I would have to agree with some others HQ Beach Club is exactly what AC needed! Â The place is expensive and can be difficult to get into (even with a reservation), but it sure is FUN! Â Service was great, the DJ's (4th of July) were outstanding and the crowd was a fun mix of young and old but all having a great time!
Highly recommended, but be prepared to spend. Â Also, to make things easier to get in, I would suggest that you have a female on your arm. Â Pay for her to get in too. Â It all works out. Â Hosts are good. Â They take care of good customers.
Revel should have been this from the beginning (Borgata still rules this town). Â I hope; however, that this is the beginning of more good things to come.
For years, Atlantic City has been missing a spark. Dreary casinos, low turnouts, and declining revenues were a big problem even before Hurricane Sandy hit last Halloween. Revel was supposed to be the answer to AC's problems, but a poorly implemented business model saw them teeter over the edge of bankruptcy.
Despite all this, Revel did get one piece right - the HQ Beach Club / dayclub. Those who have been to any of the bigger Vegas pool parties might scoff at the notion of HQ Beach Club getting 5 stars, and hey - you may be right...but the HQ Beach Club has definitely provided the spark that this town sorely needed.
Arrival
I was a bit wary at first; after all, the Revel HQ Nightclub (indoors) was charging $70 entry the night before. Vegas pool parties are up in this price range as well, so I was surprised (shocked really) to find that they were only charging $20 on the Friday after 4th of July.
I forgot to print out a copy of my ticket, but the email said that they would be able to scan my ticket directly from my smartphone (much like one would at an airport). Alas, this was not to be - when I got there, one of the Revel employees directed me to the business center, telling me I'd have to print out a hard copy of the ticket (at 20 cents a page, no less!).
Also, apparently the ticket (in tiny size 1 font) said that you had to show up before 1pm in order for it to be valid. Since we were over an hour past this cut off, my friend and I were scared of getting turned away at the door. Luckily, despite these snafus, we got in with no problem.
Inside
Moderately crowded front bar, followed by a VIP lounge chair section, and later the main pool with 2 sides - the far side allowed partygoers to party up to their ankles, while the closer side allowed people up to waist level or so. Another bar was at the far end of the dayclub; unfortunately, there were only 2 bartenders here for about 35 people at the bar.
EDM-heavy rotation, and no complaints at all with the music type. While the atmosphere was admittedly not 100% Cancun pool party, there were plenty of people grinding and having a good time.
Other
Pricey drinks ($27 for 2 drinks). Rather small dance area directly in front of the DJ stage. Lack of any place to safely store your belongings (I'd imagine they install lockers and charge for access at some point as a way to generate additional revenue).
We wound up leaving around 5 pm and the party had started to die down a bit. Best times to show up seemed to be between 1-4pm.
Conclusion
The HQ Beach club is a fun alternative for the Atlantic City party scene. Great music, good crowd, and a lack of any real competition (until Harrahs Pool decides to start doing the same thing) make this definitely worth a visit. 4 stars
Pros
Vegas style pool party on the East coast
Reasonable cover charge
Great music
Cons
Lack of any place to store personal belongings
$$$ drinks
Not bad for a beach club in AC.
My friends and I came down to AC from Manhattan for Memorial Day Weekend and the opening of HQ beach club with Armin Van Buuren ::fangirl sigh::. We walked into Revel and headed towards the boardwalk - the entrance to the club is outside of the hotel. We purchased tickets in advance and had to wait in line since the ticket line was longer than the purchase at door line... Of course.
Walked in after going through security and was greeted with an expanse of white cabanas and beach chairs. These tables are away from the DJ booth and surround the pool area. The DJ booth is raised above everything else and set a little farther back. We had a great view of Armin the entire time and got super close to him! My only complaint is that it was SO LOUD. Bring earplugs if you ever go to this venue. We actually tried to move back to the bar to escape the sound and found speakers at the top of the bar as well! My ears were ringing four days after and I definitely suffered hearing loss. No bueno. Beach attire is required, no jeans! We saw a bunch of people get turned away at the door for wearing jeans and not shorts (guys). Girls - you kind of can wear whatever you want, as always.
Overall I had a great time but the venue could benefit from better organization at the front and a decrease in decibels! Club-goers like their music loud, but permanent damage to the ear drums is a no-no!
Did the Vegas style pool party for a bachelor party on a Saturday. Â I would say the table/bottle service we got made the day because it provided us a spot, a safe for our wallets/cells, storage, towels, waitress, and a sick location. Â Albeit expensive, anyone going here should not expect less. Â Awesome DJ and crowd. Â Top notch.
Review Source:It's great to have a daytime clubbing option in AC. The place was fun but the music was way too loud. All of the staff were wearing ear plugs and although I've been to many loud concerts and clubs, this was a whole new level-- my ears actually hurt.
Nevertheless, it's in a great location--right off the boardwalk. As others said, there should be places to put your stuff without having it get soaking wet by the pool's edge or having to worry about it being stolen while you're in the pool. The crowd was very guido, but it is AC after all.
More like 3.5 stars. We went on Sunday for Chuckie so it was probably less crowded than Saturday would have been. Â Got on a guest list so got in free after waiting about 2 min on line. If you get there early enough you can stake out a spot around the perimeter of the pool to sit down and set down your things. There's also ledges around the edge that you can stand by so you have a place to put down your bag/drink. The raised perimeter on the side opposite cabanas gives a good view of the DJ booth as well as the ensuing shit show that is present at most EDM events.
I didn't get to really take advantage of the bar being that I had to drive back to NYC that night but there are 2 fully stocked bars with reasonable prices for a pool party comparative to Miami/Vegas. I did have a Miami Vice for lunch that day though.
Security will go through your whole bag. They will open your lipstick/lipgloss, wallet, and if its that time of the month they will literally pull that stuff out of your bag and check it. Awkward. Don't even try to bring gum in, they will take it from your bag and throw it out. Once you're inside though security doesn't bother you unless you're doing something stupid, a nice change from a few of the places in Vegas where you are not allowed to sit or stand certain places unless you've shelled out for VIP.
The Not So Good:
The DJ before Chuckie was almost painful to sit through. He left the DJ booth for a good 5 minutes at one point and there was no difference from when he was there. The screen above the DJ also wasn't working the day we were there.
The place is in an L shape leaving an area where you can't see the DJ. This area has day beds and such and I'd be kind of irritated if I paid good money for a spot with no view.
Its mostly in the shade and gets windy but if you're cold you can avoid the wind by heading to the raised area next to the actual hotel and you can still get a good view of the DJ.
Pro Tip: Do not show up at 10am when it starts, you will want to leave by the time the headliner comes on which is when you want to be there. Huge difference in atmosphere and feel of the place once Chuckie started (around 3:30ish). Do show up by 1 though as that's when GA and Guest List need to be there by.
I want to rate this 3.5 stars but I opted to round up. I was so excited to come here for opening weekend MDW for Bambi, Manufactured Superstars and Sultan & Ned Shepard! Â My friends and I were glad to be able to check out the newest AC hotspot, and what better way to do this than to enjoy day drinking by the beach and pool? You can hear the music from the boardwalk and this only amped us up more for what waited for us inside!
When we first purchased our GA tickets, as usual (at other places too) I wasn't expecting much. All we were here for was to enjoy these awesome DJ's and see if this is going to be our new favorite summer spot (this is after all, outdoor). However, I was very surprised and a little disappointed that there was no place to put our stuff if we wanted to take a dip in the pool which led for a lot of people being not in beach attire and also for a lot of people kind of standing around. Unluckily for us, this May 25 was FREEZING! We could barely feel the warmth of the heated pool after we jumped in! After that impulsive idea, we made the best decision ever... to get table / bottle service.
We were able to work with our ratio and get the table nearest to the pool and DJ booth. After placing a few orders $$$ we were pleasantly surprised to find out that these seats are heated! Drinks here are expensive, especially if you drink as much as we do. Getting a table was a better deal for our wallets and it was a lot more fun because we had our own space! Jose took amazing care of us that day and even got us a few Manufactured Superstars spacemen! We had a great view of the pool and DJS, enjoyed some pitchers and drinks of great alcoholic stuff- overall it was a perfect way to celebrate this fun, albeit chilly MDW in AC! Â Although it was a lot of fun after we got our table, it does get a little heavy on the wallet and I won't be able to have this baller treatment each time I come to AC.
"Toto, we're not in AC anymore..." -- at least that's how I felt when visiting HQ Beach Club this past weekend. Â Located at Revel, this dayclub is definitely more Vegas style in terms of decor, ambiance, and pricing. Â It slightly reminds me of Marquee Dayclub at the Cosmo in Vegas, without the chairs.
Be forewarned -- if you have a general admission ticket, there is no place for you to sit down or put down your stuff. Â A lot of people made use of the pool border to set down their towels and belongings. Â There are tons of daybeds everywhere and the cabanas (with minimums starting from $500 up to $1,000) have TVs inside with mini pools in front of them.
There are two bars that are fully stocked with almost any type of liquor you can think of (Three Olives Cake?! I've never seen that at a bar before!) and even slushie machines for strawberry daiquiris, pina coladas, (or my favorite, Miami Vice) strawberry lemonades -- all mixed with alcohol. Â Drinks range from $13-20+.
The pool itself is shallow and does not go more than 3.5 feet deep. Â The sound system is awesome... but bring earplugs unless you want to hear ringing for the next few hours after you leave.
This may be the new "hot spot" in AC for the summer, since they have a great lineup of DJs coming soon and offers different type of partying experience.
super duper expensive~ be prepared to drop mad bills~
if you're in for GA, don't expect to sit down.. also there is no place to put down your stuff either o-o just be warned.
if you're looking for table service, on a busy day, it's like $1000+ . Â on non-busy days, it might be like $400+. Â service is fabulous though. Â the staff r super friendly and attentive. Â (we were fortunate to have the VIP experience for the past 2 saturdays)
the only other thing that bothers me is that the place is a wind tunnel o-o it's a beach club.. just disappointed that the venue is overcast with shade since the hotel building blocks most of the sunlight throughout the day.. i suppose it'll work out as those summer heatwaves approach
also, eat lunch before coming to this place for 2 reasons:
-food sucks (sry lol plain and simple)
-mad expensive (ie: turkey sandiwch $18, bottle of fiji water $7)
and for a $20 sandwich..i was expecting them to carry it out on a silver platter but nope, they just pass it to you in a plastic take-out container.. sooo disappointed..
other than that, it's a fun place~ very fresh for AC. Â i'm sure it will be the new "it" spot for this summer.
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