An exclusive first look at Alea Nightclub: Ottawa's first intimate VIP club experience
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Alea Nightclub, nestled right in the middle of the Casino Lac Leamy, is the result of the Casino's ambitious $47 million overall renovation. With the grand opening of Alea happening tomorrow night, EDM Canada had the opportunity to get an exclusive first look of the club that will be sure to change the clubbing scene in the Nation's Capital forever.
The whole look and feel of the club is very exclusive. Once you're inside the doors, you no longer get a sense that you're in the middle of a casino but rather you feel as if you are being led into a luxurious new space. You can no longer hear the casino inside of Alea as they surrounded the club with a special noise reduction material to ensure that there is no sound bleed. One can tell that the casino spared no expense at creating the Alea Nightclub.
The first thing that strikes you is how intimate it feels once you're inside. This is unlike any other club I've ever been to as the dancefloor is so intimately close to the DJ booth that there isn't a bad spot in the club. The VIP tables are located all along the DJ booth and at two locations on the 2nd floor. But there are two 3 person booths in particular that caught my attention. They sit at either side of the DJ booth and they are so close to the action that you are literally right next to the DJ. It's unlike anything I've ever seen anywhere and it is the best spot in the club besides the dancefloor of course.
The official capacity of Alea Nightclub is only 219 people, so the feeling of exclusivity is clearly evident. The sound system is for real as they packed a 20,000 watt RMS system provided by Meyer Sound that sounds pristine. Ottawa has been in desperate need of a club with a solid sound system for years and the Alea Nightclub has just filled that gap.
Right now the plan for Alea Nightclub is to be open only two nights a week (Friday and Saturday), with one night catering to the hip-hop/Top 40 called Fusion, and the other featuring electronic dance music called Dynamik. Alea Nightclub is actively consulting with Playground Productions for the launch. Playground is no stranger to the scene as they are the organizers of the famous Bal en Blanc event, as well as co-owners of the highly regarded New City Gas in Montreal.
Here are some of the snaps I took of Alea Nightclub, enjoy:
(Click on any photo to enlarge)
Here are two pictures of the DJ booth and the dancefloor that shows how intimate the entire club is. I counted how many steps it was from the back of the dancefloor to the front of the DJ booth and it was only 6 steps. I cannot emphasize enough how close you'll feel to the DJ and the rest of the club once you're inside:
Note: these two pictures above were taken from the 14 person "lodge" VIP table located upstairs.
Here's a look at the DJ booth with the wall of VIP tables:
Here's a vantage point of the club from the perspective of one of the VIP tables. The DJ booth is on the left while the dancefloor is on the right, while you get a clear look at the nice glass bar. Upstairs you can see a VIP "lodge" area:
Here is Alea's massive 13 metre LED wall. It sits on the opposite side of the DJ booth:
Inside the DJ booth:
Here's is one of the two 3 person VIP tables that sits literally right beside the DJ booth. If I was looking to book a VIP table, this is the one that I'd get:
A look at the bathroom, the mirror is fitted with a see through TV screen:
The top of the nightclub is laden with this cool fabric:
On Saturday, November 15th, they have booked Bob Sinclar, the father of the French Touch sound. These are huge events for Ottawa, and I highly recommend that you grab your tickets asap to check out this brand new club in the Nation's Capital:
(Click on each poster below for more ticket information)
Related: Check out EDM Canada's conversation with Alain Miroux, the general manager of Alea Nightclub. Click here to read it now.
Live in Ottawa? Then check out the Ottawa calendar for all upcoming EDM events in the Nation's Capital. Click here to check it out now.