Here's an honest review for the 1st timers or people who never been to this location. I didn't have a bad experience (actually ended up a pretty decent one) but I had a lotta wtf moments. So i don't go to these places often but have been to ones in Houston, Vegas, Chicago, now Atlanta. Experience wise, I had a great time at all of them. I guess I count myself lucky to be decently attractive and young enough to get decent amount of attention, albeit some unwanted, so if we're just talking about the people and interactions, they're all the same. Its a seedy cruise-y spot where everyone walks around aimlessly scouting for action and waiting to be hit on. You won't hit gold every time, but every so often, you'll meet and talk to a couple of cute guys or get with this rare smoke-show who you think about for weeks after, it just depends on the crowd. Atlanta FS did have by far more African Americans than anywhere else, but that's just the demographics of the city. I think at one point almost everyone was black. And no, just because this is walking distance from Georgia Tech does not mean its filled with college kids. (spoiler, college kids don't really come to these things). Anyways, I was there on a Friday night, got myself a room at midnight (just felt better and safer than a locker) and stuck around til about 4. Crowd was light til about 2 or 230 and by 4 the place was pretty packed. I think if you want one of the rooms you gotta go earlier cuz they ran out not toooo long after I checked in. (how do I know this? found out in a really annoying way, which I'll get to below). Anyways, patience is key, and I ended up having a good time, sparing details.
Now the experience with others aside, here's what's different about Atlanta FS compared to others I've been to in other cities. I understand some of this will be a bit subjective but hear me out. The space isn't "small" as some people made it sound, but it's not exactly a sprawling jungle either. But what struck me was just the poor poor design and flow of the entire space. I feel these types of establishments benefit most from having a few characteristics 1) dark and mysterious, 2) designated dark rooms/floors for seedy action, 3) all areas are interconnected and easily accessible, 4) quiet. Typically in my previous experiences, regardless of if I'm walking the halls where rooms are, the restroom/spa/gym areas or the dark spaces, there's usually an ambiance of mystery/excitement and its usually dark enough where you can only see outlines of people until you basically walk right past them to see them clearly. And the designated darkrooms and floors are super fun to walk around in. they're usually maze-like with gloryholes, bars, stuff you see in porn, that kinda thing. There's quite a bit of privacy embedded in the openness of it all and its exciting not knowing who you'll run into next or what you'll see happen in a corner. Atlanta FS had none of these 4 characteristics. Walking around I was shocked at how bright and open everything was, and it took away from that seedy and mysterious ambiance. The layout of the whole place was just atrocious. Everything is basically in a vast open space where you can essentially people watch just sitting by the pool. The designated "darkroom" which they call the "pigpen" lacked that maze-like structure but instead, again, is 1 open layout where you can easily see everyone else and what they're doing. This prevented anyone from wanting to do anything because all eyes are essentially on everyone. The pigpen is also detached from the main building so to get there you have to walk across an awkward winding and empty courtyard. (when its 30 degrees out, it sucks having to walking back and forth). As far as the quiet, one thing I noticed when I first walked in was music playing all throughout. I actually kinda liked it in the beginning but it got old really fast when there are times I wanted some peace and quiet when walking or checking my phone in my room and all I can hear is club music. Oh and how did I know they ran out of rooms? the staff at the front desk area keep announcing it over the intercom. Every 15 minutes or so later in the night, the intercom comes on like you're at Costco with the front desk making an announcement of some kind. "Room xyz, your time is up and you're being evicted", "owner if a blue BMW, your car is getting towed", "Person X, if you still want a room, one just opened up if you wanna come talk to us". I found this super annoying, because it's not subtle, it's loud and brash. Imagine walking around what you were hoping to be a dark maze hoping to catch some anonymous action, but Taylor Swift is blasting through the speakers followed by a loud grocery store announcement.
Anyways, that was my experience. Luckily, I had fun with the people I met there. Would I go back? Probably. Do I think they have some improvements to make? Of course. Do I think they need to re-design the pigpen. Absolutely. read more
