Louis

I’ve been to some small places… this place is TINY! Prob would take you 15 steps to walk the whole place front to back. That being said, I’ve been there twice while visiting Miami and had fun there. Definitely not my first or even second choice for a night out. It’s small, but the staff inside is pretty on point. Outside, however, stinks. The doorman is ridiculously rude. Good music. I had fun because I was with 2 of my good friends so we made the best of it.

When I first walked into this club, it immediately reminded me of 2 of Tokyo’s hottest French member-​only clubs so I had high hopes… despite the fact that I had to pay a $ 25 dollar cover but my boss didn’t — how ghetto is that. (We had associates already inside the club getting premium bottle (s) service).
Nothing really struck me as spectacular in this club. The VIP section is ridiculously small and gets extremely packed quickly. The dance floor is dark, small, DJ was lame at best… I don’t know, just wasn’t that impressed. Would not come again as you can see the staff members working there really think this is the «it» place to be… well I got a news flash for you Walter Cronkite, it’s not!

I came here for Blu Party during WMC and this is my review of this shitty place:
–This is no LIV, Mansion, Arkadia, hell. its not even Cameo. This place sucks. The club is a weird shape where a dance floor really does not even exist. Its just like a long narrow hallway.
–I ordered 2 beers and it was $ 24. I’m not a cheap ass but again, if I was at somewhere like LIV or something, I would have expected it. Not here.
–It was fucking empty
–The stupid MC kept on saying YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH, COMMON, WOOP. i couldnt even listen to the damn music.
–They had some guy with a portable CO2 blaster that was obnoxiously blasting CO2 to the beat of the music. If i was a DJ, i would be pissed as hell.
+I guess the only cool thing is the DJ booth is pretty accessible. So you can see the DJ going crazy with the mixer.
–Sydney Blu I swear to god played a premixed set. WACK
DONT GO HERE

Bad doorman
Bad crowd
Horrible dj (on the mic every two seconds defeats the purpose of being a dj and doesn’t allow the crowd to hear any MUSIC)
The décor is pretty good but this club just really went to sh*t and isn’t managed well, at all. This could be such a cool concept for a club but it’s not.

I love the location and the ambiance however the drinks weren’t very impressive. This could be due to the face that I was there for a private Art Basel party, however it was still Louis bartenders mixing that night.
MIght be back. might not… hard to tell.

Three strikes and you’re out. With the influx of visitors I had this past month, I ventured out to Louis to give my friends a warm-​up to the SoBe club scene. Louis is on the smaller side and definitely not as overwhelming as places like Mansion. I have to say that I was really underwhelmed all three times I went there. They only had one bartender at each bar and they clearly need at least two. An understaffed bar can only lead to frazzled bartenders, which leads to disgruntled guests (me) and an even more disgruntled friend who was accidentally charged $ 100 more than their actual tab. Voila! Night ruined. Thanks, Louis.
Drinks are pricey, but when are they not at clubs? At least it’s not like Arkadia where a small party cup of long island iced tea = $ 18. Now, THAT is highway robbery. What gave this place two stars instead of one is the fact that they at least have a fairly attentive staff manning the dance floor making sure that spills are cleaned up quickly to avoid accidents. However, they tend to be a little too efficient, constantly pushing (as nicely as possible) guests out of the way to get to the messes. With the club being as small as it is, that can get annoying real quick. On a crowded night, beware of all the lit cigarettes around you to avoid getting yourself burned like a certain someone I know (me).
Naturally, girls are free, but guys have to pay a $ 25 cash only cover. I was told that the cover was at the discretion of the doorman, which makes me wonder how he decides if a guy has to pay cover or not. The DJ who was spinning a few weeks back did a great job. Last night, Jason Smith was spinning and maybe it was just me, but I really couldn’t get into the music. The transitions were sloppy and the song selections were a little on the terrible side. Between him and his posse, I figured some good music would come out of it, but no such luck. Will I come back? Probably not. Until they take their staffing/​music situation up a few notches, I don’t see a reason to.

On the plus side, my bf and I walked right in this past Saturday night at 1:30am. There was a group of guys waiting at the door to get in so obv its better to bring a cute girl with you! It was free for me, $ 25 for him.
The place is pretty small but decorated nicely with two bars inside. Unfortunately for my bf, their scotch selection was pretty limited. Drinks were pricey, but that was to be expected. The pours were average at best.
The music was spot on and we danced the night away, leaving at closing time. The bouncers were not rude, as they can be at many other clubs on the beach, and even took a few photos of my man and I as we were walking out the door.
Overall though, Louis really does not stand out in any way against the other club options on the beach. Was it fun? Yes. Will I be back? Maybe. At least it was easier to get in than I have experienced at other clubs on the beach.

Thursday night.
4 girls.
They tried to charge us $ 25 cover.
They eventually comped us at the door.
Music was weak.
Drinks were weak.
And 80% of the clientele was women because no guys wanted to pay the ridiculous cover.
Need to try it another night I suppose but the night we went sucked.

Disclaimer: Four stars coming from a female who didn’t have to wait in line, pay cover, or pay for drinks.
Tuesday night: Ridiculous. Three friends and I walked in with a promoter. Bouncers took a half-​assed glance at my ID out of sheer legal necessity. Bright green Lamborghini Gallardo parked in front of the Gansevoort… We later found out it was the club owner’s, who was doing shots beside us.
Grand, luxurious-​looking place. Clean décor in the lobby, black and white. The club itself was really clean (including the bathrooms!), but pretty small… Long but narrow. Too hammered to remember any other details. It was packed, and the music was amazing — a good mix of deep/​progressive house and hip hop. Didn’t pay too much attention to the crowd, but I can at least attest to the fact that there were no super young/​creepy guys.
Looks like the little guy has been doing the Napoleon routine for over two years now?! It’s still cute. Saw him posing for pictures at the beginning of the night, then bartending, and later dancing on a table and spraying mist on the dance floor. What a multi-​talented dude.
Minus one star because there weren’t enough bartenders to keep up with the crowd. Expect to wait about 10 minutes at the bar before ordering.

BY now you know where this place is and what it is all about. My goal in this review is to give the South Beach visitor a review from someone who wishes they would have read some out of town reviews before going here.
This place is all HYPE. I had not been to SB in 11 years and upon my return wonder how anyone can still claim this place has any decent nightlife. WIth that said, most of the nightclubs closed down on Washington and most bigger dance clubs that have survived are all in hotels.
If you are going to charge me $ 25 to enter your club on any night of the week other than Friday or Saturday it better have some kick ass music. Instead after paying $ 50 for my wife and I we neded up listening to some kid from a local high school spin crap that was not before 1998. It was purely hot turd action from this guy. Oh drinks…$ 14 for well vodka tonics and a minimum of $ 40 to use a credit card to pay. Best part, they add in a minimum of 17% gratuity on you bill (is that even legal?). Sorry, I would have given any of the lame «I am the hottest girl I know and I am way cooler than you, what woudl you lke to drink?» snatches working the bar a dollar for each drink but not that kind of gratuity for your snotty attitude and lack of motivation to ut your phone down long enough to stop texting and take my drink order.
So about 12am a new DJ arrived and I had great hopes for some good electronic music to slip me into a good mood, instead we got DJ Chino who I think is a year ahead of the other kid in school and he played music horribly mixed from the 98 – 04 years.
Seriously, this place is decorated pretty cool but is about 1200 sq ft at the most. Pictures are pretty deceiving. Maybe they have better music on other nights but even locals said that we went on the good night. I have seen this same lame scam over and over in SB and was over it. Will not go back even it a good DJ was there.

Why am I giving this place 4 stars? Well, 1 reason and 1 reason ALONE:
THE MUSIC.
I have been there 2 times in the last 2 months and each time the music was fun and danceable. Loved it, they played everything from Salt n Pepa to Nirvana. None of that pretentious ‘tiki tiki’ music you get everywhere else.
The negatives: VERY young, wanna be, pretentious crowd… I paid $ 25 cover one of the times. (Personally, I didn’t think that was worth it particularly since drinks are expensive as hell — they tried to charge us $ 8 for a bottle of water… yes, I am serious).

Louis is one of the more bourgeosie lounges in South Beach but we opted to go to Louis over waiting in the crazy long line over @ Mansion. There were 17 of is total to celebrate my friend’s bachelorette party, we didn’t have to wait to get in but we did have to pay $ 25 cover wtf. but at that point I didn’t really care and just wanted to get inside and get trashed!!!
The décor inside Louis is pretty cute. was a little confused though because online they said it was going to be like «saturday night fever» but for some reason the bartenders were wearing flannels & fake mustaches. so I guess maybe they changed it to hipster night?
Aside from the cover we all had fun, got drunk, danced our asses off & the bride to be had a blast. mission accomplished.
side note: even though I was hammered I do remember that the bathroom was ginormous, no line every time I went in there & it was really clean. which is a rarity in most clubs!

The one thing I liked about this place was the décor, especially the chairs near the entrance. Other than that, I found this place to be pretty overrated. The music the DJ played was inconsistent so people would give up on dancing and just stand around the cramped dance floor. Drinks are overpriced and weak. I spent $ 50 (minus tip) on 2 long islands and a corona ($ 10…WTH).
Also, they slap on an automatic 20 percent gratuity which I think is absurd. I don’t mind tipping but if a bartender is ignoring you and forgetting your order then I don’t believe they deserve to to be tipped. I highly recommend bringing plenty of cash since they require a $ 50 minimum on card purchases. If you can, just skip this place.

Really awesome spot to end the night especially if you’re staying here. The night we were here there, a little person was dancing on the bar. I wasn’t really sure if he was part of the club or there to club but he drew quite a crowd. If he’s part of the club, I don’t see how he ties into the Louis theme, anyways…
The décor is cool, take a breather on the cool chairs by the door when you walk in and dont forget to hop on the coach outside. In the begining of the night the music is ehhh but by late night its pretty much all hip hop.

I expected a lot more from this «SoBe» hot spot.
I came here on a Saturday night. While I didn’t have a tough time getting in like the reviewers before me, I didn’t have that much fun either. The club itself isn’t very big, and there was really no room to dance. No one was even dancing much because the DJ couldn’t keep a steady flow of good tunes.
Good looking crowd though, and I was invited to drink at a table that was sitting right next to Kid Cudi & his entourage!

Louis = sausagefest + dark atmosphere + overhyped.
Expect the expected. Meaning, expect the following (and then some):
…to be hassled if you are not properly dressed. This includes removing any and everything that is not up to par. Bachelorettes, remove all penis related items and/​or sashes, blinking diamond rings and tiara’s.
…to pay for over-​priced drinks with a minimum for charge for credit cards
…to enter a club that is way too dark. Totally takes away from the décor.
…to see a plethora of douchebags. Weugh.
…to «leave from exhaustion and maybe a little boredom», as Maria A. so eloquently put it.
I will say that the music was decent. :)

1. Charging a minimum on any credit card is not abiding by the credit card agreement. Louis, please READ the agreement and any patron should call them out on this. Yes, you can complain and the credit card companies WILL review this and possibly take their credit card machine away. Heck maybe I might just go one day and bust their chops and get banned, LMAO.
2. Do as I say not as I do. Expect to be hassled if you are not properly dressed unless of course if you know someone that works there. Funny how the GM walks in with a baseball cap, jeans, sneakers and tshirt, but do keep in mind this is a NO NO for anyone wanting to go in. But of course, if you are in the «IN», you can walk in as long as you have clothes on.
3. If you wait more than 5 minutes I advise you to take your money elsewhere because Louis doesn’t want you or your money. This is the main reason why I will never go to Louis or any club that has this dumb door policy. The door guy will not let guys in unless if they are with girls. I even so the door guy turn away a group of 5 girls away because some of them didn’t have the «right» look according to him. So guys and gals, why even bother wasting your time in such a place. There are clearly tons of more venues that welcome you and your money.
4. Over priced drinks. I get to the bar and order 2 Grey Goose with Redbull and a cup of water. The drinks were $ 34 and they will not give you a cup of water. You have to buy water. Talk about a shake down. Where are we, in a Sopranos episode.
5. Buyer beware. If you get caught up in the the Louis hype, then shame on you. Supporting these types of venues will only keep them around.
So there you have it, my 2 cents on this joint that I will NEVER visit again even if you decide to throw me a party whit bottles included!!!

I love that the theme is carried out all through this club, down to the décor, statues, paintings, and costumes/​outfits that the bar staff and servers wear.
We arrived here around 1:30am on a Saturday night and after weaving my way to the front of the line, we were picked out by the guys running the door and let right into the club.
We were greeted by a little person who was dressed in this frenchman costume. Right at the entrance is a bar, then you walk down a hallway to get to the dance floor area. The wall is painted to resemble a library. It was pretty crowded at this time, and they played some of the top 40’s, rock, and house music.
It’s not as big as the other clubs, but I was in awe of the theme and how everything just worked perfectly together. The crowd was pretty mixed, and seemed a little snooty.
One of the weird things about Miami is that people don’t really dance at clubs. They just stand around and stare. Maybe it was because Louis was more of a lounge? Either way, I like to dance, so we headed off to Mansion…

Perhaps it was the music (DJs Johnny the Boy and Brooklyn Dawn spinning). Or maybe it’s the crowd, on the nights I’ve gone, that is always ready for the festivities and demands a good time. It also helps that the staff outside is never overly rude and instead is actually courteous, serious and unfriendly but courteous.
Yes, expect to pay a higher price for drinks and the accompanying rocks aka ice, (yes, what is that all about? the infamous SoBe experience tax is in effect). However, don’t expect to see a drink menu, the prices you’ll find listed are reserved for bottles.
Expect carousing and dancing, expect a boutique club/​lounge (isn’t every place a lounge now), with a dark and sultry vibe full of good looking revelers ready to go anything but gently into that sweet night, expect to leave from exhaustion and maybe a little boredom.

So — This is my first time ever at the GS/​Louis and I am going to say I was impressed and this event was great.
First a few minor problems — the cars that they talk about in the promo were OUTSIDE on the street !!
I live and work on the beach — I see nice cars parked outside all the time, i was hoping to get into the Lambo with my drink in hand.
Second. the doorman could not find my name on the LIST but he did let me in because some other people I was with, who by the way I told about it, names were on the list and we 5 got it quickly.
The Event dripped of delicious decadence. Dark room inside with so much black and dark red that I thought I was in a Vampire bar from True Blood. This place may have had the best looking staff ever all dressed as hotel bellman for the guys and sexyy stewardess for the girls — all still in the dark black and red trimmed motif .
There were all extremely polite and helpful all night.
There were people dressed up like in the flyer with the French Louis the 16^th — stuff one girl was actually in a feather filled bathtub with just one of those white wigs and some lingerie stuff on on
The crowd was very mixed as if it were picked from the UN or a Benetton catalog — I am not sure what country I was from.
Free Vodka and Champagne drinks for first hours did not hurt either. The place was busy but never too crowded so for once the door man were actually doing something but not letting everyone in and keeping a line — so I am glad I was there very early.
I will post some of the pictures I took because words just don’t describe how awesome it was.
I signed up for the mailing list and was contacted by Richard when there was rumor that the event was cancelled by email.
I would recommend this place without hesitation.