sunken warm (Perhaps a little too warm at the start of evening) Jacuzzi, (Chlorine free) one of the largest in any venue in the UK with room for thirty or more. This area is surrounded by play beds and showers and there are plenty of towels available. From this area you can also easily access your room upstairs should you be staying over. There is a heated courtyard covered area for smokers outside and ample toilet facilities. The venue is clean, cosy and tastefully lit and decorated, with the Vanilla Alternatives purple décor a soothing presence throughout the venue.
On the night we visited (Their sixth weekend of opening) there was about 100 people in attendance, with the average of the females around 36 and the men around 44, and importantly everyone made an effort to dress up with more sexy outfits than a catwalk in Paris fashion week. A good time was certainly had by all it seemed and there was a very friendly atmosphere and once again this a venue where couples very much played as couples they whole night, there was no ‘ticketing going on here’ Making this an ideal club for nervous first timers. Prices for couples on a Saturday are £35 and the bar serves everything at reasonable prices, there is also a free finger buffet served at 10pm. Future plans include a dungeon in the large basement area (currently being renovated) which will be ready for their massive all fetish weekend in September.
It is clear that the owners have put their heart and soul into this venue and it shows from the tasteful décor, friendly and helpful staff and the sexual charged atmosphere that their environment creates on any given night. Once the remaining work is completed it is almost certain to become the best venue in the UK. Its prices are competitive, they say you get what you pay for and that is certainly true here.
Date: 3 April 2011
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