[Update] Vibe didn’t last long. Now seems to be permanently closed.

TL;DR Great nightclub, terrible play spaces

https://www.vibesocialclub.com

There's a new club in town and we couldn't resist checking it out. There's good and there's not so good.

Joining This has been fairly fluid since they opened, so definitely check out the site. However, last we heard, here's how it works. Membership levels (yearly) come in three varieties: $39 for basic entry (no event discounts), $199 for event discounts, $699 for steeper discounts and access to VIP areas (which weren't open yet when we went). To join, you need to apply online. We took some exception to the level of detail needed to join (Profession? Really? How's that relevant. We just put "professional".) Beyond that issue, they did do a nice job of following up quickly with a friendly phone call. They had us pay for our membership over the phone.

Arrival Like all other major lifestyle venues in Providence, it's relegated to the industrial side of the city. It's a warehouse. Not much more to say about that, I guess. Parking is an issue, but they were providing valet at the time we went. It was raining that night and the valets even had umbrellas to get the women in to the club dry. A nice touch. There's a nice reception area. They check you in, give you a number for your alcohol and check your coat if needed. The bathrooms are well done, but there isn't any changing stalls that we saw, so you had to change in a bathroom stall. Lockers were provided, but only in the women's room. However, they are free and a lock is provided.

Atmosphere This is really the club's strength. It's beautifully done inside. Great lighting, nice bar space, beautiful dance floor. The space is well laid out. As you enter the main area, the bar divides between the dance area and a nice "lounge like" area. The dance floor is very large. They do have a DJ so the music is better than other places. Of course, having a DJ and having sex onsite is a very dicey legal position as we understand it, so that is a worry. A very cool feature is the catwalk above the dance floor. It has nice couches up there as well. We're big fans of setups like that that allow us to people watch.

Play Space Well, here's the bad. And I mean REALLY bad. Whoever set this up, has no clue how to do a proper play space for a lifestyle club. All the "rooms" are down a single corridor behind the dance floor. A few of the rooms are "private", but they have windows without glass. They do have blinds, but you're at the mercy of people not peeking behind them if you want privacy. The rest are open spaces including a large open space in the middle. The beds are horrible, hard, vinyl, abominations. I get that they make for easy cleanup (though they do little of that), but they suck to play on. They provide a sheet. No, not a fitted sheet, just a sheet. Ever tried to do anything on a slippery, vinyl surface with just a sheet? Let me tell you, it doesn't work. You might as well forego the sheet. There are room attendants, but we didn't see them doing anything more than throwing a new sheet down. No wipe down. Gross. There's also many things missing in the rooms. No supplies. No wastebaskets. The whole situation is just not well done.

Summary This is a great nightclub, terrible lifestyle club. If you just want a place to meet people, dance and drink, it works. If you want a place you can actually play, this isn't it. It is popular at the moment. It's novel. I don't think it will last, though, without some serious changes. Plus, there have been some very funny rumors about the future of the club. We'll see how long it lasts.