 | We were at Xtasia on New Years Eve 2016, an evening certain to go down in the memories of many as one of those nights you will always remember for all the right reasons. There was an extremely friendly, sociable, vibe to the evening with great music by the DJs and plenty of fun to be had by many later on. The club was packed with a good 200 + or so couples and a handful of single guys & girls so there must have been well over 400 people present, perhaps more. Although single guys were present on the evening, they were polite and didn't bother us (10 out of 10 for effort though!) We were extremely pleased to meet a young Lesbian couple at the club, a sure sign of how varied & relaxed the scene is becoming in the right environment, they were quite impressed with the sense of etiquette. Clearly Xtasia does create that as it was their second time to the venue. For anyone who hasn't been before we should describe the club as simply telling you we had a good time won't really tell you much. Xtasia can boast the biggest dance floor of any Swingers Club in the UK, so tends to attract a crowd that likes to dress up & dance as part of the evening. This certainly appeals to us, having a similar vibe to another of our fave clubs, Atlantis, where we spent NYE two years ago, but here on a larger scale. The club however has far more to offer than just a place to have a good bop. The outside of the club has changed too, now that the old pub has been enclosed with the club in a single compound - gone are the days of running the gauntlet to get to the club door, it is now all one venue, with the pub being 'Flirts Bar' where we went for a quick drink before the main venue. Flirts is tiny, but its the perfect space to meet and socialise before going to the main club despite needing some modernisation on the decor. Once inside the venue, your bags and phones are stored just past the entrance and stairs then lead up & down to the main part of the club itself. These stairs are best traversed when one is sober or with a hand firmly gripped on the rail. It does allow those who like to dress up to make something of a grand entrance to swoop down onto the dance floor, or you can sit by one of the tables around the venue and watch others do the same. The venues toilets are located just off the dance floor as well as the large bar. There is a large chill out room just past the main entrance, a room full of comfortable sofas beyond which is a couples only room (A much welcome addition since we were here three years ago - God how has it been three years?) It's easy to fall asleep in the chill out room if your getting tired, so be aware of that! There is a dogging style attic space just up some narrow stairs off the end of the main bar and additional stairs downstairs lead to the basement wet area containing showers, a Jacuzzi and cinema room. On the same level as the dance floor is a second area of playrooms just by the entrance stairs which has a number of small lockable playrooms, an S & M / Dungeon room and a more open group space with two doors. (Its worth mentioning here the club is now running very successful S & M nights) We also noticed the addition of a dance pole in a curtained area in one corner off the dance floor since our last visit. A great space for those who want to show their skills in private. (The dance floor has additional poles) On a mixed night the lower playrooms area does tend to attract the single guys, so to our regret we really didn't use it much as they were mainly in this area. Smokers are well catered for with a large outdoor covered area which is always the hive of much social activity. We did finally get to use the Jacuzzi on this trip which was lovely and a very horny experience with three other couples at it all around us, our only reason for coming out was for fear of looking like a Lobster! Lockers are located downstairs nearby, but get a key on the way in as its a pain to go back and get one later. We just threw our clothes into a pile and jumped in. As promised for the evening there was Confetti Cannons at midnight, champagne and a chocolate fountain which we only discovered as we were leaving at 330am. It was three deep at the bar almost relentlessly until 2am and the staff worked tirelessly serving and continually cleaning all night long, a thankless task for anyone on New Years Eve, so we both thank them all personally now from the bottom of our hearts for doing so, so that people like us could have a good time. Although the bar was extremely busy you really couldn't have fitted anyone else behind there to make it less so and everyone worked their asses off to serve people as fast as they could. We did wonder if a smaller cocktail only bar could be erected elsewhere, maybe in the chill out room on New Years Eve only? Something to think about perhaps for next time? The club had a really good mix of ages, races and types of people on the night, certainly no shortage of people that we took a shine too and we were lucky enough to be staying at the hotel next door which is extremely convenient. This type of mix has been the same every time we have attended the club over the years. For those outside of the local area reading this review, getting to the venue is no longer the pain that it used to be for us. With far more trains from Birmingham to London than before and at reasonable prices, one simply goes to Birmingham New Street from Euston and then right outside the station you can catch the tram to West Brom which has you there in 20 minutes. It's a short walk to the hotel, even with suitcases, so really not a problem at all. So from door to door for us was 3.5 hours with no driving and a mere £50 on travel costs. This is from London (Prices may vary according to arseholes at Train Companies who will increase costs in the New Year) We got the hotel at a really good rate too, though we did book it in October. Something worth thinking about for those who think the venue might be too far away for them? We can't fault the evening or the club really, other than to say the lighting in the couples room seemed a little over stated and could be made to be more conducive to creating an erotic atmosphere, but Paul we know is already on the case with this. (If you don't mention things people can't address them) We made some really good friends that night and there were dozens of people we would have loved to speak to (or play with!) whom we simply didn't get the chance to talk to, just because it was so busy. We have to put this club in our personal top three in the UK at the moment and this night was certainly one of the best New Years Eves we have ever had. It was a really fantastic night all round. We also a booked a second night at the hotel so we could get up when we felt like it the next day, an extremely good decision. Anyone we met on the evening, feel free to get in touch. Fabulous indeed.
Date: 3 January 2017
|
