Riga
August 1, 2006
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I went here with a large group of people from Fun Frank's Hostel. The hostel has an arrangement with various clubs and bars in Riga so that you don't have to pay cover. It's about a 20 minute walk from Old Town, so it's a bit more inaccessible than other places. It's supposedly one of the hottest clubs in Riga, and I have to admit that it was pretty insane as clubs go.
First of all, the club is huge. The area by the front entrance plays hip hop and the big room in the back plays weird euro dance beats. There is also an upstairs area accessibly via a windy, neon lighted staircase with bars and seating.
To give a disclaimer, I'm not much of a club person and would rather split a pitcher of beer than wander around on a crowded dance floor, but this place is worth checking out just for the experience. Everyone here is ridiculously good looking, so much that it feels almost unreal and that you've been invited to a supermodel party. I've also been to Pure in Las Vegas, which is supposed to be one of the hottest nightclubs in the USA, but Club Essential was much "hipper" and "hotter".
First of all, the club is huge. The area by the front entrance plays hip hop and the big room in the back plays weird euro dance beats. There is also an upstairs area accessibly via a windy, neon lighted staircase with bars and seating.
To give a disclaimer, I'm not much of a club person and would rather split a pitcher of beer than wander around on a crowded dance floor, but this place is worth checking out just for the experience. Everyone here is ridiculously good looking, so much that it feels almost unreal and that you've been invited to a supermodel party. I've also been to Pure in Las Vegas, which is supposed to be one of the hottest nightclubs in the USA, but Club Essential was much "hipper" and "hotter".
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Cool hostel with a friendly fun staff that leads night time excursions out to party for the people staying here. About a 15 minute walk from the bus/train stations.
Upon checking in you'll get a free, cold beer. Rooms are clean and what you'd typically expect from a hostel. One of the best things about this hostel is that it's very easy to meet other people, and there are lots of common areas. There is a bar downstairs and a lounge adjacent to the bar with lounge type seating. Upstairs, there is a "game room" with a Playstation and numerous games. I beat a Brazilian guy in heated video game of FIFA soccer, and it was probably the athletic highlight of my stay in Riga.
There is also a fully stocked kitchen upstairs which I used to cook breakfast. It is a bit small, but clean and functional.
The hostel also organizes some interesting day trip excursions. One of them involves going to a former Soviet Missile base to shoot AK-47's and other deadly guns. I'm not too interested in shooting guns, but the scope and scale of the missile base is supposed to be pretty impressive.
We also heard rumors of another excursion that you can put together here, but you need at least 10 people. Basically, you rent out a bus, get served tons of vodka, and drive out into the woods somewhere. Then they give you shotguns and you go out into the woods and get to fire them. I am not making this up. I've heard you also need to bring a passport, which led Deats and I to speculate that the actual mayhem takes place in neighboring Belarus, where the laws are presumably more relaxed. Alcohol + shotguns didn't seem like a healthy combination to us, so we passed on this one.
Upon checking in you'll get a free, cold beer. Rooms are clean and what you'd typically expect from a hostel. One of the best things about this hostel is that it's very easy to meet other people, and there are lots of common areas. There is a bar downstairs and a lounge adjacent to the bar with lounge type seating. Upstairs, there is a "game room" with a Playstation and numerous games. I beat a Brazilian guy in heated video game of FIFA soccer, and it was probably the athletic highlight of my stay in Riga.
There is also a fully stocked kitchen upstairs which I used to cook breakfast. It is a bit small, but clean and functional.
The hostel also organizes some interesting day trip excursions. One of them involves going to a former Soviet Missile base to shoot AK-47's and other deadly guns. I'm not too interested in shooting guns, but the scope and scale of the missile base is supposed to be pretty impressive.
We also heard rumors of another excursion that you can put together here, but you need at least 10 people. Basically, you rent out a bus, get served tons of vodka, and drive out into the woods somewhere. Then they give you shotguns and you go out into the woods and get to fire them. I am not making this up. I've heard you also need to bring a passport, which led Deats and I to speculate that the actual mayhem takes place in neighboring Belarus, where the laws are presumably more relaxed. Alcohol + shotguns didn't seem like a healthy combination to us, so we passed on this one.
