Vinyl Retro Dance Lounge

You know those hidden gems that are in really scary neighborhoods but are awesome? Yeah, this isn’t one of them, but it really tries to be.
Went here for a friend’s birthday; we got free cover and a free shot because it was her birthday. The entire place was packed (why it was packed is absolutely beyond me). Almost all of the tables were taken but one near the bar, which was a given, except almost every person I saw sitting was doing so to browse their cellphone.
Music was absolutely atrocious. I’m still haunted by the number of times they played «Call me maybe».
The birthday shot we got was basically just liquefied sugar. They didn’t serve wine (maybe that’s normal for clubs in Vancouver?), their highballs were watered down and were basically just soda with a hint of alcohol, and their beer selection was very unimpressive.
All-​in-​all, I don’t think I’d go back here even if I was paid to.

If you want to see a bunch of 19 year old unleashing their raging hormones on the dance floor I recommend vinyl. The place looks like someones basement who went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of «disco» decorations (which disco is so out lets just drop this whole team not working.) The crowd is not my style, but if your into jersey shore guys well this is the place for you! The drinks are horrible and there is no oxygen in the club AT ALL! I’m gonna say «no thanks» to vinyl.

Here lies the venue that was once the beloved Lotus, a venue that made you feel you were back in your teenage years trying to make your parents’ basement look cool. Whether or not that was a good or bad thing I have yet to decide, but what I DO know is that Vinyl is pretty freakin’ wicked.
A colourful, light up dancefloor? Yes, please. Mirrorball, sparkly walls? Double yes, please. They really took what was once a very dark and dreary venue and turned it into something almost surreal. Tres cool.
I was here just once when they were hosting Sanctuary, so it was a bit of an odd venue for a goth night, but I think we all had a really great time and definitely enjoyed the absurdity of it. Everybody there was really great, the sound was good, the staff were good.
I’m glad this place exists because there aren’t a lot of places in Vancouver with any «shtick» or theme, so I’m glad when I see people go all out, even if it’s not a look that I can particularly relate to.

Vinyl makes me miss the Lotus. I’m not sure who did the renovations on this place since it became Vinyl, but I gotta wonder what they were thinking? Disco is dead. Has been for a few decades now, so plastering the walls with old vinyl records and mirrored disco balls may sound cool, but it really just looks cheap and tacky. They also put in carpet and turned the dance-​floor into an acid-​trip inducing light up dance floor straight out of Saturday Night Fever. So if you want to dance, you have to step onto the light up stage «don’t worry no one will notice if you can’t dance well on this floor» said no one ever. And if the dance floor is too busy you can do the moonwalk on the carpet until you give one of your friends an electric shock. Anyone who thinks carpet in a bar is a good idea is a fool, not only does it make dancing impossible, it also clearly marks all stained areas in the entire room.
The drinks were affordable, and the staff were nice, the bathrooms get pretty nasty throughout the night, so be prepared to squat. It seems as though a lot of people spend most of their time up at the Pint (which used to be Lick?/Honey?) and not too many venture into the depths down the stairs into Vinyl. Personally, I’d probably do the same.

TL;DR: Cheap, not much of a line-​up but located in a shady area and is a bit of a sausage fest.
Pros: Cheap cover (only $ 10), comparatively cheap drinks, not much of a line-​up, nifty looking light-​up dance floor.
Cons: Very hot inside (I guess they’re trying to keep you sweating so you get thirsty and buy drinks), located in a bit of a shady «Hasting» area, does the whole scan-​your-​ID-​and-​photograph-​you thing when you get in, the dance floor is always sticky and the ceilings are so low that you can’t jump up and down on it. Also, don’t try to exit the same way you came in, or you’ll get yelled at by the ID girls.

Came here for my sister’s birthday awhile back. Our server was awesome and the rest of the staff were great. Treated her/​our party with the red carpet, private booth, table service, free drinks, etc.
One beef tho. Coming from someone who was indeed expecting a ‘retro’ night (they give discounts for people who dress up in 80’s gear so was in high hopes) it really did not live up to the hype. While the tag line above reads «A retro dance lounge specializing in retro music from the 80’s and 90’s also playing some of todays hits» is true, they forget to mention that all 80’s songs will have a horrible ‘mash up’ looped dance track playing behind it as if the DJ is trying to mask the fact that the songs are actually from the 80’s. But hell, I guess most of the kids here wouldn’t know Journey or Duran Duran if they smacked them in the face so introducing them to new music, however horribly butchered, is still somewhat forgivable. «some of today’s hit» also means «the entire LMFAO album and the rest of the top 40 for the day»…so while 80’s and 90’s songs were peppered in, this was mostly top 40.
So really from someone that was expecting a true retro night I was a bit let down but the staff did make up for the shortfalls. Would probably never go back but did have a decent time.

I love the renovations they made since they closed Lotus, pretty much the only thing unchanged is the location of the bathrooms and DJ booth.
I really like the new bars and disco style dance floor, plus they kept the tables and seating which is nice for when your done dancing your ass off.
I went on a Friday and it was packed, after about 3 hours of dancing I had to head home because it was soo hot in there it felt like I had been dancing in a sauna. I am pretty sure they were over capacity but I didn’t pay cover so I didn’t really care.

Although I was sad when Honey, Lick and Lotus closed, I have to admit the evolution from Lotus to Vinyl was a positive change!
The music is pretty good, nice variety of popular tunes with some 80’s and 90’s. The staff are very friendly (doormen and bar staff alike!). Drinks aren’t expensive and they’re cool about not charging cover too early.
Although it’s not always super packed, I like that as it’s a fun and welcome change from the obnoxiously overcrowded clubs in Gastown.

Been by a couple times more. Staff is pretty cool and drink prices are still cheap, but Thursday-​Friday were kind of dead. Saturday was busy.

Vinyl is looking great! Although many people were sad about the lotus, lick and honey being shutdown. they should celebrate the new renovations and appreciate that they are no longer inhaling black mould fumes in the basement that was the old lotus. Lick was never that great anyways and the Lotus was good about 2 years ago and before that. Honey was doing great before this happened and also looked great but all the new renovations are looking awesome. The staff are friendly and fun and the place is just getting off the ground. Saturday night was insanely packed and the music was decent. The bar was fast and decent prices. The only thing I will miss are the 3 room long weekend parties that used to go down. They have been moved to the waldorf now but those were the best nights these 3 bars had going for them. Anyways go check out vinyl, might not be your specific scene but its def worth checking out!