The best part of the Royal is how much the vibe changes in different nights. I've been here quite a few times on Thursdays for cheap drinks, pool an darts and thoroughly enjoyed it. The upstairs is chill and a good place to hang out on weeknights. Weekends are a completely different matter! It's amazing for the people watching (all of the county kids all dressed up), but oh-so ghetto. I'll stick to Thursday's.
Review Source:I'm with Carly B. on this one.
KARAOKE. Â That's really the only word you need to care about. Â Check the schedule and plan your life accordingly.
Cheap drinks + Karaoke = fun times had by all.  Sure we can complain about the crowd but what do you expect with such cheap drinks?  Just ignore the douchery and have a good time.  Or you could sing  R.E.S.P.E.C.T and teach them a life lesson.  AMIRITE?!
KARAOKE! And if you show up early you get to dominate the mic.
$2 well drinks, how can you go wrong with that?
Our bartender was right out of Cocktail, juggling and fire breathing. Â
Its a club, the guys got more annoying as the night went on, but the cheap drinks and karaoke will keep me coming back.
Back when I lived in Bham many years ago, my friends and I all had a mutual deep dislike for this place. Everything is tasteless at the Royal...from the bad DJ voice, mean bouncers and front door people, bad energy and  atmosphere (This was our perspective from about 10 years ago)
I ended up going back to the Royal about 3 years ago when visiting bham from NY, hoping maybe this place might've gotten better but I had the worst experience ever.  The front door guy was thinking my New York State ID was fake (even though there's no valid reason he should've came to that conclusion), he started giving me a hard time, we were clearly a friendly group of 4, 2 guys 2 girls.  After about 5 minutes of questioning me, I just asked for my ID back so that we could leave to another place.  The guy  refused to give me back my ID and started calling the police so they can check my ID.  After about 20 minutes of trying to keep my cool, the cops came and after checking my name and everything, they just simply gave me back my ID.  I felt so violated.  The people that worked at the front were just really ignorant and it just made me so mad that they would treat people like this (I don't know if the same people work there....this was like 3 years ago) I could never even think of going back to this place, the experience here kinda ruined my trip.
My friends really believed that we were given the treatment we were because of our race. Â This place takes civilization back many years.
Its weird how people are starting to review the crowd that attends a bar and not the bar itself. Â That's really fair to business owners. Â I'm positive you'll get sued for barring patrons based on some kind of assumption.
Having said that, the staff is very friendly, the drinks are cheap, there are plenty of pool tables upstairs, and the decor is fairly nice for a college bar. Â Plus buying cover here gives you access to their other bar down the alley. Â If you don't have social anxiety then you won't mind this club style bar.
Yeah. this place is kinda bro central in Bellingham. Do, best left avoided unless that's your thing. I mean, sometimes it's fun for an adventure and a cheap drink (they do have 50 cent well nights and other really good drink specials) and you will meet a character or two. But, yeah, sometimes it is just out of control and filled with college students of the most annoying variety.
Review Source:its a "club" by bellingham standards: Dance floor, loud music, flare bartenders, two levels and ok drinks. I mean it is bellingham so don't expect your typical seattle dance scene when you walk in here. Think small town girls gone wild meets college coeds drunk and confused. They have pool tables upstairs and if you show up on an off night its perfect for a place to drink a few and shoot the tables for a few hours.
Beware entering on their busy nights you will get lost in the crowd and honestly its a pretty young crowd so if your over 22 you're gonna stand out and probably be labled "the creepy guy" or "the desperate girl" and not get  a whole lot of play time in. Just be aware before you go.
The drinks? Meh they're OK, your typical club drinks... slightly watered down but still potent if you drink enough of them. Just be careful here because they do not enforce liqour laws very well... I've seen girls literally carried out of this club by their (hopefully) boyfriends who should have been refused service hours ago. I know that "sounds great" to a lot of younger standards but it is super unsafe.
Here's the thing about the Royal, they never cut you off. Seriously, if you want to float down the Amazon River of booze, pop in here. Have to love that about college bars.
The bad news? You HAVE to be near liver failure drunk to be in here for longer than 10 seconds. If you can get past the group of people throwing up in front of the door, can maneuver around the people trying to conceive children on the dance floor, and can find a seat in a booth, drink up sailor, you are going to need it!!
So..disgusting...even for a trashy nightclub.
There's ALWAYS fights. ALWAYS at least 2 people throwing up directly outside of the club.
I know a girl, who had a penis slapped on her back in the middle of the dance floor from a guy she never met, and people who have been roofied there. Â
DI-SGUSTING
If you want to dance, go to Rumors.
The Royal has a special place in my heart. Â It is not the nicest bar or club, it isn't the cheapest, but it is the staple of the nightlife scene in Bellingham! Â You have to go with the right expectation and want to have a great time. Â It that is a priority then the Royal is a great place to go on a Thursday/Friday/Sat night. Â Staff is great!
Review Source:If you want to shake your booty to top 40 this is the place to go in Bellingham. However you may also be groped, hit on, have a drink spilled on you etc. Pool upstairs is cool though. There a lot of meat heads and skanks here unfortunately. But that does make for good people watching.
Review Source:I love the atmosphere at this place, it's very big with tons of place to mingle and interact with all sorts of peeps. As soon as you enter, you're greeted by a coat check station afterwards an ATM and staircase leading up to a large pool table room where you'll find a cool upstairs bar and windows with room to view. Downstairs you'll find a huge and I mean huge 2 story bar with some of the most talented bartenders, including visually dramatic self trained flair - like that Tom Cruise movie Cocktail. Remember to ask if my favorite bartenders Jimmy, Blake or Regina are working for the best possible service while you're there. When it comes to the music selection, I'll leave this up to your taste. I'm not really fond of laptop auto-play music which is what they typically host most nights including the weekends. I prefer DJ's that can mix records or CD's on demand and request not a computer playlist, but that's my opinion we'll leave it at that. I love my brothers and sisters that appreciate Bellingham and all to see...
Review Source:Okay, look. It's The ROYAL. I don't really get the low ratings on this place except to say that obviously you gotta go in with the right expectations.
The Royal is a Meat Market. And not like fresh meat but like...an open air market in Afghanistan at the height of noon. No matter where you start your night out in Bellingham, no night is complete without a pit stop at The Royal.
Why? Well, when most city folk envision a night out, they think of  a DJ spinning Top 40 pop and hip hop music, a crowded dance floor, scantily clad young co-eds, and drinking. Lots and lots of drinking. It's hot, sweaty, loud, and the place to see and be seen. Whether you're playing it too cool for school upstairs shooting pool, or shaking your booty on the dance floor hoping to catch some hot things' eye - The Royal is where to be.
Now personally, I prefer Rumours Cabaret because I love to dance and drink and can avoid the leery eye of guys just looking for one thing. Everyone's cool, they have a zero-tolerance policy for harassment, and it's unlikely there'll be any altercations or drama. If there is, boom - you're 86'd. The Royal? Pssh - there's an expectation of trouble, and chances are if you're there often enough, trouble will find you one way or another. There's a reason they have a dress code and the bouncers don't mess around. Granted, I think the staff isn't as good as it used to be, but whatever. It's still pretty casual and a fun place to hang out from time to time.
Look, you're probably not going to find your twu luv hanging out at the bar there, but if you're looking for some no strings action or checking out the scene, you'd be remiss not to check The Royal out.
I just have to laugh about this place..I have not been here since I was in college but it was awesome then (just because we did not know any better!)
It used to be the place to be seen on Thursday nights. $1 well drinks starting at 9 pm...I was so there!
It is the place to be if you want to see drunk 21 year old girls grinding on guys and generally making a fool of themselves.
The greatest part about this club - they never cut you off! You can get as drunk as you want!
The last time I was here (maybe 4 years ago) we went  to Pita Pit afterwards for grub and the guy behind us had puked all down his shirt and was trying to pick us up...it was classic..he friends tried to apologize saying he got to drunk at the royal.
They did have one good show I went to though - Andre Nicktina (sp?). I think my friend and I were the only girls at the show ..and about the only white people at the show..but it was damn fun!
If you really feel the need to make a fool of yourself please go here!
my trip to the royal, a tale of caution...
okay, first of all, i have had my moments of obnoxious/borderline criminal drunken behavior. Â who hasn't?? Â but i have never had even the suggestion of being removed from a bar before. Â then i went to the royal...
here's the dumbest rule ever: Â NO BEANIES. Â yup, that's right, in a town of stoners and college kids, this piece of year round clothing is banned. Â but any other sketchy frat guy behavior is encouraged here. Â fuck this place, it's seriously the worst place ever.
okay, i walk in, bouncer says "beanie off, our rules." Â whatever i think, and put it back on. Â security guard tells me the same thing, fuck you i think, beanie goes back on. Â then i get in a verbal disagreement with this douche security guard on his ego trip, sure, i embellished my bad-ass urban-ness just a tad- but i do go to bars much more badass than the fucking royal on a regular basis, and i sure as fuck won't let a harmless skull cap get me kicked out. Â i fought for it, and i got to stay. Â then it turns out i spent ten minutes arguing with a security guard to stay in a horrible horrible bar, and i left and didn't buy anything. Â if you like this place, then there is no hope for you.
no beanies, give me a break.
This place is a worthless ****hole. I'm sure there was a day when this place rocked, but now - it's nothing but a place for wash-outs (or soon to be washouts), to go and have their time in the sun. Kudos to any rational, intelligent people that can actually stand going to this place. People here have egos that you wouldn't believe. Most of the girls that I've seen here think they are straight out of LA, and most of the guys think they are God's gift to mankind. (tip: none of your lives are remotely close to being enviable.)
I think the only good thing about this place is that it contains all of the self-absorbed trash in one place. As long as they stay in here, they aren't out ruining my night anywhere else in Bellingham. So thanks, Royal.
Great place to shoot pool on a week night. Â Used to be that Wednesdays were free pool and great drinks specials, but I don't know about these days. Â Stay away on the weekends...meat locker. Â Just a bunch of dry humping and rude people. Â Some of the bartenders are great...others not so much. Â They do have a good show from time to time...Sir Mix A Lot, Presidents of USA, to name a couple.
Review Source:The Royal is the most popular club in Bellingham. They will sometimes have some good concerts and other events. There is always a cover charge, and it usually isn't cheap. The drinks are overpriced as well. This would be considered Bellingham's meat market. The girls dress skimpy, and the guys wear too much cologne. For that reason, the atmosphere in the Royal is what I would refer to as "pretentious". Â
Most of the time, there is a line for the bathroom. And the bouncers are usually rude.
That being said, they do have some nice pool tables upstairs. But as a Bellingham local, this is about the last bar I would go to in town, unless, of course, I wanted to gawk at the college girls.