Reviewed by Steven Frith

My Ultra Lounge Standard – The Park (Sacramento)

Visited: Saturday, April 5, 2008
Location: 1200 K St., Sacramento, CA 95814 (map) (site)
Phone: 916-878-8344

Much like its newer sister club, Dream, Cabana is a fun, stylistic lounge/dance club that is satisfying if you get there early enough.

Deeper Insights:

While offering a younger crowd than Dream with a similarly cramped setting, Cabana still pulls off a fun night. I attended this lounge for my birthday and while there were some issues getting everybody in because of the long wait outside, once all of that was taken care of, our entire group had a good night. The overall atmosphere created by the staff and the décor of the lounge were inviting, and the drinks were strong yet didn’t require long waits.

I do have trouble categorizing Cabana as an ultra-lounge even though they call themselves that. I would say that it is more of a small dance club as there is an area where you can get drinks, an area where you dance, and a roped off, VIP, curtained cabana area - but that’s it. I think of an ultra-lounge as somewhere that has areas to “hang out” as an option, and Cabana only has this if you have VIP privileges. There are some benches along the dance floor with tables that may or may not have been VIP, but it was so pushed up against the dance floor, it wouldn’t be a place to “lounge” and talk – but more a place to rest for a second before the people dancing around you have a chance to fall or trip on you.

In the VIP area, there are supposedly video game systems available for people to play on the plasma TVs. As cool as that sounds, I don’t know how I feel about paying so much for drinks and the VIP area to play some Madden though – I can get a 6-pack, wear shorts and do that at home.

Overall, it is a good place to go to have a fun night out. It isn’t horrible in terms of a meat market mentality (both guys and girls) of people trying to hook up, but people are dressed well and the bouncers and doormen do a good job of not allowing the inside to become too packed.

Breakdown:

Attire: Normal club-wear. No tennis shoes! They won’t let you in. Cabana has a slightly more up-scale environment compared to most Sacramento nightspots.

Attitude: A place for early to mid-twenty-somethings to congregate, dress up, drink, and dance, but feel more sophisticated while they do it.

Bar/Bartenders: One bar immediately to the left when you enter. Another smaller bar with just beer and select hard-alcohol outside on the front patio. Three male bartenders manned the inside bar and were friendly and very efficient. Was able to get drinks very quickly.

Bathrooms: Located in the rear of the club, the bathrooms were not the easiest to get to. There was a stall and a urinal in the guys’ bathroom (may have been two stalls, having trouble remembering now). Was small and nothing special about it. There was, of course, a line for the ladies’ room, but only a 2-3 minute wait for the guys.

Bathroom Attendant: There was none on the night we were there. Space would make me wonder if having one would even work.

Bottle Service: You can go to the website ahead of time to reserve a Cabana in their VIP section where bottle service is available. Special packages exist for celebrations. With the limited VIP space, I doubt you could pay to get in VIP once you get there.

Cover: $10

Crowd: A younger crowd than Dream. Wasn’t too bad though. For the most part, it was made up of people aiming to look nice and spend some money. The guy-to-girl ratio was actually fairly close to 50/50.

Dance Floor: The entire open area in the back of the facility was the dance floor. There was a raised DJ booth that overlooked the area. Not huge, but big enough for the crowd they allowed in.

Décor: Trying to go for an intimate and secluded feel. The “cabanas,” reds and other dark colors and lighting give it a very warm, seductive feel.

Drinks: Your normal over-priced bar drink variety. Not too much over the top, but no $2 well drinks either.

Hours: Thursday-Saturday 9:00 PM – 2:00 AM

Line: Almost none if you get there before 10:30, but if you get there after 10:45, it can get long. Once one-in-one-out starts, you might as well find somewhere else if you aren’t among the first 15 people or so.

Music:
Varies by night, check the website to see what kind of music is there that night. We had your normal top-40 dance music with your average number of “classics” thrown in.

Parking: Street Parking along J St. or L St. You can't park on K St. though (where Cabana is located), as it is blocked off as part of K Street Mall. Park close to 12th Street on either side though.

People Watching: Many good-looking people were there and a few were very scantily dressed.

Seating: Not much in terms of seating. I think you needed to be part of VIP to be able to sit anywhere.

Smoking: I think you could smoke on the front patio, but with no in-and-out privilege, that was your only option if you do.

Water (Free): Yes

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