PLAY - Not So Strongly Worded Letter

AkanmuAbuja@gmail.com

Rating: 8/10

January, 2013

"Play" – Night Club/Lounge

167 Adetokunbo Ademola Street,

Wuse 2, Abuja, Nigeria.

Please see the bottom of this letter in the Highlights/Review section, as well as the bold sentences for the brief version of this letter/review.

Letter to Play Management

Dear Play Management,

This is a not so strongly worded letter to express my opinions following my experience at your establishment. This letter has been written after multiple visits to Play, which has allowed me to form strong opinions about the establishment. I should inform you that this letter is being made available to the public through the internet, primarily for the purpose of empowering or entertaining other consumers curious about your establishment.

Simply put, Play is one of the hottest night clubs/lounges in Abuja. However, Play's, perhaps unintended by you, yet dual definition as a club/lounge holds it back a little. Although it seems like you intended it to be a night club because of the volume of the music, role of the bouncers, and size of the entire place, people who go to Play end up doing more lounging than clubbing. This isn't necessarily a bad thing provided customers didn't aim to use Play as their sole source of clubbing on a particular night anyway. But if people plan to go proper clubbing and don’t want to spend a significant amount of money on their first stop (because they’ll need at least a second spot to satisfy their rave-crave (^TM pending J)), Play would not be a good choice.

The main challenge that Play faces is that although the entire building has a lot of space, you have so many U-square-shaped group seating set-ups that it feels as though the entire club was created for only people willing to buy a bottle and effectively justify taking up a table. Basically, there isn't enough space in Play to let one feel like they’re actually clubbing. Existing as a partial lounge would be alright except that the music is too loud for group conversations and so the excess amount of group seating seems counter-intuitive  Furthermore, as I mentioned before, the overall atmosphere is more conducive for clubbing rather than lounging. Added to the inadequate clubbing space problem is the fact that there are two tiers of VIP sections, one being the all-white furnished room surrounded by see-through glass (once again taken up by group seats), and the other seeming like a vault that leads into another section usually manned by a bouncer who screens entrants into the room (but by which criteria I absolutely cannot figure out for the life of me since he always lets me stroll into it even though I have never paid for a spot in the room).

Fortunately for Play, the general set-up that makes it feel cramped and more lounge-like than club-like is actually one of its best characteristics. This is because Play seems exclusive through and through. The exclusiveness even extends to the door, where from what I hear people get turned away occasionally. I will assume that you turn people away primarily based on how they dress and how you feel they will impact the overall atmosphere of the club. That being said, the crowd in Play usually looks better-dressed or at least in general more upscale than those in most other clubs in Abuja. Furthermore, the fish bowl all-white furniture section, the vault-door VIP room, and even the general club area are well-furnished, nicely arranged, and look classy. Moreover, customers feel special as the entrance to the club is a roped red carpet, which leads to a and enchantingly long red carpeted hallway that leads up a staircase and into the club.

On that note, it is safe to assume that what you as management are aiming for is to justify your high drink prices by selling the promise of a night where the customer feels important and exclusive. I mean, part of clubbing is looking good and feeling good, as well as being in an environment that looks and feels special; Play definitely allows customers to feel this. Furthermore, most nights, people do end up dancing and that clubbing feeling partly kicks in. Nonetheless, there’s still a lack of that 'free-for-all I’m here to rage' clubbing feeling because there is hardly ever a reasonable dance floor that gets packed. On the other hand, one could argue that it is actually awesome that there isn't a dance-floor that gets packed and the bouncers tend to regulate the club’s capacity so those who don’t like crowds and prefer to stick with the group they came with rather than easily meet new people when they club are satisfied (I wouldn't know why anyone would go 'clubbing' to achieve this though).

All in all, I think you did a great job because a night at Play, although on the pricier side of things, has the potential to be a very special night…provided one goes with their group of friends and as a group is willing to spend quite a bit of money.

                                                                                                                             

Please feel free to contact AkanmuAbuja@gmail.com if you represent Play and would like to respond. I will be willing to revisit Play and update my review for this establishment if you feel I have overlooked something worth mentioning.

Sincerely,

Akanmu

Highlights/Review

1.     This is a not so strongly worded letter, meaning I feel Play is being run well.

2.     A night at Play has a very exclusive feel to it.

3.     Play seems better for lounging than clubbing, but the music is too loud for lounging so it’s a catch 22 (maybe I should open my own club and name it that).

4.     Play is very well furnished and has an overall impressive set-up.

5.     Parking may be challenging on busier nights, especially since cars can sometimes block each other. However, it is amazing that the establishment invests in parking assistance and so people who work for Play help you park and help when you are ready to leave.

6.     The pricing here is on the higher end of things but is justifiable and definitely isn't obnoxious enough to disallow one from having a good time.

7.     If you want to go proper clubbing: as in you want to rave: or as in you want to rage, then Play is not a good choice.

8.     I wouldn’t recommend going here with less than 3 people. However, if you get dressed up and want to feel good all night with your group of friends (at a price of course), Play should definitely be one of your stops for the night.