The Hyde Club

The Hyde club opened its doors in early 2009 and is slowly becoming a reference within the Barcelona nightlife. It is situated on Passeig Domingo, which runs parallel to the upmarket Paseig de Gracia, the famous street which links the North and South of Barcelona.
Located in central Barcelona, the club can be easily reached by frequent public transport: by metro and bus. 

It’s quite difficult to miss the club as the entrance is adorned with a big golden sign welcoming its guests into the nightclub. The area is split into 2 sections, the entrance bar and the main dance floor. The entrance bar is an American style long bar with numerous bar stools on one side and toffee coloured sofas on the other side for the clients to chill and relax in intimate surroundings.

The bar itself is a soft golden colour with golden curtains decorating the back wall. A few art Nuevo paintings add to the intimate feel. There is a comfortable feel to the entrance
bar, however it might seem to be not that upscale and chic as other most popular clubs.

The dance floor section is pretty basic with one golden coloured bar and a few golden pillars strategically positioned on the dance floor. This is definitely not a mega disco with all the bells and whistles.
Prices are reasonable with a bottle costing 5 Euros and a long drink 8 Euros. The clientele is varied and depends on the night and the different promoters and parties which are available. A normal night attracts 25 to 35 year old clubbers and the music policy is soulful and commercial house music. However mid week holds hip hop parties for the younger crowd and overseas students.

A popular night is the after work party which starts around 8 P.M. and offers free buffet cocktails and a chance for young professionals to network and let off some steam after a hard day at work.

Hyde club is not only a nightclub and is open to the public in the afternoon. It offers a relaxing space with Wi-Fi connection, an illustration library, global newspapers to read, coffee, cakes and a selection of tapas. It is a nice idea to offer the afternoon as an option to hang out in a cool environment.
The nightclub itself is quite basic and I recommend going there if you want an intimate atmosphere or simply want a stress free chilled night out!

Address: Passeig Domingo 3

Nearest Metro: Paseig de Gracia (Yellow Line L4 or Green Line L3), Diagonal (Green Line L3).

Phone: +34 654 20 10 06

Web: www.hydebcn.com

Sala Bikini - Club with 20 years history

Actually Bikini means either a cheese and ham sandwich or a female swimsuit. But in Barcelona, Bikini is also a famous nightclub; one could even say a clubbing institution. It has been running for over 20 years now and it’s a club many Catalans keep close to their hearts…

Sala Bikini has no extra ordinary decoration or elaborate clubbing events. The club is located in a popular shopping centre called La Illa and a little hard to access unless you take a taxi. Once past the bouncers there is a long make shift corridor which finishes at the real entrance to the club. Down 2 flights of stairs which has some posters publicizing club nights past and present and you are in the club.

Greeting you is a pretty, non discrete area which joins the 3 different rooms which make up Sala Bikini.
The first room is a small dimly lit bar with good quality cocktails being served regularly and various images are projected onto one of the walls. The bar staff here are dressed in uniform and are very good at their job. It’s a good room to start off the night as there is a sense that you are in a pre club bar or cocktail lounge. From the bar you can see all the clubbers entering and decide when you want to join the main action.  

The medium sized room again has no adorning features. Two simple bars, one sofa and a dance floor. The main dance floor is quite big and can fit around 500 people. Again nothing of note in regards to decoration, there are also two bars, a dance floor and an elevated VIP room. However I am impressed with the lighting and go-go dancers who normally dance on the bars every hour or so. Sometimes a complete dance routine is performed by the VIP area and one can see the routines are well rehearsed and quite professional.

So why is Bikini so popular? May be the idea of less is more works as Bikini does not hire any famous DJs, has no special decoration and is your standard club. I think it’s the people who make the club work. There are events from Wednesday to Sunday and most nights the place is packed.

Wednesday night is a famous hip hop night with mainly foreign clubbers. Friday and Saturday there are mainly locals aged from 25 - 40 looking for love, house music and a good time. Sunday night hosts a famous Brazilian night with free samba lessons from 12 to 1 am.

So variety is on offer and all types of people pass through the doors of Sala Bikini every week. Bars prices are pretty standard Barcelona prices (6 euros a beer and 10 a long drink) and the security staff is rather indifferent, neither friendly nor over bearing. They have been known to turn people away on the week ends so wear your regimental shoes and shirt to guarantee getting in. I’ve never had any problems in Sala Bikini and I have had many good nights here. I do find it a little bit soulless ands it’s definitely a case of what you see is what you get. But as I’ve said earlier it is the people who make the club one of the busiest in town.

One should note that Sala Bikini does host concerts and some interesting bands have played so check their website to see a full listing of events and live shows.

Address: Av. Diagonal, 547 08029 Barcelona

How to get there: by metro - Maria Cristina/Les Corts (Green Line L3), by bus Nº 6, 7, 15, 33

Phone: (0034) 933 220 800

Webpage: www.bikinibcn.com

Email:  buzon@bikinibcn.com