Rain

Just read on the bbc news page that rain had went in to administration! Allelulia!!! About time! Shit hole!

I had heard good reviews from a friend’s co-​worker, so I decided to take a couple of girl friends and check it out.
We got out of our cab and went up to the door (just before 10:30– which was when free entrance for women ends!). The bouncers asked us how old we were and when some of us said «20,» they informed us that this was a 21+ club. There had been nothing about that on the website. A bit disappointed, we started to turn around, but one of them stopped us by saying, «well, just this once.» So we headed in…
… to a completely empty club. There were literally *4* people besides my group in the place. We decided that since we had come so far we might as well get a drink and wait to see if more people came. The drinks were overpriced and they had a terrible selection, but we got some anyways. We sat and listened to the old/​bad pop music for about an hour and a half before we realized that it was not going to liven up at all and finally left. At it’s most populated point, there were 8 people besides my group. Ouch.

Rain is notorious for having the most arrogant and rude bouncers in Belfast, I’m afraid I will have to agree with this. When I finally got into rain, I was actually impressed with the club, the drinks were expensive but the music was really good. But as the night went on, the place got packed and packed until it got to the stage where it was it took 20 mins to get to the bar and about 10 mins to get to the toilets. The place was so warm that you ended up buying more drinks just trying to cool down. Sort the over crowding issues out and get new bouncers and this place could be excellent.

Belfast’s nightlife has a lot of variety to offer, and for a city that’s still up and coming as a destination for nights out clubs like Rain have a captive audience.
When I visited Rain I expected a slightly meat-​market style student night out, but was pleasantly surprised when I stepped through the busy front doors. The punters were largely student-​aged, though I didn’t feel I stood out as there were plenty of people accompanying me in the mid-​twenties and older age bracket, providing a welcome relaxation to the atmosphere. It felt as though this was a city venue, not a necessarily a student-​aimed do. The club is quite luxuriously decked out, so there’s a bit of an upmarket air that departs from the grottier feeling of some of the city’s other venues.
Rain is sizeable with a large main dancefloor as well as upstairs lounges for those looking to drink and chat instead of sweating it out to the music. The outdoor beer garden is surprisingly huge, with a band performing on the night I visited, providing an equally Saturday night atmosphere while you’re cooling down or simply resting your ears from the impressive volume levels indoors.
The music is the usual mainstream fodder, with chart stuff, pop and a bit of hip hop thrown in for good measure. I wasn’t expecting anything less or more, so was quite impressed with the selection of music on offer.
In a larger city this club could fail, but since it’s a cut above many of the student bars in Belfast it’s worth a visit. Just don’t forget to change out of your trainers first.

Rain is increasingly popular these days, but is also attracting a lot of flak, so I will try and give it a reasoned review. I have been there on a couple of nights of the week and have had a good time there despite the fact I was fearing it would a bit rubbish.
I was brought here on a gay night on the Monday, which despite being not that way inclined, was actually a very fun night out!
The club itself is a game of two halves, with a nice seating section in the down stairs bar, but a tiny, cramped dance floor in the upstairs section. Fortunately there is a big smoking area outside which accommodates those who want some fresh air and a good chinwag on a break from the heat of the place!
What people don’t like isn’t the club itself, but those who go here. The ladies here are of the radioactive shade and the males are of the chav variety, but I always say it’s not where you are at, it is who you are with! People are mainly looking to come here to sustain a night out saying it is open so late, so for that reason alone it justifies its existence, even if the attendants are sometime slightly dubious!

I hated rain. I’d rather stand in a club where it was actually raining. It’d be more fun than Rain.
It has preposterous music, gaudy looking girls who wouldn’t go amiss on Snog Marry Avoid and boys who don’t have any body hair and favour David Beckham style diamond earrings.
I was here after a gig with mates, it was a Sunday and all the good places were closed. I knew I would hate it. I’m sorry to be so harsh but places like this make me cringe.
I remember standing on the dance floor with a gin and tonic in hand and watching as a group of kids who looked like they were jumped up on sugar, or err booze and hormones bumped and grinded to 300 beats per minute pop tunes mixed in with dance music. Eek!
I tried to dance, but just couldn’t. It also didn’t help that I had just come from a gig and was wearing a wooly jumper!
My friends and I made our way down to the smoking area to find our friend Fiona. She was puffing away on a ciggie looking like she would kill the next page 3 wannabe who bumped into her. «I feel like a geriatric in a f**king zoo!» she exclaimed. And with that we left. Never again!

Hmm… Rain…the thing with Rain is that I’ve never had an awful experience in it, but I don’t think the fact that I’ve had fun there has less to do with the club and more to do with the fact that my friends are very fun and I drink too much when I’m with them!
It attracts boys in checked shirts and plimsolls and girls who wear to much fake tan, which gets a bit tedious after a while (seriously, why is it worse to be pale than be streaky??). There are usually some drinks offers on, but if you go after 1am which most people do to be fair), the prices are hiked waaay up and it gets expensive.
It’s also quite a grotty club. I once set a cream bag down for a while and it took me an hour to scrub the black off it the next day. All in all, not really worth it!
I won’t say that I’ll never be back, because I have friends who like it, so I dare say I will cross the door again.
After hours though, I’d much rather be in the Kremlin!

Rain. The last bastion of the desperate, seeking to carry on their good night beyound the usual opening hours of the Belfast clubs. I have been here on several occasions also seeking to further my night. Sometimes it’s been a good night, but more often than not, its been a mistake.
Rain is nothing special, its just a nightclub with extra long opening hours. It does use it’s advantage of being one of only two places in Belfast that can stay open so late to over charge for every drink they offer. On average, its around £6 for a spirit and a dash of whatever mixer you choose which is by far one of the most expensive prices in Belfast. The place is often over crowded and really, really warm which makes it really uncomfortable considering you would have been out for quite a few hours already and are a little to tired to deal with it.
As a last resort, sadly, its the only resort. So I shouldn’t really complain. If I don’t like the place I shouldn’t go. Problem Solved.

Located in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter, Rain is the latest addition to the city’s club circuit.
With £2 a bottle, and various offers on spirits, Rain has attracted a variety of part-​goers who want a little extra from their night out.
Rain’s licence to stay open to 3 often sees the place not fill up until well into the night but when it fills up, it properly fills up.
My advice is if you are planning to go, don’t leave it much later than half 12 because it is a long journey out and if you don’t get in, it’s an even longer journey back.
The music is very current and very good, and Rain comes complete with a larger downstairs, quite a large upstairs and a huge smoking area which often is the only place to go when it fills up.
There is a £5 door tax which is very expensive, but seems to be the going rate for most nightclubs in Belfast and is almost justified by the enjoyment.
Other things of note include a often frantic taxi rank outside, as well as a chip shop/​vending place to get some well earned grub.
It is potentially a person-​losing venture if someone goes to the toilet so I suggest you make this a team effort. Once your bladder is emptied, you can resume your parteeee!
Overall, if you aren’t quite ready to get your kebab and head home at half one, Rain offers an alternative which can often lead to loud music and sleep deprivation.

For those who haven’t been on the bar scene in a while this place used to be known as ‘Milk’ — and attracts all sorts. I think they have a gay night on a Monday evening, which I’ve yet to go to but I’m sure it would be interesting! It’s really out of the way, well, it feels like it, being situated in Tomb Street, and surrounded by office buildings and the large Post Office Depot. But that doesn’t stop the crowds descending upon it. I don’t think I will be going back here after a recent night. It wasn’t horrific or anything, it’s just that there are so many other nicer places to go in Belfast that offer more and are more my taste — but it’s pretty popular with the younger crowd. They have an okay area for dancing, but it can get a bit squished and busy, and the surfaces could do with being wiped down from sticky stale drink a bit more often. But they do cocktails and drink offers, which is probably the root of the popularity — that and the music, it was enjoyable. Didn’t feel like I was going somewhere special though — so I won’t be back, but I know plenty of others will be, if they can brave the horrible toilets. Ugh.