Recess Lounge

Terrible. Rude bouncers. the whole member’s thing only is BS because one time i got in without a membership, the next time they want to deny access and charge $ 20 RIGHT after they let a ton of people without memberships in. First of all why should I have a membership for a dirty club that stinks and plays regular music. Honestly, it’s not that serious and this club isn’t that exclusive or nice… what a joke.

«I just arrived here with my boyfriend and sister about 1250ish. We got in with no problem, no membership needed. The birthday girl Melisa Urrutia arrived with her people and my good friends. My hard working friends, social workers, people who do something for the community and help everyday people. And they were denied entry based on «not having membership cards». Mind you me, my boyfriend Nnmadi, and Raydeen Stokes got in without a glance at a «membership» card. Some of my friends had memberships and some didn’t. The ones that had it knew their current membership was expired. I talked to the OWNER who was working the door and he still denied entry to my friends. I went inside to get my sister to leave bc obviously we’re not gonna stay at a place that the birthday girl can’t get into and I came back outside. When I did I found out that 2 girls (Caucasian females) who had to «renew memberships» signed up for renewed memberships and got in almost instantaneously. When my friends asked if they could renew their memberships they were told «not for discussion.» Mind you, I come here often and I usually love this place. It’s upsetting that this happened to my friends for no reason. Smh I’m disappointed and hope someone can give me advise on how to handle a heavy discrimination situation like this next time. Any advice would help. Hope this never happens to anyone. Racism and stereotyping is real. I’m still in great Spirits and currently going to ZEE BAR!!! I love everyone and am Very diverse and accepting individual. I’ve seen SO MUCH CRAZY SHIT walk into #Recesslounge I don’t understand why my friends were judged so heavily. Anyway, Have a blessed night all, despite the ill treatment I will!!! «this was my status from my experience with Recess last night. Hopefully no one else has to experience this. I’ll never go again.

I normally go to this place after I go to an initial bar. Generally I have no problem getting in because I have a membership and I was given a membership card and I was never asked for my membership card before. All of a sudden tonight they required you to have your membership card on you but I didn’t have mine so they refused to let me in while they let a number of people in without their membership cards. This place is very rude and nasty towards people in general. Not to mention the staff at the door i.e. the bouncers are very rude the management is very route the bartenders and servers are very rude and if you’re not wanting to spend a lot of money this place is not for you. After tonight I will no longer be going to recess because of these reasons.

Not sure why any one would pay $ 20 to get into this lounge to get the same thing you would get at all the other bars (but less space). Oh it’s an after hour spot? Go to your apartment/​hotel! I wish there was a review less than 1 star. worst customer service in the city.

During an after-​hour– drunken-​decision-​making in Philly, the twin and I managed to find the Recess Lounge; recommended by le Über driver.
Not only that we showed up 30 minutes before closing, we STILL had to pay an entrance fee. Almost left, but the snow made us stay (oh yes it did). We did get it lowered to $ 10 per person, but still, It should’ve been free! or perhaps it was because we were in a NorthFace and rain boots? I see what they did there… .
Bouncer was rude, ticket person was rude, coat check was rude and bartender was extremely rude. Why? Ya’ll have no reason to be rude! It was filthy and dead! No one in VIP, music was horrible –hence vacant on the dance floor. Clearly, they would like such establishment to replica those of a Hollywood club. Instead, it is one of the douchiest club in town. To wit–
And supposedly this is an exclusive members only club? Don’t be fooled ladies and gents; exclusivity cease to exist.
No more drunken decisions in a new city ever again!

The members only thing is a joke. My friends and I went one night and we were pretty much the first ones there. The DJ was playing and drinks were available so we were fine with it. We grabbed one of the couches (we didn’t get bottle service) and put our coats and purses down and were dancing. The club started to get a little more crowded but still not even packed and when I turned around to where we were sitting, some Sixers’ player and his friends sat right where we were and had the nerve to give us a stank eye for grabbing our stuff– kept saying this is our area. I asked the bouncer why he couldn’t come up to us and say «hey, you need to move your stuff over we have someone coming,» he had no reply. Just some common courtesy would be have been nice. Music was good and drinks were strong.

Good place to have a good time. Stays open late… great crowd! This place made my birthday special. One of the guys who works there made it real extravagant showing me a lot of love with a free bottle of Patron & special sparkling candle in the air so everyone knew it was my special day! I don’t remember who he was but I sure appreciated him! Thanks love yall!!!

Love this place music and great staff if you like hip hop this is the after hours spot to be

Worst place I have been to in Philly!
I didn’t like this venue at all. I have been there for a private party. All employees seemed to be unhappy to work there. Here are my thoughts:
— extremely hot/​warm inside
— aggressive bar tenders (saw few cases they were shouting at customers. They have wrong change to a friend of mine, but they couldn’t care less)
— poor music /​dj
— hostess shouting at the entrance, because people were asking why they were getting some personal info/​data in order to get in the club
— security was charging 5 bucks to skip the «registration» process

I would like to start this review off with a famous quote by Jay Z… «Numbers don’t lie. Check the scoreboard»… So with that said, there’s a reson why this place has such horrible ratings…
I’ll start with the good… They’re open an hour and a half or so later than pretty much all other places in Philly. And second, they have a pretty awesome unisex bathroom. So with that said, two good things gets them two stars. And trust me, that’s being generous.
So the members only thing is a joke, just like it is with the other 3 members only places in Philly. I can’t remember the price exactly, but if you haven’t been there before, they enter your information into the system and then give you a business card with an expiration date a year from that day. After you register and get that business card, you get reduced cover for the rest of the year and that’s pretty much it. Anybody can become a member. It’s nothing special… Anyways, this was my first club that I went to when I moved to Philly. So being that I didn’t know of any other places at the time, I went to Recess quite a bit. The Dj was pretty good and there usually was a decent amount of good looking women. The size of the crowd was always hit or miss. But for the most part, this place didn’t get poppin’ til after 1am. The drink prices are ok, but this place is small! So being that the bar areas aren’t that big, they can get backed up pretty bad at times… Other than their 1 vip room, this place is pretty much just a hall. On the floor, there’s like 2 or three areas for bottle service. None of which can really accommodate a large group.
Lastly, I am the world’s most easygoing, nonconfrontational, and courteous person. So with that said, I’ve never had an altercation in a club until I came here… This particular night, I had spent almost $ 200. They were setting up to close, so the lights came on and people started to leave. It was down to about 30 people and I’m sure of those 30 people, half or so probably knew people that worked there. But this chunky, medium complexion, black bouncer walked through the crowd, singled me out, and straight up took my drink out of my hand and said «time to leave» in his tough guy voice. I said to him «Wtf??? I spent close to $ 200 tonight!» And he replied «I highly doubt that because you didn’t get bottle service.» (First of all, bottle service is a ripoff and second, the Vip area is super small) Anyways, I wasn’t drunk and sloppy like some of the people of the people that he walked passed to get to me. So the combination of him singling me out and literally taking my drink out of my hand, really pissed me off… I think it’s pretty ridiculous that I spent that much money and got treated like that. All he had to do was ask me to finish my drink, and I would have chugged it with no problem. But no, he had something to prove because he couldn’t make the varsity football squad in high school or maybe because he was too out of shape or uneducated to become a cop. Who knows… Anyways, I’ve been to more clubs/​lounges around the world than I can count and I have never seen any place that has had such a’hole bouncers like Recess. There’s been numerous occasions where I’ve seen them pick on people, especially pyhsically small men. Asians and younger people more so than others.
So do yourself a favor and stay away from this place! Z Bar, Whisper, Rumor, or even Lit would be a way better bet. They’re all atleast twice the size, have way better bartenders and bouncers, more bars, better lighting, better sound systems, more room to dance, and plenty of places to sit and talk.

okay recess you trapped me, let me in, and didn’t let me leave. You said i could join your establishment, forced me to hand over my ID. Okay i was fine with that… an hour later I tried to leave and you and your bouncers did not let me leave. you pushed me, and told me if i want to leave I had to pay you 20 dollars. If i was a lawyer i would sue your ass, more so I will tell everyone to never go here. you are lousy you are trashy, and down right like a gastapo.

Beware of deals. Their drinks are overpriced, and they tempt you with open bar specials. Not only are they short, but they cut you off well before the advertised time, and lie about ‘their time’. Won’t go back.

Decent club, decent music, decent drinks. Nothing special.
Very small and location is a bit shady. It’s open late and there’s always a lot of cabs around to get home, which is a plus. What I hate about this place is their bathrooms. I know, I know… it’s a club, it’s BOUND to have gross bathrooms. But these stalls are all unisex and completely disgusting! I swear every time I’m there, there’s missing lighting in the bathroom so there will be 1 – 2 stalls that are pitch black. I came here for NYE this past year and there was a transparent door for one of the stars that they I guess cheaply «repaired.» Seriously?! WHO wants to see someone use the bathroom?! The only thing that was nice about the bathroom is that it is stocked with lotions, hair supplies, etc. and the guy that was in charge of cleaning up, restocking and handing out paper towels was very nice. But then again, this whole unisex bathroom thing definitely kills it for me. Girls sometimes need mirrors to fix themselves after they use the bathroom and it doesn’t help that there are males right outside of the bathroom stall where you’re about to look in the mirror! Awkward.
Oh and one more thinking. Smoking in a club… not classy, Recess… not classy.

It’s unfortunate that this is basically all Philly has to offer for an after hours club. The staff is so strict you’d think you’re in trouble for even carrying a purse. It’s just kind of dirty inside and uncomfortable. Not my scene.

Not much into the night club scene, but Recess isn’t a bad place to go every now and then. A friend of mine DJ’s here so we decided support him and check it out. A mixed group of guys and girls had no problem getting in. Drinks were easy to get and reasonably priced. If you are looking for a lounge/​club scene, I would recommend checking Recess out.

Came here around 12:45 on a Saturday night (well before all the bars dump out). There was no line, my entire group of 8 got in no problem. No cover for the ladies and only $ 10 for the guys.
Yea we all had to go through the whole annoying frisk BS by the bouncers but once inside I was really impressed by the amount of dance space available. The DJ was spinning mostly pop house/​hip-​hop remixes: not anything special but it wasn’t bad. It definitely kept the crowd dancing.
We all through down for drinks to one person because of the silly $ 30 minimum credit charge rule. Annoying but not enough to bring the rating down.
We stayed till 4 AM dancing all night and we had a blast. This place definitely is not NYC, LA, or Miami in quality but for a late night spot for dancing it’s the best Philly has to offer.
Way less expensive than Rumor or Whisper. The crowd was mixed: a bit ghetto, a bit jersey trash, a bit local Philly but no group was dominant unlike a lot of other late night places I’ve been to in Philly.
Bathrooms were clean and included individual stalls with blue LED lighting.
I will be back to this spot for late night dancing and I recommend bringing a group of friends– it worked very well for us.

Ah! Help me, I’m trapped in the «Jersey Shore!» This place is alright – lots of techno-​electro mixes which can be entertaining but only for so long.
The cover is ridiculous – $ 20 for Philly? Who are we kidding? Although, u basically are paying the price to party later. The thought of «so few afterhours spots in the city, might as well go here since it’s already 1:30 AM» def crossed through my head on Saturday night.
It’s pretty small and can get real crowded, real quick. Basically this spots a good time if you don’t plan on remembering your night.

Remember when Recess used to be the Living Room? Beyond a huge blackboard listing the house rules — many tongue-​in-​cheek — this venue hasn’t undergone the most extensive of renovations. Not that I’m complaining: This intimate after hours club still has decent DJ’s and plenty of dancing and enough psychedelic lighting to confuse. After 2 AM, only social club members can buy drinks from their bars. (Contact Recess for info on joining.)
«Philadelphia’s Most Exclusive Playground» may be an idle boast, but beyond house parties, there are few options for those who want to continue partying after 2. If you can put up with Old City prices and occasionally curt bouncers, Recess may be for you.

The bouncers here think they are god’s gift to us lowly mortals. Seriously, you guys are bouncers. Stop being a bunch of racist pricks. A whole crowd of us were there for a birthday bash (08.14.10) when the bouncers decided that everyone could enter except for the last 2 girls in our group. Not only were they jerks but they shoved my friend (tiny Asian girl)… what kind of manners did your mother teach you?
It did not end there — a brawl broke out because the bouncers were being jerks to a group of guys and decided to jump the ropes and punch out the guy. When someone tried to step in, he was punched too.
What kind of «lounge» hires such complete morons as bouncers. Grow some balls and pick on people your own size. ASIANS BEWARE!
Also, music here is hit or miss — you can’t request songs. LAME.

My roommates and boyfriend decided to throw themselves a birthday bash at Recess. Many people braved the weather (the first snow of the year!) to come celebrate and everyone had a great time, but I feel that I should warn people of the one thing that has the potential to ruin your night.
The music was fine, the bartenders were fine, the bathroom attendant was fine. But the BOUNCERS. Get a grip, your job is not that serious. First of all, my party arrived at 10:30 (super early by Philly standards) to help set up the guest list, check out the area that had been set aside for us, take pictures, etc. They let half of our party in and then stopped the rest of us from entering, so they could «set up.» The birthday boy had to stand outside a completely empty club and was told by the bouncer, «Too bad.» Jerkoff.
Andrew Zimmern’s look-​alike harassed our group from the moment we stepped inside. One of the bouncers told my boyfriend and friend to «get some air» (for no reason) and then wouldn’t let them back into the club.
I probably won’t go back even though I enjoyed everything else about Recess.