Phoenix Nightclub (Vientiane - Laos)
By
Tibs
→
Phoenix nightclub is located on Thadeua Rd, about 3 kilometers from the tourist center in Vientiane (just a few hundred meters after Paris Cocktail). It's easy to spot from the street as it is inside a white, flashy building. Phoenix is officially targeting an upper-class crowd, the "hi-so" (high society) of Laos: It has a modern design, it features guest bands and DJs from Thailand, and they have a strict dress code. In reality, it is not that stylish. It is quite dark, with mostly young people wearing t-shirts, and the music is boring EDM. Even on a Saturday night at 1AM it was 2/3rd empty.
Marina is the best nightclub in Vientiane as of 2017 (my second favorite would be Gold Star ). It is located on Luang Prabang Road, 3 kilometers from the tourist area so you'll need to ride a tuk-tuk (20,000-30,000 kip maximum). As you arrive, you'll see a mini-traffic jam with some luxury cars. Maybe because it is far, there is almost no foreigners who visit it (apart from Thais and Chinese). That's too bad because it would challenge a few stereotypes they might have about "sleepy" Vientiane.
Batman Pub is a nightclub and karaoke located at least 8 kilometers from the city center of Vientiane. I went there with a rented motorbike after visiting another club called Romeo. Honestly, it is really in the middle of nowhere. To reach it, you'll need to take a dirt road on the last 500 meters, surrounded by nothing but empty fields. Judging by the look on the staff's faces, I'm sure I was the only foreigner they ever saw. They gave me a real VIP treatment, including serving my 25,000-kip Beer Lao together with an ice bucket
Romeo and The Pavilion is a nightlife complex in Vientiane consisting of a nightclub (Romeo), a live music hall (The Pavilion), a beer garden, a restaurant and a karaoke. It is quite far from the city center (at least 5 kilometers) but still, I wanted to check it as it seemed to be popular with the local elite. In particular, it targets the Laotian-Chinese community with the same kind of ostentatious, over-the-top design you may have seen elsewhere in Chinese clubs in Asia.
Gold Star is a nightclub in Vientiane, part of the Daokham Hotel complex. On the same location, you'll also find Sam Dao beer garden and Merci karaoke. The whole site is quite impressive. You arrive through a small road perpendicular to Souphanouvong Avenue, and then suddenly you have this huge, hidden property with hundreds of party-goers. I had a quick look at the beer garden. Nothing special there, it caters mostly to large groups who also come for eating. The nightclub is more interesting. It looks similar to Marina, except that the crowd is much younger and less stylish. From what I could guess, at least 10% of the crowd was less than 18 years old. I also saw a handful of foreigners. In total, I would say it can accommodate 500 people. I think the live band was from Thailand. They played rock song (none of them in English), and during breaks a DJ would mix famous EDM anthems. This is a video I took: