If you are looking to have a good night out in Barcelona, look no further than Carpe Diem Lounge Club (CDLC) on Barceloneta beach (Olympic port). Having just one weekend in Barcelona, we decided to go clubbing and asked our hotel concierge what is a good Saturday night venue. When he recommended CDLC and handed us discount vouchers for the same, I immediately became suspicious we were being packed off to one of the touristy places and will end up at a very average place which will cost a bomb. We desisted from making dinner reservations at CDLC and decided to head there for drinks only. As an aside, we had dinner at 'Bestial' located next to CDLC and can totally recommend the place for great ambience, good service and nice food. Now back to CDLC.
The club has a restaurant and lounge area overlooking the sea. Seeing the crowd, I reckon reservations are an absolute must for dinner. The lady at the entrance checked us out head to toe and then smilingly, escorted us inside to the bar area. I guess the unstated admission policy is if we don't like how you are dressed, you will be informed the club is 'full.' As you walk past the dinner tables laid out with expensive glasses and cutlery and again past the curtained lounge beds, you get the feeling this is a very popular haunt with the swish set of Barcelona. The club also offers private lounges for those who seek more privacy. The decor is exotic with multi coloured cushions, silk drapes and the overall fusion look of Arabic, Indian and Moorish influences.
We settled at the bar with Hendrick's gin and tonic and a glass of Champagne. Drinks are not cheap at about Eur 15 each excluding taxes. The bar tenders were amongst the most handsome men I've seen and had a finesse which comes with tending to celebrity clients. We saw a lot of well dressed attractive people strutting around and Iam sure they included a fair number of Barcelona's glitterati. After dinner at about midnight, the restaurant area gets transformed into a club with renowned DJs at the console. The music was mostly funky house and not much to my liking but then I was quite pre-occupied with observing the crowd and the bar tenders' theatrics at mixing drinks. The club is normally open till 3:30 am but we didn't stay that long.
My biggest regret was not getting to try the food which looking appealing. Iam definitely returning to this super trendy and chic lounge bar the next time Iam in Barcelona. And yes, I did thank our concierge for his excellent suggestion and only blame myself for not taking his word seriously enough to have booked that dinner table.
The club has a restaurant and lounge area overlooking the sea. Seeing the crowd, I reckon reservations are an absolute must for dinner. The lady at the entrance checked us out head to toe and then smilingly, escorted us inside to the bar area. I guess the unstated admission policy is if we don't like how you are dressed, you will be informed the club is 'full.' As you walk past the dinner tables laid out with expensive glasses and cutlery and again past the curtained lounge beds, you get the feeling this is a very popular haunt with the swish set of Barcelona. The club also offers private lounges for those who seek more privacy. The decor is exotic with multi coloured cushions, silk drapes and the overall fusion look of Arabic, Indian and Moorish influences.
We settled at the bar with Hendrick's gin and tonic and a glass of Champagne. Drinks are not cheap at about Eur 15 each excluding taxes. The bar tenders were amongst the most handsome men I've seen and had a finesse which comes with tending to celebrity clients. We saw a lot of well dressed attractive people strutting around and Iam sure they included a fair number of Barcelona's glitterati. After dinner at about midnight, the restaurant area gets transformed into a club with renowned DJs at the console. The music was mostly funky house and not much to my liking but then I was quite pre-occupied with observing the crowd and the bar tenders' theatrics at mixing drinks. The club is normally open till 3:30 am but we didn't stay that long.
My biggest regret was not getting to try the food which looking appealing. Iam definitely returning to this super trendy and chic lounge bar the next time Iam in Barcelona. And yes, I did thank our concierge for his excellent suggestion and only blame myself for not taking his word seriously enough to have booked that dinner table.
I have been to CDLC and this review is bang on! love the place
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