To Drai’s Or Not To Drai’s? That Is The Question
This past weekend was the opening of Drai’s Nightclub and Dayclub on top of the roof of the Cromwell hotel. I couldn’t resist checking it out as it’s brand new and there was a lot of hype behind the opening. Walking into the Cromwell was a bit shocking. Remember the old Bill’s Gambling Hall? That’s the new Cromwell. The Cromwell looks nothing like the old space. I was impressed with the upgrades. It had a very upscale boutique-style feel to it.
When I valeted my car, they didn’t juice me for 20 bucks to park my car cause “valet was full” like many hotels on the strip do. The level of service from the moment I parked my car to walking up to the doors at Drai’s was very pleasant to say the least.
The front ropes were slammed and we slid right in thanks to VIP host, Paul Kim. My clients and I started touring the venue. After a couple drinks, we sat on the second story balcony watching the vibe of the crowd on the dance floor and people partying at their tables. It looked to me like everyone was having fun. Around 1am, a huge disco ball dropped down slowly to what seemed to be inches away from the tops of the heads of the party-goers on the dance floor. Eric Prydz then came on and the party turned up. The disco ball shot out lazers and lights and the big TV screens wrapped along the wall behind the DJ booth were in full effect and displaying the usual nightclub visuals. All the tables seemed to be spacious and traffic to get around the club had plenty of room to maneuver unlike a few clubs on the strip.
We walked outside to get a glimpse of the pool area which is open at night, but you’re not allowed to swim. The view of the Las Vegas strip from the pool deck is pretty amazing. At around 1:15am, the visual screens behind the DJ had a count down for a firework show. Next thing we know, fireworks started shooting off the roof of the casino. A real firework show on top of a nightclub. I’m a fan of fireworks and thought it was a nice touch for the atmosphere while you party which actually can be done by purchasing a certain amount of alcohol at your VIP table. Imagine that? Spend a generous amount of money on alcohol and you’ll get your own firework show off the roof of the casino! VIP tables sat on the edge of the rooftop over-looking the strip and the cabanas and tables were nicely spaced out to give everyone room that spent money on bottle service. A lot of clubs cram people in the club and sometimes it feels like you’re sitting on top of each other.
Keeping the venue always busy might be a challenge in my opinion considering Victor Drai doesn’t plan on hiring big named DJ’s due to his idea that paying a DJ 300k on a normal weekend is crazy. Although the top 5 nightclubs in Vegas have made it to the top 5 and stay there because they spend hefty amounts of money getting big named DJ’s to perform. The enormous crowds flock to that, but Victor is all about selling the experience and not the DJ. We will see how that plays out. As far as the dayclub goes, I was told by one of the staff members that they had a bit of a rough start Memorial Day weekend due to people not knowing there’s a pool. One Drai’s employee told me “it’s going to take some time to get people to acknowledge Drai’s is no longer just a after-hour venue and also a dayclub now too. We’ll get there in due time.”
Well, I hate to say it, but there’s nothing bad I can say about Drai’s nightclub. I tried to find something I didn’t like about it and couldn’t. It’s spacious, beautiful and has great energy. I’m impressed and it takes a lot to impress me. I wish all the staff good luck in their new endeavor.
