Atlantic City: boardwalk empire, casino Candy Land, and now, the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic’s answer to the desert-perfected pool party scene. At least, that’s how operators Angel Management Group (behind Vegas prototype Wet Republic) and EMM Group are billing Revel Resort’s HQ Beach Club, which Armin van Buuren, supported by W&W, helped debut this Memorial Day weekend, headlining Sunday’s all-day festivities. We break down the highlights of our experience there, and why you should go.
SETUP
Despite filing for bankruptcy just a couple of months ago, Revel, the year-old, 20-acre oceanfront destination that cost a cool $2.4 billion to complete before Hurricane Sandy hit last year, appears not to have scaled back on plans to bring its long-awaited beach club to life, delivering a 45,000-square-foot seasonal complement to the rest of the resort’s carefully styled, chrome-slicked aesthetic.
The outdoor hideaway’s L-shaped design prevents you from seeing the full layout from the boardwalk entrance point, making for a dramatic reveal further in: Turquoise and triangular, the pool is impressive and rowdy, alight with beaming, splash-happy inhabitants, heels off, cocktails flailing. Dark sunglasses and the stray uplifted limb were the only tangibles our eyes caught amid the uproar.
White couches, tables, and plush lounge chairs surround, while a shaded, marble-lined walkway that provides bird’s eye views of the aquatic action leads you past set-off, teak-covered cabanas, then back towards the sizable DJ booth, itself crowned with a large LED screen and flanked by shell-curved speakers that do a deceptively decent job carrying heavy sounds throughout.
The system is set up so that swimmers and loungers can hear (nearly) as well as those standing front row. I.e., pool partyers are happy to hang out in the water, discouraging a rush to the main viewing area at go time.
Opposite the cabanas are sheltered private bungalows, furnished with king-size tufted beds and partitioned from the common area by glass-walled, adjoining plunge pools. We dubbed these “the fish tank,” and expect to be soaked if you’re parked nearby; numerous bodies (some fully dressed) jumped/fell into the shallow tank during the show.
Bottle service is available for table, daybed, and bungalow reservations, with pricing comparable, we’d surmise, to that of EMM Group’s NYC nightspots, which include Finale (providers of VIP services at this year’s EDC New York), Tenjune, and SL. A bikini model posed atop a surfboard (or the shirtless dudes carrying her?) delivering your Moët magnum might be contrived flash, but succeeds in entertaining nonetheless.
Don’t worry if your phone dies and you’ve lost your friends; it takes two seconds to assess all possible navigation routes, and the dance floorlevel is a slight step down, like a mini-amphitheater, so people can actually see.
CROWD
21 and over. Three words that’ll seal the deal for a solid segment of EDM event-goers. As much as we sympathize with the plight of the underage music lover, for us, this one’s a game changer.
Style-wise, there were as many Parker House patrons as those at home at Neptune’s, making for an interesting mix of board shorts and beach bunnies, Jersey Housewives cast members in training, and a scattering of older, deep-pocketed Revel-ers. We’re interested to see where the club ends up finding its demographic groove, with a lineup as diverse as the opening weekend throng: from Boris and Bambi to Kaskade and Otto Knows this Saturday and Sunday.
Maybe it was the sun unexpectedly breaking out in full force (and the promise of an effortless tan); it being the official kickoff to summer; or the frequency of barely-there swimsuits floating around the pool deck. Regardless, at the risk of invoking a “PLUR” reference, it was, all in all, high energy and good vibes.
PERFORMANCE ACCESSIBILITY
We liked the techy opener, but started to get a little antsy when he was still going at 2 pm (presumably, he’d been on since doors opened at 10 am). An hour later, Armin sauntered into the booth.
We camped out back by where the pool area descends into the pit, with a perfect, eye-level view of the Dutchman, behind whom was a crescent-shaped VIP section, one of the more desirable ones we’ve seen. The crowd in front swelled, but never to the push-and-shove breaking point suffered at so many festivals or, really, most city venues. It was all rather…civil?
One thing we genuinely hope holds out is management overselling/maxing out capacity as the season goes on. Not that we’re holding our breath.
By the time W&W took to the decks to close, non-EDM-heads had drifted back to the pool and spread out with mingling in mind, leaving a criminally open dance floor, one a different breed of fan would’ve paid premium prices for. The space surplus was such that Willem and Ward singled out dancers amongst the remaining ranks, smiling their approval and chatting momentarily with trance enthusiasts stationed directly in front of the booth, separated only by a low glass divider.
CONVENIENCE
Upon our arrival, the line outside was single-file for a good 20-minute span. Being five steps from sandy beach (less than 100 from the water) and confined to roped-off aisles for no more than five minutes took the edge off the wait. Considering it was the club’s second day operating and peak time for ticket holders to be admitted before the 1 pm cut-off, we really couldn’t complain.
Mixed drinks ran about $13: not cheap, but far from blasphemy (we’re not proud that we’ve ponied up much worse). Size and pouring were fair(ish), minus, of course, the ice-to-the-brim standard. We recommend the elevated back bar, which seemed to have more experienced bartenders than the smaller one by the entrance, and more of them. Mid-show, the upper deck was bafflingly crowd-free, especially considering the close-range, backstage view it offers, the kind customarily privy to VIPs only.
We located only one bathroom area, which was pristine (a drastic and welcome change from festival muck) and adequate numbers-wise. Lines grew for both the girls’ and guys’ at prime entry time, but later in the afternoon, walking in and back before the next major transition was a breeze.
BOTTOM LINE
Raving is usually dirty, sometimes raw, and more often than we’d like, an obstacle to overcome in order to hear music played by the acts we love. That feeling of putting up with all of the BS and “earning it” certainly has its place in live-music culture. But if an experiential concept that capitalizes on the best parts of a day club, beach bar, and concert appeals…
Adjust your expectations accordingly, EDM hipsters; this isn’t Output, or even Pacha. In fact, HQ Beach Club at Revel Beach isn’t a rave venue at all. And that’s exactly why it’s worth checking out yourself.
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Post by: Katie Oh for WhiteRaverRafting.com
We’ll be at the HQ Beach Club for Chuckie on 6/9/13 come along and join us.
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