 | We put 'OK' as we think all clubs deserve all our support even if they are getting some things wrong. The VA is 'OK' as long as you like VERY VERY loud music throughout the club, so loud it is almost impossible to socialize with anyone, which we like to do and think is a very important part of the club experience. And throw in different music in the large playroom, not quite as loud as the main club music so you get competing music assaulting your ears while you're trying to get intimate!
We went to the House Rocks night the other week and wish we hadn't. Aside from the music being ridiculously loud, there were several people wandering around who had clearly taken drugs. Plus a very odd group of women who were strangely dressed for a swingers club, looked as miserable a sin, did not engage with anyone else at all and were giving everyone dirty disapproving looks. Very disappointing that the club does not enforce it's rules on drugs.
The music has always been an issue at VA but the club used to have redeeming features which made it stand out from other clubs and made it still worth a visit. The overall offering has fallen a long way from when we first went there, e.g. they used to have light coloured towelling covers on the beds (giving a classier look and feel), provided towels in the lockers (which encouraged you to dress down at some point), did a decent buffet to refuel and had pillows on the beds. These things used to set the club apart from most other clubs, except Libs, but have sadly fallen by the wayside in recent years.
Some of the more recent changes look nice but in our view it's very much a case of style over substance, e.g. the lovely big wide bar stools which look great but completely block the bar. And moving the disco and dancefloor to the front old lounge area would be good if they'd removed the large speaker from the old dancefloor area (so people could hear each other in what should now be a social area) and repaired the big holes in the flagstone floor of the new dancefloor.
We will still visit the club in summer to use the Lux Lounge but we're unlikely to attend a club night again unless we hear there have been significant changes to the way the club is run.
Date: 30 December 2022
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