The last few weeks have been hectic to say the least, I sincerely apologize for not updating my blog in such a long time, but I have good excuses!  I’ve been traveling a lot, NYC (for which I still owe some reviews) and most recently to Vegas for my Birthday. There isn’t any other place on this planet quite like Vegas, and as a party connoisseur, it’s a must to check it out at least a few times a year.  For my first stop we decided to head over to Mr. Wynn’s newest hotel, Encore and Club XS.

XS

Positives: Being that this is Vegas, there’s no need to start the clubbin’ journey early (I usually try to be places in SF around 11pm), we got started about midnight.  That’s one key advantage about every club in Vegas, closing time is on average 4am and many places stay open past that - perfect for all you night owls out there.  As soon as you enter XS you feel like you’ve arrived, it’s truly a grand entrance (see the first picture above).  Once you get past the velvet ropes and walk up a few stairs at the front you can see all the action.  I was almost awe struck with all the activity going on and the vista I was immediately presented with.  This place is huge and feels like a mini arena.  It’s like the Greek Coliseum of eye candy (ok it’s not that big, but still).  As I get older, I’ve been finding that I get more and more annoyed with larger clubs due to their: excessive lines, lack of standing space, overcrowded-ness, people spilling drinks everywhere, etc.  That’s not the case with XS, even though the place is huge, there is plenty of space to move around and lounge.  There was no lack of eye candy either, this is Vegas after all and beautiful people are in abundance.  They do a great job of mixing interior and exterior space, in fact kind of think of the club as in the shape of a theater, and right when you enter where you would normally see the screen/stage theres a giant opening to the outside portion of the club.  This is great as there’s more space to dance, mingle, and even gamble outside. In typical Vegas fashion, dressing trendy is the way to go here.  For all the ladies out there, XS has plenty of stripper polls (hey…I don’t judge) and counter space to dance on (guys, you will be asked to get down).  Bathrooms are also pretty massive, I never had to wait for a stall or even a sink.  On the night I went they played mainly top 40 and Hip Hop, but I do hear they mix it up occasionally.

Negatives:  Tables, tables, and more tables.  I know clubs see bottle service as their golden ticket, but you can obviously tell including tons of tables was a high priority on the blueprint for XS. It’s not a big negative, especially since nearly every table was booked, but it was kind of interesting when one of my friends pointed out the fact that the bottle service line was just as long as the general admission line…not much of a vip experience (at least initially).  The aggressive cocktail waitress walking around with random shots of liquor were a bit annoying.  Granted, I was spending a lot of time around the tables since I was hanging out with a few friends that had one, but even outside by the cabanas and pool area they were persistent.  Maybe I’m old fashion, but if I’m going to drop $13 on a shot, I at least want to make sure I’m getting what I ordered…so I’ll just head to the bar thank you.  This isn’t directly related to the club, but one thing I wondered about was that the outside part of XS is right next to the Encore hotel tower, so it might be a pain be on one of the lower floors facing the club if your an early bird.

• Location/Transportation: Located in the Encore, it’s pretty easy to get to from any of the hotels on the strip.  Parking is free if you’re driving over Grade: 5/5
• Line: We showed up around midnight and the line did not look too long - about 40 - 50 people at that time, but since this is one of the hottest clubs on the strip I’d either suggest arriving early or late to avoid long lines (*especially during holiday weekends)  Grade: 3/5
• Interior: Stunning, but this is Vegas land of the over-the-top ascetics and presentation.  As previously stated, they do a great job of creating an open space, making sure air circulates, and making sure people feel comfortable.  The layout is efficient and allows for good movement between areas, not a whole lot of traffic jams Grade 5/5
• Exterior: Loved the pool side cabanas and outside area, it gave people a place to slow down and take a break from the dancing going on inside.  I think we’ll probably start seeing more of this in warmer climate cities, clubs with a large outside section.    Grade 5/5
• Drinks: Drinks are pretty pricey, mixed drinks and shots started at $13.  I also heard that on certain nights drinks can be as high as $20, so you’ll definitely want to pre party, or get some free drinks on the gambling floor before heading in.  There’s a good amount of bars, if I counted correctly, there’s two large bars inside, on on each side of the club, and two large bars outside, one on the far side of the pool and the other closer to the cabanas.   Grade: 3/5
• Services: Tons of security, but very non-intrusive (if that’s even possible).  I got to go in under a table reservation and the guard was very polite and responsive.  Speaking of bottle service, prices here range from $600 to a few thousand per bottle depending on what you want to get and on which night.  But, it’s Vegas, it’s good to know people, there’s always a deal if you know the right person.  Grade 3/5
• Sound system:  Great great great! I think the openness helps with the acoustics.  I felt like I never had to strain my voice to mingle.  Some clubs have speakers blasting right on the dance floor, this is good and bad, but mainly bad in my opinion as you’ll go def standing right in front of them.  Not the case here.  Outside you can still hear enough of the music to dance, but obviously its not as loud as it is inside.    Grade 4/5
• Overall: I was pretty excited to go to XS because a lot of my friends have been hyping it up over the last few weeks.  I’m glad to say it did live up to expectations, and honestly, I would have gone both nights I was in Vegas (…and plan on hitting it up when I’m back for memorial day).  It should be noted that one of my friends told me they didn’t like it because they played nothing but House.  The night I went was all Hip Hop and Top 40, so I’d just advise you to check out the club calendar before hand. Grade 28/35 

Yelp review for XS