Sapphire

I’m from jersey and my gf an I had a blast !!! Thursday night Latin night! The dj was awsome the place was really clean including the bathroom that’s always important ! There was a good amount of ppl there but it wasn’t crowded loved it!

Went to sapphire last weekend, hadn’t been in over a year, wow has it changed! I remember the place being a lot nicer, and bigger! Not sure what happened. Also as I looked around the whole place looked really cheap.. Felt like I was hanging out n I’m a cheap and old Vegas club or something. Ended up going to playground which fit the mood just right!

Well, what can you say. We got here and where promptly told we could not enter as one of the men where wearing chino shorts. Regardless of the fact he was also wearing button down shirt and tie. We where told NO SHORTS. Fair enough. I stood there in shock as they then allowed a woman in with daisy dukes and half her arse cheeks falling out and a dirty strappy ripped up white t-​shirt. Seeing as I had just finished shooting a set, I got my video out, and Asked the Doorman :“Why was she allowed in if dress code depicts no shorts” He said «Company Policy Lady, Women Can Dress Like This, Company Policy, Now Move On» So it is all on tape that you refused entry to a well dressed gay man, but let in a woman with half her arse showing out of the bottom of her shorts and dirty ripped up t shirt. Discrimination much?

I have always had fun each time I’ve been to Sapphire… maybe it’s the people I go with, but the atmosphere is much classier than the majority of the mainstays on 4^th. The music they play at Sapphire is just the right mix of hip hop, top 40, and latin. I’ve visited on a Thursday night, as well as on a Saturday. The vibe is a step up from casual; women wear dresses or dressy tops and jeans, and the men wear button-​ups, nice jeans, and dress shoes. When I was there a week ago, (the first time since the street car construction started), I was bummed to see how much they have downsized. If you like to dance, definitely give this place a try — downtown clubs are an important part of the downtown revitalization.

It appears that Thursday may redeem itself for ladies who like to dance, however I am not tempted to find out.
My one experience here was laughable. Cover, even during construction, with first floor closed, second floor empty, and roof with slow servers and horrible drinks? When I first arrived, I figured I’d order from the bar in an empty room and it went something like this. What are you drink specials? 2 for one top shelf. What is your top shelf gin? Bombay Sapphire (I laugh a little). Ok, I’ll have a dirty martini? We don’t have any vermouth. (What?) Ok, Ill have your most popular vodka drink? He made it. It was sugary and disgusting. I then moved to the rooftop. The drink was even worse there. People on the roof were just trying to get wasted and fall all over each other and call it dancing. Needless to say I left, and went somewhere a little less offensive.

A Crazy Thursday (Latin Night)
Enter. Level three. Outdoor patio. Jump, jump, move, jump. Drinks are – my treat, his treat, our treat, their treat. Who cares? It’s dark. It’s crowded. It’s breezy. And every time I look up to the sky, I see tall buildings that actually make me feel like I’m in a city downtown for the first time since we moved here. Hubs is chilling on a comfy cushion, watching the dance get craaaaazy. My wallflower, he doesn’t dance much, but he knows I like to. With some assistance from a not-​too-​hoppy beer, Instagram for iPhone, and some cool air, he’s able to tolerate an almost-​out-​of-​control club scene. I don’t mind it so much while my favorite song blares, « – manos arriba, cintura sola, da media vuelta, danza kuduro – .» Cameras flash and the crowd cheers, «Shot! Shot! Shot! Shot!»
Rewind.
Enter. 10pm. Level one. An empty dance floor. Echoes of a dead club bounce off walls. You can actually hear the bartenders and DJs talking. Wait. Just wait for it. Have a pricey drink on level one ’cause the show-​offs have arrived. You know, those classy dancers that know how to dance the «right» way as part of their synchronized salsa. Better drink up to get those hips moving because swarms of other hips that know how to dance salsa the «real» way are about to take over the floor. It’s about to get hot, heavy, and tight with a competition to see which couple has the best dance moves. All ages 21 and up.
Did I mention there’s a dress code? Heels. Nice blouse. Maybe a dress. I don’t even know. All I know is the bathroom is filled with gals checking themselves out. Is my dress too tight? How’s my makeup? Do I look hot? You look sexy. No, you look sexy! No, you. Sapphire should really consider getting full-​length mirrors.
Dressy men’s shoes with smooth soles (good for sliding) wait at the bar for the gals in the bathroom. He spins her. She twirls. Step out, step in, again. Dance past the competition. Dance up the stairs to…
Sapphire purgatory. The in-​between. Limbo. A moment of silence. No seriously, a literal moment of silence in this specific spot at the top of the stairs. Music from below. Music from above. It’s all just white noise coming together, making this one spot seemingly silent for a split second until that first step onto…
Level two. Reggaeton fuzes in, flooding the ears. Physical uncertainty ensues due to the sudden change in rhythm. How to move? What to do? Just a few more seconds and it becomes clear. High-​end booths, like entering the world of fancy shmancy, the world of shiny. So much space between dancers. So much space to bounce around in. All eyes from the outer rim are on the dance floor. Joke dance like you just don’t care, and then head towards the door which leads to another split moment of silence followed by…
Level three. Fresh air, at last. Chill latin music. But not too chill because people are still dancing. 11pm is still early. The floor is wide open, until the shots have been downed and the night has darkened.
My red wallflower, the only red there says, «She never stops moving!»
My magician friend nods and continues to do his slapstick magic tricks to the music.
His friend says, «This is why Tucson’s awesome: you can party if you want or chill if you want.»
And I am still dancing under the sky.

my scene is definitely not the club scene. but, it was my sister-in-law’s birthday and she wanted to celebrate her last year in her 20s by salsa dancing the night away.
the husband and i walked in (i didn’t have a cover, but he had to pay $ 5 [which is super reasonable!!]) and there were tons of people swaying and moving wildly to the latin music that filled the air.
they had $ 2 margaritas which were pretty strong. we hung out downstairs for a while but my sister-​in-​law suggested we move on up.
the second level had more latin music, except it had hard house/​techno mixed into it. very, very loud. with smoke machine. pretty cool, though.
the third level was the coolest. i liked that there were couches and tables on the patio and you could look out into the night. it was just very packed. standing room only, really.
cool digs if you’re into that scene.

Sure, the rooftop fireplace and music are nice, but the purse-​snatching ring is NOT. I had my purse stolen when I set it down on a table behind me for ten seconds. The crowd, which looked like it was straight Big Brother the Final Season, differed from floor to floor, but leaned hard toward ghetto chic. A friend told me the next day that she, too, had her purse stolen here, and that the suspicion is that a purse-​snatching ring is operating here. Beware, ladies. Wristlets or pockets only.

YIkes! We’re not in San Diego anymore.
I had moderate expectations for this club. However, its sad attempt to be an upscale club is only met by charging way more than it should for a drink. In the end, the poor seating arrangements, bad music, and awful décor makes this «upscale» club of Tucson ultimately look cheap and just plain tacky.

I really do try to only write reviews about local establishments I love. My mama always told me: «If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.» But I feel that I would be doing a disservice to you, fellow Unilocalers, to not warn you about Sapphire Lounge, the lounge that «brings a little Vegas to Tucson.»
We went for our bachelor/​bachelorette party on the night of dreaded Club Crawl (sorry bros). It was one of the few places that wasn’t participating, claimed to offer a Vegas vibe and offered a table if we guaranteed that we would spend $ 125 on drinks. There were going to be several of us, so no big deal, right? Right…
We get to the bar around 10pm since they asked for us to be there before 11. I don’t know why because it was dead, and it was still dead when we left at midnight. The music was pretty good, top 40 dance type stuff, but with no one on the d-​floor it wasn’t exactly exciting. And our table? A couple of fake leather couches (with some of the underlying foam exposed due to tears in the couch) and a cheap little Ikea end table.
Then they told me that they wanted to charge my card for the minimum bar tab instantly, which I was never told when I made the reservation. All of my friends wanted to buy us drinks and pay for their own, and everyone was drinking different amounts — it made no sense. I understand if this is custom at some places, but they should have told me before. They said this was a new policy, but no one seemed to fully understand it. We spoke to three different «concierges» (FYI Sapphire, calling your hostesses Concierges does not = Vegas) before they agreed to just hold my card as collateral in case we didn’t meet the minimum, which I thought was the plan all along. During this time, which took about 20 minutes to resolve, no one brought us our first round of drinks that we ordered. W.T.F.
They tried to redeem themselves by giving us some free shots, but the mood was somewhat dampened at that point. They didn’t offer to bring us our «complimentary» bottle of champagne until we’d been there over an hour.
More people started arriving, mostly cougars and dudes in Tap Out tees, which isn’t really my thing. We ended up just paying 30 bucks to meet the minimum and peace out.
Oh, and the waitress kept trying to get us to buy a $ 200 bottle of Grey Goose. Sorry, if you expect me to make it rain for a $ 40 bottle of vodka you could at least offer me a legit Vegas atmosphere. But alas, this is Tucson, not Vegas. In fact, the only thing that Sapphire Lounge has in common with Vegas is how often the staff kept trying to hustle us. Oh, and the douche bags in Tap Out tees.
Bottom Line: You want Vegas? Go to The Golden Nugget. It has more in common (a name) with Sin City than Sapphire. You want a fancy nightclub? Level’s still the only decent one we’ve got. I’d rather stick with Club Congress.

Walking around downtown we happen to hear music coming from the roof of Sapphire. I had heard about the roof top deck and how wonderful it was.
The bouncer downstairs tells us that, that the first floor was closed, that everyone was up on the deck. We walk in and see that, that was really the case, the 2^nd floor was even empty. I wanted to order a drink, but friend informed me that it was $ 11.00, so I scratched that idea and just drank water.
It did help that 92.9 the mountain was there promoting their music sunsets concert series (I don’t know if that was really the name) And BIG TONY’s band was playing LOVE THEM!
Over all it was on OK time!

11 bucks for a cocktail? Are you kidding me? I can go up the street to Downtown Kitchen and Cocktails and get better liquor, better cocktails for 8 bucks. Yeah the different levels are great, the rooftop is cool, but $ 11 is way to much for a cocktail that wasn’t even very good. The best thing Sapphire has going? Sunsets at Sapphire with Jennie and Chris from the mountain. I’ll go back back, I’ll just have water.
Know Before You Go: Don’t go thirsty.

The worst Margaritas I’ve ever had. Not very friendly staff.

why so many mediocre places in TUS? Night club included!

I can’t say that all three floors in this place are absolutely necessary, but if you want a spot for salsa dancing on Thursday night, this is it.
Further, the staff is great! I can’t really say much for the bartenders (we ordered Corona’s all night), but the bouncers are hilariously fun. I got picked on all night for not dancing enough, but the guy was a lot of fun and made sure I had a good time.
Everyone at this bar is totally friendly — no sketchy guys, just honest dancing fun. Plus it’s pretty cheap!
All in all a good time :)

Loved this place when I first heard about it. Three stories with a rooftop lounge and an actual dresscode that makes sense! The application of the grand idea of Sapphire is more or less dead-​on.
It’s still a downtown venue. The space itself is long and thin, rather than cavernous. Ground floor is nice, although I don’t spend a lot of time down there, only when I’m waiting in line for the bathroom.
1^st floor has a spacious bar and a moderate dancefloor, with windows looking down on Congress Ave. Big tall half circle booths on one side, smaller booth/​table hybrids on the other.
2^nd floor (in reality, 1 ½ floor) is the outside rooftop patio, where the magic of Sapphire happens. The view is beautiful (as beautiful as downtown in Tucson can get). It can get a little crowded, and the seating is atrocious (unless you own half of Sonora, then you’re the big man on campus and can do what you please). The bar is always packed, but the music is usually my cup of tea, nice deep House music with some Top 40 thrown in to keep the kiddies happy.
Drinks are on the expensive and slow side, but the crowd is better behaved then most spots on Congress, and dressed as if they actually feel good about themselves.
All and all, I appreciate Sapphire. It’s trying to class up downtown a little, and I respect that. It’s as close to a Scottsdale or Vegas club this town has ever achieved. Overall, a great place to have fun with your friends, hear some good music, and watch some good people.

For Tucson this is as close as it gets to an ultra lounge. It boasts Tucson’s only roof top patio. Let me tell u that when you’re up on that roof top the view of downtown Tucson is amazing. It really feels as though your some where else. It has a great metropolitan feel. Although a bit pricier than most establishments its worth it if you’re looking for that loungey feel. I would highly recommend checking it out.
Thursday: Latin Night
Friday & Saturday: Regular crowd

The atmosphere especially outside on the rooftop really is nice, except for the fact that the bar is usually empty. I’ve been to this bar a couple of times. Their margaritas are surprisingly good, and that’s about all I can get excited about other than the ideal placement of the rooftop. It’s situated between two of the «taller» buildings in Tucson. It almost makes me feel like I’m in a big city.
But, the service isn’t great, and they charge you cover even when the bar is empty. Don’t use a credit card there if you don’t want a pending $ 100 charge on your bank account until they finally charge you the right amount later in the week. I understand they overcharge to make sure people have the money in their accounts, but considering they are a bar in a college town, maybe they should consider letting their patrons know they are doing so.

The décor here is alright, you should pretty much expect a lot of blue lighting. It is called Sapphire after all. They have 3 levels in their venue. The first is upon entry, then you go upstairs and they have different music going on, then you go upstairs again and you’re at the outdoor patio where people are welcome to smoke. They had two go-​go dancers on a raised platform outside dancing next to barrels of fire which was pretty cool but I didn’t like being around all the cigarette smoke so I retreated back inside. They had house music on the 2^nd level and top 40’s/oldies on the main floor. There are a lot of creepy characters that just stand there and watch you so that wasn’t very comforting. I’m not sure if I would return here because I prefer Zen Rock up the street over Sapphire.

Here we go again… Another mediocre attempt at a club in Tucson.
Service gets absolutely ZERO stars. I have never, in my entire life, seen slower bartenders. If they attended any bartending school at all, then all of the girls bartending downstairs were hired straight out of school. The second time I visited this place, a bottle of Ketel dropped straight off the top shelf onto the ground. All they did was stand around and look at each other. Oh, yeah, their school-​girl uniform is not at all classy.
I do have to agree with Jerry and say that the design and décor were definifitely impressive, and that rooftop patio is really amazing and creative. I’d love to lounge up there when Tucson warms up a little more.
Back to service: I understand waiting in line for something worthwhile, but when the bouncers are holding the line to create the allusion that they’re jam-​packed, they’re wasting my time. I hope they’re just doing this now to hype the club up, but this will not bring me back.
This place makes me wonder who management is hiring to run their establishment. When we were trying to get in this past Friday night, there wasn’t a line since it was cold and rainy, but we had to wait because the bouncers were discussing how to let certain people in. All I heard was «You have to tell them to get in before 1130.» Since it was about midnight when we walked in, I know they weren’t talking about us. There weren’t people behind us, so could they not discuss this after? OR how about before the club opened?
I understand there are some kinks when opening a new place, but when you have experience from Pearl, and Zen Rock, this should be a seamless transition. Give me good bartenders and bouncers, and this will be my Tucson new home.