Halo nightclub packed but upstairs closed on Sat.

rh5555

Hi guys,

Haven't been to Halo in a while but was there this Friday and Saturday due to a birthday. i remember that they usually close upstairs Fridays because there are not too many people and I think its fair enough as there is plenty of room downstairs to dance.

However when I went there again on Saturday the downstairs dance floor was absolutely packed and upstairs was still closed. It was late (around 1:30 or so) but on the dancefloor it was almost impossible to move and I felt like I just spend E12 for an oversized pub that is open a bit longer as dancing was pretty much impossible. I always liked Halo and for me upstairs was never closed on a Saturday but as I said I haven't been there in a while.

Just wondering if anyone knows if that's normal now that upstairs is closed even if the downstairs floor is completely packed? In that case I probably save my 12 euros next time and just go to another Club. Hope that was an exception but it certainly was no fun at all.

Anytime I've been in lately upstairs was open and I wouldn't have said it was completely packed out downstairs. I like upstairs myself, not for dancing though I dont do much of that.

ben.schlomo

Id guess if they havent had a certain number of punters by say 1a.m that maybe they dont open it and just go with downstairs. Either way to be charging 12 is ridiculous given the amount of late bars that now open until the same time and the fact that is basically just a late bar too.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Generally what they'll do in a nightclub like Halo is wait til 1am or thereabouts and make a final decision about whether to leave the upstairs closed or not. If they decide to, they'll usually give the staff for the bars in that area the rest of the night off, meaning that even if it jams up badly they can't do anything about it.

Its a disgrace the way they pack these places out, turns into an overcrowded stuffy sweatbox.

But maybe they weren't ready for the crowd and just didn't have the staff on in the first place. January is quiet for obvious reasons. Heard Galway was mental at the weekend and nobody seemed to have a clue why.

Sponge Bob

Galway and Dublin cities have picked up a lot over 2010 and 2011 in terms of people going out at weekends. Rural areas are continuing to decline. Could be the country people are heading for cities at weekends now.

rh5555

Yeah, guess it may have just been bad luck and maybe they had a lot of people coming in after 1am for some reason and thats why it was so packed. We'll see how it is in a few weeks when I go there the next time.

Thanks everyone.

ben.schlomo

ben.schlomo wrote: »

Id guess if they havent had a certain number of punters by say 1a.m that maybe they dont open it and just go with downstairs. Either way to be charging 12 is ridiculous given the amount of late bars that now open until the same time and the fact that is basically just a late bar too.

Most late bars close at 2am on the dot, its approaching 3am when they stop serving in Halo now at times and you will get until after 3 to finish up your drink.

In general you have a bit more space to stand around and chat in Halo too, late bars tend to be very packed and you have no comfort. I do like late bars too mind but often I prefer to head to Halo than wait in a bar all night.

superapple27

The fact that the place was packed was not the only annoying thing that Saturday night. With a friend of mine having gotten in for free the night before with that birthday card we wanted to do the same with a birthday girl among us but the bouncer decided that the rules had changed. We decided to go in anyway but obviously the bouncer was not able to take some criticism (without being personal or offensive from my side) about the inconsistency of their practice so when I said that that seemed rather arbitrary to me he kicked me out. Nice. And although the club obviously does not depend on the cover charge of one or two individuals it just speaks of really bad service and that they apparently do not value their guests much. Or just train their bouncers badly. So thanks for that nice first impression of Halo anyway!

ben.schlomo

superapple27 wrote: »

The fact that the place was packed was not the only annoying thing that Saturday night. With a friend of mine having gotten in for free the night before with that birthday card we wanted to do the same with a birthday girl among us but the bouncer decided that the rules had changed. We decided to go in anyway but obviously the bouncer was not able to take some criticism (without being personal or offensive from my side) about the inconsistency of their practice so when I said that that seemed rather arbitrary to me he kicked me out. Nice. And although the club obviously does not depend on the cover charge of one or two individuals it just speaks of really bad service and that they apparently do not value their guests much. Or just train their bouncers badly. So thanks for that nice first impression of Halo anyway!

Contact them and complain but as a rule being smart or criticising bouncers isnt a route to getting in, at the end of the day they have the right to refuse admission.

Shinto

It was the same again last night (Saturday Jan 22nd). Upstairs was closed. Downstairs was packed.

I remeber a few years ago, both upstairs and downstairs would be both packed. Same with CPs...many parts closed off. Definitely less people out these days compared with 3 or 4 years ago. Bloody recession.