NightSpot Review - Pure (Las Vegas)

Reviewed by Jeff and Danny Walker

My Club Standard – Tryst (Las Vegas)

Last visited: Saturday night (1/20/08)
Visited half dozen times on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays over past two years
Location: 3570 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89109 (inside Caesars Palace)(map)(link)
Phone: 702-731-7873

Once the crown jewel of the Vegas club scene, Pure still attracts celebrities and generates a good time, but has lost some luster due to an increase in crowds and less than stellar clientele.

Deeper Insights:

With a large venue, world-class DJs and tons of beautiful people, Pure quickly elevated itself as the club standard. However, over several visits in the last year, the club has become overrun by too many people.

Similar to sibling LAX, the crowd outside the VIP entrance resembles a large mob as the club’s opening time approaches. If you get there early enough (9:15 pm to be safe), it’s almost preferable to wait in the general admission line where you can at least enjoy the dances of the Pussycat Dolls in the gaming area.

Once inside, on the rectangular-shaped, main dance floor, you’ll find yourself lucky to avoid errant elbows and spilled drinks, while still managing to bust a move. The dance floor isn’t small, but it just cannot accommodate the masses. The rooftop patio provides fresh air and a spectacular view of the Strip, but free space to dance to techno is at a premium there as well.

While the Red Room is VIP only, one can pay an additional cover (usually $5-10) to get into the Pussycat Dolls Lounge. Revelers here can get their blood pumping dancing to 80s and rock music, and by peeping at gorgeous dancers giving burlesque shows. The room tends to fill up fast, so if you miss out, you can still sneak a quick peek through the glass walls that line the stairwell leading to the rooftop patio.

If you can find some room to roam in the main room, Pure’s pleasures become more apparent. Depending on the DJ (guest DJ Samantha Ronson was fantastic), the music can keep you dancing all night and the eye candy is solid for both men and women. Unfortunately, a recent influx of “creepers” will have the ladies seeking safe haven in the club’s many VIP areas. If you’re one of the select few, you can enjoy the raised VIP section that overlooks the dance floor. Celebrities ranging from Usher, UFC champ Rampage Jackson to Lance Bass scope out the scene and can even make you a few dollars if the weather calls for a “rain shower”.

Pure may have lost some of the hype it once possessed, but all is not lost. The club feels luxurious and is well-designed, but they simply need to limit the capacity without restricting access to the normal, non-VIPs. Allowing clubgoers room to dance, get a drink and meet someone new would go a long way to reestablishing Pure as one of the top nightspots in Vegas.

Breakdown:

Attitude: Where the elite meet, but the normal folk can still get in.

Bartenders: Four bars total (one in main room, one abuts Pussycat Doll Lounge, one in the VIP Red Room and the last one on the rooftop patio) and about 2 tenders per bar. Bartenders can be slow and the large crowds do not help. Female bartenders are attractive, while the guys are rather average.