I've gone here a few times because its close to where I live. The to guys I see most often as the DJ's are not really DJ's because they're both playing from playlists - there's no mixing, fading, crowd interaction and they play the entire song, rather than keeping it fresh regardless of whether the crowd is vibing with the song or not. And now my latest visit was the third time after I'd gone, I'd become ill the following day or two. While it might be a coincident, it is the common denominator. read more

As an update to my first review, this is speaking for my other half. Him and his friends went recently and he spent over $200 in total for the whole night and that is including the tips but his last round of drinks his total was around $30 and he gave the server a $50 but she never came back with his change. Like I've said in my last review, I would be sure that the service would be diffrent if we didn't show up with there normal customers, and that was somewhat proven this time. He did notice that he never gotten his change back when she came back with the receipt and no change was given, my other half is actually a very generous tipper he likes to try tip 30% or 35% even if the service wasn't up to par he still tips 20% to 25% but he decided not to say anything. Not sure if she was taking advantage of him because she already had gotten $60 worth of tips and the extra $20 that she didn't give back, she probably thought he wouldn't notice. read more

Music is good, entry fee on a Sunday was $10 per person. Not bad at all. Drinks sucked so bad. If your looking to get a mid ass drink for like $15-20 this is the place. Some of the girls that attended this place are weirdo hating ass people honestly. People at the door was great bless them. Service was quick. The bartender seemed to be new didn't know how make the drinks at all. If you're visiting avoid this place at all cost not worth it at all. ki nightclub, district, shore Frye & taqueria el ranchero on Friday & Saturdays are the places to be at. read more

Great music and they take suggestion but me and my friends got a section and they did NOT warn us about the $52 tax on top of the $300 that we were already paying for the bottle. We were blind sided by the extra tax and the lady told us it was automatic but she didn't let us know until we already paid the bill. The bathroom was clean and the sections were pretty big as well so the spacing was great. They had one bar tender and she did an Amazing job serving and checking on us! BEWARE of the prostitutes that come in there because they plot on you and wait for the next person to come in and they get them as well. read more

Playbar - Section - Dance Clubs Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Maps says they open at 8pm. But then opened at 10:45pm. $10 cover fee. 21+. Dress code isn't online. Men aren't allow sweat pants/shorts. read more

this place be dead af barely any people dancing, the DJs rlly only play YouTube videos but take requests. The bouncers are rude a f the last couple times I have visited . Wouldn't recommend. read more

I went out last night with my female friend and she was drunk. However I went to the cash register to get a drink. I was waiting in the line to get served. Some security guy came to me and said " you have to go to one of the cash registering. I said " yeah I'm waiting right now" then he said you need to go somewhere else. " You got to go somewhere else to the other two registers. I asked him " Why was he being so rude" then he said you got to go. So I grabbed my friend and went to another register then he comes bothering us again and said " Hurry up and order your drink. I'm like we're waiting she is handling other customers. So me and my friend started dancing in the meantime until she came back and he came again and said you need to hurry up. Then I said what's your problem ? Why you bothering us ?. He the said " you're not ordering your drink you're here dancing. Then finally she came back and served us , we drunk our drinks and left from the bar. We then go to the dance floor , my friend is dancing and I'm watching her. She takes her shoes off and start dancing , two local dudes came to us and said she have to put her shoes on , at this point I'm pissed from the other security guard bothering me and now yall bothering us again. So I tell her to put her shoes on. I grab her and we get off the dance floor. An hour later , we was standing by a table and there was a guy and girl dancing and then knocks all the drinks off the table and it the glass cuts us , so now I'm really upset now. I go and ask the security guard , do they have a first aid kit and he says they don't have a first aid kit. I then say well I'm bleeding, how yall don't have a first aid kit here in the club. Then I say" so you telling me if anyone was to get hurt in here or cut or anything , yall don't have anything ? Then he says "yeah ". After that convo , I grab my friend and say let's go we're leaving. Last night was just too much for me. I DONT RECOMMEND going here. It's a lot of disrespectful security guards who are really aggressive. They all know each other and is family pretty much. So they all stick together even if they're wrong. This CLUB needs to be SHUTDOWN and police need to check out this place. A lot of fights and assaults go on here especially after the club starts closing and people are leaving. A lot of people like to stand around and see what else is going to happen. I felt really targeted last night, I don't like to get out of character but this club almost made me last night so I decided to leave because it was too much for me. Drinks are also very expensive here , but you don't really realize until you check your bank account the next day. read more

Playbar - Stabbing of glass - Dance Clubs Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Good evening, fellow Yelpers! It's your favorite person again with a find concerning "Nite Life" "After Hour" dance club, called Playbar Waikiki Nightclub; located in Waikiki, Hawaii My wife and I stumbled upon this via recommendation from locals. We were here to celebrate our birthdays, but we couldn't find the type of "Vibe" we were looking for. Especially after hiking to The District (which was closed). My wife was satisfied with the selection of music and I have no complaints. They played a mix of R&B, Hip-Hop, and Alternative/Pop Music. If you felt outta place like we did, and The District is closed, this is the spot you want to be. They have a live DJ and a full bar. Havent checked to see if the offer food. Everyone was cool and talkative. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and would suggest this establishment to anyone read more

Playbar - Dance Clubs Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Ain't nothing much original for me to say here -- this place sucks. It's a tourist trap for sure, which is something that should be expected in Waikiki, but I guess my group was naive and didn't want to go too far from our stay -- our mistake, BIG. Expect: - $10 cover fee CASH ONLY - A $50 minimum on card purchases at the bar - Security guards on power trips - A random mix of tourists and creeps - Being scolded for bringing your drink to the dance floor (god forbid) - Top 40 hits on repeat Save yourself and your wallet, and go somewhere more worth your time. read more

Drinks were really expensive and watered down. There's a mirror on the floor so if you're a girl and wear a skirt or a short dress someone can see up your skirt from the mirror so not really girlypop friendly. The music was good at times and everybody would be dancing but then it would switch to a song that nobody knew so the dance floor would clear. read more

Worst dance experience we have ever had. Took our cover charge (no problem) then they tell you there is a $50 minimum charge. We were a little taken back but continued on. We had to wait for a drink and then we got a seat, waitress said she would not serve us because we had tab open at the bar. ( again no issues) so we asked to close our tab so we could get served. They then asked us to leave for no reason and charged us $70 dollars (not including cover) and would not refund or let us finish our drinks or dance. This was our wedding gift to go out dancing and yet it turned out to be a scam. Avoid this place! read more

READ THE REVIEWS - there's a REASON the ratings are LOW If I could give it less than one star I would - we're out for a friends birthday, the bouncer ASSAULTED my friend called us stupid ho*s and pushed 3 of us into the concrete. We called police and the manager came out to talk to us and the manager called us liars and told my friend she'd slap her even in front of the cops. Don't waste your time coming here unless you're local. Extremely disrespectful. read more

Playbar - my friend asked why her ID is considered fake (she's 28) and he came at her aggressively - Dance Clubs Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

This place needs to be checked out by the cops, no seriously. The bouncer asked if I'm looking for a dime bag because my ID is from Miami? When I was said NO he got really aggravated and said to get our lame asses in and don't be "lying" about what we just heard. Ummmm, is this a legitimate business? because after seeing the reviews I'm convinced this place is only open to sell drugsss (or fake drugs) which is so gross. I went last weekend Friday night. read more

Great bar to start the night if you're also already somewhat drunk or tipsy but don't expect to end your night there. Take advantage of their leave & come back policy Probably leave some water somewhere near cause it's $4 a bottle of WATER Oh of course don't forget about the $30 minimum read more

Playbar - Had to stay seated in section due to COVID restrictions - Dance Clubs Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

We payed $20 and there was legitimately 3 people inside. Will never be back. They don't even give you drink tickets for the cover!

STAY AWAY FROM HERE - This business is ran horribly. The bouncers are aggressive and I saw a group of girls get assaulted last night. I stayed around to see the cops show up and the OWNER literally said she wanted to slap the one who got manhandled by the bouncer. NOT OKAY AND SO INAPPROPRIATE. This girl was in her mid 20's and this grown ass woman was trying to fight her. Meanwhile the bouncers were cussing and screaming at these girls because they were just trying to defend themselves. From the video I have seen on instagram it was taken WAY out of context from what actually went down. read more

Playbar - Dance Clubs Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

HONESTLY PLEASE AVOID THIS PLACE. My friends got extremely disrespected by the Bouncer and Manager, even ASSULTED them (pulling hair/arms and threatening them) and the manager proceeds to say "I wouldve b*tch slapped her too" in front of the cops. Of course there are two sides to every story but in this case the company was completely wrong and was very unprofessional. Again full on grabbing people and pushing them around, and full on being annoyed just because he (the bouncer) thought they bought "fake" IDS. read more

This was literally the only club in the vicinity of our hotel. It was nice though, music was r & b and hip hop(current mixed in with some old school). The place is not that big it was packed though. Bathrooms were clean(a definite plus in a club). They closed early (2 am I believe) and the line was off the hook and not moving. They allowed us entry once we agreed to buy a bottle so we were able to cut the line and go right in for a solid two hours of partying . One thing I didn't like is they require that a waitress pours all drinks, you are not allowed to touch the bottle or pour yourself a drink and our waitress kept disappearing. Other than that though it was a fun time! read more

Playbar - Inside Play - Dance Clubs Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

We had the best night here! ...thank you to OC, Sione, and DJ LT for letting my buddy Keiffer Smutherland guest DJ from LA. Thank you to Farmer and Samantha for killing it while bartending. Keeping the drinks flowing and everyone having a good time. $1 Well drinks is insane. I don't think you'll find a better deal anywhere in the world. Cover is $5-10 starting at a certain time, but that is nothing. Playbar is located on Kuhio Ave in the heat if Waikiki. It has a low ceiling, a light up dance floor, and is a mix of both locals and tourists. The music is more hip-hop, but every so often they throw in a little edm, top 40s, and old school bangers into the mix. The crowd is a mix of both young and old, but maybe caters closer to that 21-25 demographic. The best time to visit is from 12-4am because this is more of a late night spot. As far as dress code, slippers (flip flops), graphic tees, and shorts with belt loops are fine. Just no sports apparel or surf shirts without a belt loops. I recommend parking at the Ross around the corner. Let them know ahead of time that you want the 10 hrs for $15 and you pay when you go out (Make a day of it... go surf, party at the International Market Place, or get some delicious Marukame Udon). Just remember that it's up to you to have a good time. Get involved and hop on that dance floor (house rules: leave your drinks on the side), don't pick fights, and take personal accountability if you're drinking. No judgement, just suggestions for life. Peace, love, and hope you have a great time visiting Playbar Waikiki. read more

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This place has everything you need for an unforgettable night. From the moment you walk in, the vibrant atmosphere and high-energy vibe immediately transport you into party mode. The music is blasting, the lights are flashing, and everyone is ready to dance. The dance floor is spacious with plenty of room to move around, and the DJ keeps the crowd pumping all night long. You can text the DJ to send in request. The drink menu is impressive, and the bartenders know how to mix up delicious cocktails quickly. You can also order bottle service if you want to celebrate like a VIP. What sets this club apart from others is its friendly staff, who go above and beyond to make sure you have an excellent experience. They're quick to offer recommendations or help clear a path to the bar. They also guarded our table like a hawk while we were on the dance floor making sure our items and alcohol were safe. Overall, I highly recommend Playbar for anyone seeking a fun and energetic nightlife scene in Hawaii! It stays open very late, located in the middle of the busy streets. Shoutout to Matthew L.'s review on this place. Please go read his review. It's absolute perfection. It's also the only reason we decided to check it out. read more

Drinks were strong, price wasn't too bad, we went on a Friday night and we got there pretty late after 1am the dance floor was poppin and the DJ was playing mixed music letting everyone have a chance to get on the dance floor. Security was on point, trouble makers, too drunk people were guided out quickly. We had a good time! read more

Super cheap drink specials, glowing dance floor, Top 40 pop/hip hop, and VERY colorfully diverse and young crowd. This is the right spot if you want to get a little ratchet and feel comfortable enough to make it clap since you are not surrounded by the predominant demographic of caucasian baby boomer tourists that are at most of the local bars. They have a $10 cover at the door, although I hate paying covers the low priced drinks make up for it in the end. They have daily specials that go as low as $1 for a mixed drink on some days....thats crazy. They didnt seem to have a very strict dress code as I saw many different casual styles, which you can see from my photos. There around like 20 bouncers inside keeping a close eye on things so at first I thought it was a strip club, but it turned out to be a very good danceclub. The dj was very much on point and I know good djs bc Im deep in the NYC nightlife scene. He kept the crowd moving even when switching genres from dancehall to hip hop to trap. There are waitresses walking the floor taking orders. The bathrooms are decent. It looks like both locals and tourists mix here and maybe a good place to socialize and meet singles. Overall a cool local spot to turn up with a fun crowd. read more

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Security are too aggressive for no reason. How about yall tell us the no dancing on the dance floor with a drink rule BEFORE we get in or at the bar. Don't fucking wait til my boyfriend is dancing barely on the dance floor then wrap your fucking arms around him. A tap on the shoulder would've sufficed. And why give us bottles of beer if you're afraid of us breaking glass??? This was my second time here & was almost as bad as the first. Never again read more

Playbar - Dance Clubs Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Was a different experience, security kept telling us to move when we found a spot to start dancing. Security stands on dance floor so you don't take your drink to the floor to dance with you (understandable no spillage), but weird. If you use your card you have to order a min of $50 drinks. If I'm ever in HI again I wouldn't go here to party hard. read more

Literally the only bar I could find in the area that played hip hop and R&B exclusively. Thank you read more

Playbar - Drinks were also the cheapest I've been charged in Waikiki. - Dance Clubs Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Um, $1 drink wednesdays my dudes? Pretty fun place! Went here without checking the reviews on yelp - they play some good tunes a and they have a dope dance floor. But really- $1 mixed wells. Drink up! read more

Playbar - Dance floor? Pretty empty but it's nice af - Dance Clubs Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

The bouncer on this night must be brain dead. There were 6 of us all with Maryland IDs. He told one of us to "shut the fuck up" and proceeded to treat us like we were stupid. We told him he can scan the IDs to which he responded he could "scan this bar of soap too" whatever that means. I have never been rejected from a club before like this. Whoever is reading this do not go to this club. The bouncers probably never left elementary school. read more

Everyone talks bad about this club, but where do you turn to when all the other bars are closed? When you're drunk and stumbling down Waikiki Strip, whose lights are always on? When you want to remember how much of a piece of shit you are who welcomes you with open arms? Playbar does my friend. $10 for cover, better be wearing some closed toe shoes, shirts w sleeves and pants with loops. Enter the door to 120 DB ++ levels of music screaming through your ears, making your eardrums bleed and go partially deaf. Try to dance with some drunk girls but you too are to drunk to even dance. End up throwing up a bit in your mouth then swallowing it. Yeah, I fucking love this club and fuck you one star hipster yuppie boujie mommy and daddy buy me everything punks who say otherwise, go back to the mainland..... read more

Security watches you like a hawk so much that it's uncomfortable to be here! They'll watch you sip your drink and will say something if you don't put your mask back on one second later. They also don't let you stand in certain areas but it's super confusing on where they want you to go. Happy to comply to their whatever rules but security is rude about it. read more

I've been here once and I'm not sure why there are so many bad reviews? Me and my two friends had such a good time at this club. We went early, literally the first ones in line lol we were bored early in the night, trying to find somewhere to dance. The bouncer let us in for free for being the firsts in line. The bartender was a nice lady who hooked us up, we had plenty to drink and didn't really spend that much. The music was hip hop/r&b and the lit up dance floor literally makes you want to dance on it. We are locals, so idk if that made our experience better? Either way, I would definitely go back. I didn't get any weird vibes. read more

The reviews were bullshit. I almost didn't come because of the reviews but I'm so glad I did. This place is awesome. Security guard was chill and bar tenders were awesome. Highly recommend. read more

WHACKKK! Don't even waste your time coming here. Bouncers are rude af. Drinks taste like trash AND they got the audacity to charge a cover fee? LOLLL read more

Playbar - Entrance - Dance Clubs Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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This is an absolute crap bar, don't even bother coming inside. All the negative reviews are spot on. They charge a cover fee and a $100 minimum on card transactions - absolutely ridiculous! All the staff is super rude, and I swear I saw one of the bouncers try and feel up on a random girl. The vibes were way off. Go to literally any other bar to have a better time. If I could give it 0 stars I would. read more

So, I'm from out of town. I know Covid-19 restrictions...but there's NO DANCING!! Hawaii is the island of DANCING...they even made an announcement to sit down...instead of STAND. It's small. But literally spent 10 a piece on a Monday. So it's like 20 a piece on a Saturday to go to a club... to not be able to dance. You might want to go spend your money elsewhere. Also, if you do stay spend cash, because on a card it's a 100 minimum. But who wants to stay at a club unless it's a strip club which it is NOT....to NOT DANCE. Otherwise, good location. But you go to places for the vibes and entertainment...this is not it. It's something to do...but you will be disappointed...especially if you are a dancer. That's just like going to a karaoke bar and they said, NO SINGING. Highly disappointed. I wasted my money for no reason at all. To experience the worst vibe ever. read more

Playbar - Playbar - Dance Clubs Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Don't ever go to this bar! We travel from California and we're recommended this bar, the security had told that me my ID was fake. I asked him to call the police to be sure that it wasn't fake. He started yelling in our faces saying leave and get out of here. I am 23 years old with a real ID. The way I got yelled at when i just asked why was ridiculous. He scream at me in my face and didn't let me in when he didn't even have a scanner to scan my ID OR A FLASH LIGHT TO LOOK AT MY ID. Too scream at woman is insane being a man obviously he has a small dick to be arguing with a women. It was a horrible experience they should shut down due to the services they give especially from tourist. They should hire good experienced professional security guards that know how to do their job! JOHN was the security outside that harassed us verbally this was unacceptable and unprofessional. FU DUMB B**** read more

One particular bouncer is racist and sexist. A group of us girls came on for a birthday, agreed to spend over $100 on our tab (just to put a card down), and about 1 hr. In, the bouncer who was only hovering around us and one other table tried to kick the birthday girl out and a few other girls in different groups out. We got together and got a table together reasoned with another bouncer. He is on a weird power trip where he feels "disrespected" because the girls (specifically POC) were dancing and having a good time at the table. On the contrary, the Caucasian male and females who were unmasked and dancing around too were not reprimanded. Interesting. They also don't provide you with itemized recipes so you don't know if they scammed your or not. read more

Dj plays really good music, security is super chill, and bartender makes sure you get your money's worth. First time in Hawaii and came back multiple times throughout my trip. Would recommend read more

If Yelp could let me leave no stars I definitely would. Horrible! Do not come here! Most ridiculous dress code ever. Do they not realize they are in a beach town? My friend couldn't wear his tank top, so no problem we went back to the room got him a button up and now his shorts were the problem because they didn't have loops. This bar should not be in business, so I will be contacting the better business bureau after my vacation is over . read more

Playbar - The big ole list of rules. People were outside waiting after 12 because google said they are open till 2am - Dance Clubs Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

One star is too much for this place. Thee worst experience ever. Horrible security and just the management in general. Don't waste your time! Definitely not a welcoming place and will Make your Hawaii experience a bad one. read more

I paid $20 for a cover and then was told I had to pay $10 for a water. That is criminal.