by Nadia T. on "But, why is he trying to kick me out?? I didn't DO anything!" (Insert puppy dog eyes.) Black-suited man looks at the girl in front of him, blushed with Asian-glow. Contemplates for a second. Then signals the ropeman with a nod. Ropeman thinks, "??" then "!!" She walks past the defeated ropeman, head held high, overcome with a sense of victory that she was able to single-handedly shut down a power-hungry bouncer with one femme fatale look. And for the rest of the night, she felt untouchable. Thanks for the ego boost, Royale. You sure do know how to treat a lady. -------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- That being said, I think this place has potential to be a nightlife hotspot if they got a better DJ and set up an actual dance floor. The place itself is cool looking, like the inside of an old theater. There were even a couple fun go-go dancers. But, the place is neither here nor there. It's not a lounge, yet it's not a club. With all the space, you'd think they could put a dance floor somewhere. Instead, there's an area of awkwardly placed couches lined up as a square, closed off for bottle service. And then everyone else is supposed to dance and do their drunk thing around the VIP area. I felt like I was just there as floating debris in the infinity of space beyond the center of the club. There was also an upstairs, but nothing special. The staff wasn't too bad. Cool bartenders and girl bouncer at the door. Only problem I ran into was the uptight ropeguy. It wasn't even that big of a deal since it was already an hour 'til close, but my two girlfriends jumped the rope because we were drunk girls in need of dancing and he wouldn't let us in. He tried to yell at them to come back, but they kept walking up the stairs. He attempted to regain power by kicking me out. Another bouncer came over to kick me out, but luckily the who-I-assume-is-the-manager-or-promoter gave me a break and let me thru the rope without having to pay cover. Now, that's gangster. You know, I had an ok time at Royale. But, the blah music and lack of a legit dance floor don't really give me a strong urge to want to come back again. This girl likes to dance, and Royale just put me to sleep.
by Felicia W. on Great place to see and be...groped? I have been to this place a couple times and despite the 20 something crowd, I had an excellent time. The crowd is vibrant and barely dressed and the whole place is packed in like sardines after midnight. Go early and pick your bustiered bartendress early, because you may have to move your tab. Drinks are inconsistant between the lovely ladies. The dance floor is huge and until they painted over the beautiful hardwood floor, it was great to dance on. But it will still do for the pumping, throbing club music they usually spin. The place will eventually get too full to dance anyway. Overall, little bit pricey and I laugh at the whole velvet rope VIP deal, but I have never gone and not enjoyed myself.
