HHQ Beach Club at Revel in Atlantic City opened over Memorial Day Weekend with superstar DJ Armin van Buuren headlining their inaugural weekend.  The opening of a nightclub or pool party is generally not all that newsworthy – they open (and close) all of the time.  However, this situation is different for two main reasons:

1) HQ Beach Club is the first Las Vegas style day club to open on the East Coast – might it start a trend?
2) Revel, the $2.4 billion casino, has had a difficult first year since it opened last Memorial Day; they lost $40 million in the first three months of 2013. One of the keys to turning it around will be the success of HQ Beach Club.

ADANAI spent some time at the pool party, taking in the scene and enjoying van Buuren.  Here are some quick impressions:

• Design – Think of taking Wet Republic in Las Vegas and plopping it right next to the beach, 50 yards from the Atlantic Ocean.  It duplicates Wet Republic’s open feel and acts as a perfect playground for a great party.  While it does not have the rich, luxurious ambiance that Encore Beach club offers, it will do the job.
• Setting– Its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean is pretty special.  While Las Vegas has that “dry heat” that people always like to talk about it, this has an ocean breeze and view.
  

  The pool party at full force with the beach and ocean steps away.

• Sun – Unfortunately a large portion of the club is in the shade by about 4pm because the Revel hotel tower blocks the sun.  Some areas remain in the sun longer than others (hint: when booking, ask for a daybed close to the bar), but almost all of the pool is in the shade.  A reprieve from the heat may be a nice feature during the dog days of summer, but all things being equal, all day sun would be nice.
• World class people watching – The crowd over MDW was a really fascinating mix of high-end Jersey Shore types (about 25 Sammi Sweetheart look-alikes), NYC nightlife people (the Lower East Side look combined with sun starved pasty skin was a telltale give away) and Armin van Buuren trance groupies.  Putting these three groups in a confined space with lots of alcohol made for really fun viewing.  It seemed to work well this past weekend – everyone was having a blast.   Maybe Armin van Buuren was right about music bringing the world together?
• Excellent sound system – While the design aesthetic is minimal (and likely not all that expensive), the sound system is world class.  Day clubs have to pay special attention to acoustics (especially when there are massive towers near by).  Having EMM Group and Angel Management Group involved definitely paid off.  This will be important in inducing DJs to play here.
• Dress code – Their stated dress code says, “Proper swimwear required.”  They appear to sporadically enforce the rule.  Unfortunately, there were many guys and girls who looked like they did the walk of shame from the hotel right to the pool party.  They really need to be more stringent with the swimsuit rule.  It looked horrible to see guys running around in jeans, loafers and button downs.  It was even odder to see a few girls walking around in Louboutins and nightclub attire.  There are plenty of shops at Revel with readily available fashionable pool party appropriate apparel.
• Professional staff – This had to be one of the most sought after club jobs in Atlantic City.  Sister nightclub HQ supplies most of the staff.  HQ has been open for a while so they seem to work well together.  Several people on the staff cut their teeth at Las Vegas pool parties giving them the experience to create a safe and fun environment.

What’s the verdict? While they still have to get some kinks out (running out of soda water and bloody mary mix by 3p.m. is inexcusable), HQ Beach Club is a really good addition to the tri-state New York party scene.  This is a party experience – enforced by the energy that a world class DJ brings to a wonderful outdoors setting – that just doesn’t exist anywhere else in the New York area. Here is some footage from Armin van Buuren’s set:

HQ Beach Club should zoom to the top of the list for bachelors and bachelorettes looking to get a little Las Vegas flavor without the 5-hour flight.   Evidently, a crowd of people made the daytrip on Saturday from NYC to the Hamptons to attend the Day and Night brunch.  One would think a really energetic oceanside pool party featuring top-notch DJ talent would be a very appealing alternative to New Yorkers (since, among other things, staying overnight is an easy option).

Other nightlife impresarios will take note of the likely success of HQ Beach Club and look to figure out a way to duplicate it.  Fortunately for Revel, EMM and AMG, there aren’t any other locations in the tri-state area where this could credibly work.  Harrah’s has their Pool After Dark but it is indoors.  The Borgata could build something at the Water Club but wouldn’t want to alienate their high-roller crowd with too much noise.  No location in the Hamptons has the infrastructure.

Will HQ Beach Club save Revel? It will not do it alone but it is a great start to a potential turnaround.

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