I felt like this blog post was best suited for a Friday so, hope you enjoy! As always, I’d love to hear what you think– are nightclubs overrated in your experience, or are they the best thing since sliced bread?

My first real experience going to a nightclub was in Paris about four years ago. It was pretty cool, there was a pirate ship in the middle of this huge room that apparently was an African museum by day and nightclub by night. With that being said, I’m pretty sure I was in Superga sneakers, a pair of jeans, and my Barbour jacket. So…. a totally different experience than going “clubbing” in the US.

To really get the full backstory here, the last time I was in Vegas (I was 12 years old), my parents, sister and I were staying at The Wynn. One night we stayed out late and on our way back to our room we walked past the XS Nightclub. In that moment I knew I’d make it back there. I didn’t know a lot at 12 years old, obviously, but walking by the line of people all dressed up in sparkly outfits, waiting to get into the club, something clicked inside me and I knew one day I wanted to be one of the people inside the club (not waiting outside on a line).

Okay so now you have the whole backstory! Gosh, that took a while! Fast forward to present day, last week I was back in Las Vegas for the first time since I turned 21. Finally legal to drink and gamble! Those who know me know that partying isn’t really my thing…nor is getting dressed up in skimpy outfits and staying out until 3:00am. But I really wanted to get a true, American clubbing experience. Not only that, I felt like I needed this experience. I needed to check this experience off my bucket list and I needed to have this crazy Las Vegas experience.

Below I’m answering all your questions about my experience at the XS Nightclub, which is dubbed the #1 nightclub in the US. Keep reading for my HONEST review!

How much does it cost?

General admission into the club varies based on a few things: night of the week you’re going, if there’s anyone famous DJ-ing (The Chainsmokers were at XS when we went so tickets cost a little more than usual), and whether you’re a guy or a girl. If you’re looking to buy a table, that’s a whole other discussion, but expect to spend a couple thousand dollars!

We went on a Saturday night and my GA ticket was $30 and my boyfriend’s ticket cost $50 (before online fees and taxes….we got our tickets online).

If you have a little more money to spend, you can skip the line by buying premier tickets, which I totally wish we had done (and I’ll never go general admission to a club again!). I believe by staying at The Wynn you can call the concierge and buy these premier passes to the club, which let you right in. No lines whatsoever! (So worth it in my opinion!) I believe a female premier ticket would have cost around $80 and a male premier ticket would have cost $160. I mean…still less than it would have cost to go to an actual Chainsmokers concert…so definitely wish we had done this.

How long does it take to get in?

We walked down to the club around 10:30pm, and good thing we did. Right as we got on the General Admissions line it started moving, which was great! Not… the line moved from inside the casino, out a side door, into the pool area. We had to wait outside about 45 minutes, and it was freezing out! On top of that, I was wearing a skimpy dress and a pair of open-toed heels! So not cut out for this!

Worse than that, once you get to the front of the line, and finally get “in,” you’re actually only let into the outside patio portion of the nightclub. You end up having to wait on another line to get into the indoor portion of the nightclub. What a scam! We waited for about 10-15 minutes to *actually* get into the club, but at least there was a space heater kind of nearby the line. I was still pretty annoyed about this though! Getting let into the club was dependent on how many people exited the indoor spaces. So maybe it would only take 5 minutes, or maybe it would take 25 minutes. Who knows!

What do you have to wear?

Basically anything. How lame! Although online it says they won’t let men in who are wearing sneakers, and aren’t wearing collared shirts, in reality, guys were wearing whatever they wanted and the bouncers didn’t seem to care.

Women were wearing what you’d expect, tight dresses, short skirts, low-cut tops. I was also surprised though with how many women were wearing ballet flats or sneakers. Seriously people?!

Moral of the story here, just because it’s one of the best nightclubs in the world doesn’t mean you have to look your best to get in… I enjoyed getting dressed up and looking the part, and that’s all that matters!

What’s it like inside the club?

Walking into the club is like stepping into a new world. An over-the-top, high-end, base-thumping new world. The club is multi-tiered, and the lower you get the closer you are to the dance floor and the more expensive the tables cost. There are women walking around in what look to be bathing suits and OTK boots carrying signs to celebrate VIP’s birthdays. Everywhere you look there is champagne and vodka constantly being poured by women in tight dresses whose job it is to entertain the tables of VIPs.

The club is designed around the elevated DJ table, located at the front of the dance floor as kind of a divider between the inside and outside of the club. Oh yeah, the club is completely open to the outside terrace, but I think that’s actually kind of a good thing because I never got overheated with the fresh air constantly coming in.

So was everyone dancing?

Surprisingly and disappointingly, no. I love to dance and was so excited to be dancing to The Chainsmokers music in real life! The dance floor was completely packed, but no one was actually dancing on it, just standing around, or making out, or trying to talk over the loud music.

How much do the drinks cost?

My Gin and Tonic was $17, which is what I expected. I guess it depends where you come from whether that price is exuberant or not. Coming from outside of NYC I expect cocktails to always cost $15-$20, so this was nothing new to me. But I could imagine some of my friends from college who live in Virginia thinking that $17 is crazy expensive!

When did The Chainsmokers come on?

The house DJ, who was really good, went until 1:30am and that’s finally when The Chainsmokers came on. I luckily got a heads up from The Wynn Concierge to expect The Chainsmokers to come on after 1:00am. I have to say, once The Chainsmokers came on you could tell such a difference between them and the house DJ. They’re so. much. better!

So is the XS Nightclub in Las Vegas overrated?

Ultimately, once I got inside the club it was a fun experience and I’m glad I finally checked this off the bucket list. With that being said, the whole waiting on line to get into the club, in the freezing cold, was definitely overrated! I had this idea in my mind that a club like this would be filled with people dancing to the music, but it wasn’t. I mean, what’s the point of going through the hassle of getting into the club if you’re not going to really enjoy it once you’re in there?

The majority of people were glued to their phone screens, sitting around tables, ignoring the other people they were with and even ignoring the endless shots of Grey Goose. I mean, I get the whole documenting your life on Instagram (more than the next person), but come on people, have a little fun!

What do you think about nightclubs? Have you been to one before? Has this article dissuaded you or persuaded you to try clubbing? I’d love to know!!