downtown la’s elevate lounge a low-lying experience
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At 10:30 pm on Saturday night, angelenic and company met at the corner of Wilshire and Flower to have some drinks at the hyped up Elevate Lounge in Downtown Los Angeles. This was a first visit for us all, and we were excited to kick back with some great city views in a hip new place. A short line had formed by the time we arrived so we prepared ourselves for a short wait.
A long fifteen minutes later we reach the front of the line where a bouncer with an ear piece and clipboard confronts us. "You guys are going to Elevate? I dunno if we can do three more, you're killing me here!" After we tell him we live in the neighborhood, he decides to let us through as if he was doing us a big favor.
However, we quickly realize we're not in yet - not even close. We've only advanced to line #2 and another seven minute wait. Irritation had just started to settle in when a second bouncer (who seemingly just stepped off of Air Force One) cards us, stamps us and points out the elevators.
As the door opens to the 21st floor, we're eager to get to our cocktails and start the night. But not until we've waited another fifteen minutes in a third line and gotten a second hand stamp from the cashier will we have that chance. We thought to ourselves, wow, this place must be packed.
When we finally made it into the lounge area, almost forty minutes later, we were shocked - the place was scarce! The irritation we had instantly turned into amusement - apparently, Elevate's door policy is a ruse to give the appearance of exclusivity!
One round of weak, overpriced drinks later we were over it. Not even the incredible city views could offset all our disappointment. Luckily there was no line to exit.
- $20 cover charge may or may not apply depending on the time of night, the mood of the security guard, and whether you’re willing to let them pocket your hard-earned money.
Photo by: Dave Bullock / eecue
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13 comments
Heard the owner is a real d-bag. No surprise here. He could care less about residents and is trying to get the Hollywood club crowd. He’s going to get neither.
Had a very similar experience…except there was no one in line at midnight on a rainy Friday night! You would think they would let everyone in, we saw several people leaving as were talking to the door idiot. It made no sense. Word of mouth travels quickly and there are several options in DT, I wonder if elevate and their restaurant (which gets crappy review after crappy review) will make it?
I went to Elevate for the first 3 weeks after it opened. No longer than a 5 minute wait, I would always get in. Now, word-of-mouth has definitly spread and Elevate has become the “hot-spot” of downtown LA. As much as the attitude has chaned due to their success (I tried recently, and had to wait 30 minutes when there was no line, of course the hot hollywood looking girls got in w/o a wait), it’s still a welcome touch to downtown LA. Cities have their local bars and their elegant getaways w/ douchebag bouncers. But, I’d rather see Elevate in downtown LA than in the usual Hollywood area.
Went to elevate and it was an awful experiance with the wait and watered down drinks,back to standard i guess
I read these comments and laughed.. I don’t think you rookies get it.. I walk by big groups of people and get in to Elevate and many other hot clubs in LA every time. HINT: Don’t go with a bunch of swords and don’t go with big groups. It’s like walking up to Hyde without knowing the door staff and saying “I have 10 people”. THEY WILL LAUGH AT YOU. In fact, most of Hollywood/LA will laugh or make you buy bottles. Learn how to go out in LA. I was at Elevate on Tuesday night to see Moby spin. Got in with no issues. Amazing place… Appearently good enough for Moby to play for such a small crowd.
Hey Tim… You should get your facts straight! The owner of Elevate lives downtown. My friends and I live in the 1100 Wilshire and Pegasus buildings and they always take very good care of us. Maybe the issue was with you!
Try to getting there earlier than 10.30; its the classic rule of LA night life
Rule #2: never go out on Friday and Saturday nights.
Has anybody else gone to Elevate recently and gotten the “oh, we’re closed” crap? Especially if it’s around 1 am and you KNOW it’s open ‘til 3 am? This has been very consistent with me and my friends. We would have to wait 30 minutes, watch others be picked ‘n choose, and then let in? This is unbelievable. At least Edison & the Standard have the respect to let you wait in line…Elevate is a real bouchy bs club. And Joe, if the owner was real nice to downtown residents, as much I tell him I live just a few blocks down, show him my license, it does nothing. The guy doesn’t care about downtown residents…it’s just another pretentious Hollywood s***hole.
My experience was pretty much the same as everyone else. I went on a Sat nite around 1245. It was myself and two other friends. We were the only ones in line and the bouncers wouldn’t even look at us. We waited for about 5 minutes before I finally asked the bouncer why we were waiting. He basically ignored me, walked away, and started chatting to the other 2 bouncers. After a couple of minutes, I asked to speak to the manager. The same bouncer told me I wouldn’t get in if I continued to give him a hard time. I was shocked with the response, told him in a couple of select words how I felt, and left. Any business owner should know that the most important thing to have a successful business is to generate revenue. They apparently don’t want to have patrons willing to spend money on a few drinks into their establishment. One bad experience is all it takes to lose a customer forever. The owners will hopefully learn from their mistakes and get their act together.
My episode at Elevate was very similar to others. Not sure what else to add but these guys sure need to work on customer service. I definitely will not be spending my money at this venue ever again.
elevate is wack. REALLY wack. the promoters, owner, whoever is in charge, is trying waaay too hard to emulate the hollywood scene. but no other place in L.A. can emulate Hollywood (thank God, one Hollywood is enough), so despite elevate’s attempt to be Hollywood with its crappy self righteous bouncers, fictitious lines (guest list and regular), promoters pacing back and forth clutching their clipboards, it’s still just a wannabe Hollywood pretend club in an office building!
BUT, elevate has the potential to be something really different: it’s downtown, it draws a SMART but still attractive crowd, and the place itself is cool.. but, elevate is squandering an opportunity to provide a venue that transcends hollywood’s nastiness by trying to imitate something that should be left alone…
Elevate and its restaurant is absolutely horrible!!! The food sucks and the service is the worst!! The owner has no idea how to run a restaurant or a club and it is evident by the fact that they have never heard of customer service! I do not recommend it!
ELEVATE SUCKS ! Has a drunk,the content of drink where is the booze? Waterdown drinks more like no alcohol!
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