Aura Lounge

David Guetta, Afrojack, Kaskade; what do they all have in common? Just their music being played at a «blow your ears out» level.
I came here for a special event that yes, is a predominant Asian event, so I was not surprised to see the majority lining up outside and all scattered around inside. I made my way through the «dance floor» and there were already about 5 couples dry humping on the walls. Do they not know there’s a private lounge upstairs, or a bathroom on the side?! God, I hate going to clubs that involve dry humping. (Thank God for Pacha!)
I don’t get why «grinding/​dry humping» has become a fast-​growing «move» on the dance floor these days. I guess we all have Pretty Ricky to thank.
The amount for drinks are ridiculous. Since when do you have to pay $ 6 for a glass of water?! Does the water come from a youth spring or Tuck Everlasting eternal water? Is the ice crystallized or as a matter of fact, is it sparkling? I hope so. Really nice seats, I must admit. But not worth it for that price. I am definitely not coming back here again.

I came here only once and I didn’t enjoy my time here at all. This place is pretty damn small and on a busy night, this place can get a little retarded. Me and my party had the VIP area on the upper floor which was pretty cool. Looking down from up there, the place looked super congested. The drinks and prices here absolutely suck! It was super difficult to maneuver through crowd to head for the exit.
For VIP, the service here sucked so bad. The stupid lady with clip board outside the lounge gave me and my friends a tough ass time to get in while all of us were on the VIP list. Bitch didn’t even bother to check the names on the list and told us to wait on line with the rejects. I had to call one of the managers to come out and get us in. She ended up getting a earful from the manager after we got in. The coat check here is a rip off. The bar here is terrible. I understand that ordering a drink at a club can take long at times, but over here, the drinks take FOREVERRR! They got the world’s dumbest and slowest bar tender on earth.

I went here on a Wednesday it was an afterwork therapy. I thought it was extremely over crowded, had to push your way anywhere you wanted to go in there but other than that the music was good.

hmm i never see any asian in Aura… maybe because i go on thursday nights but… that place from 5-​midnight …is all Carribbean i love it
perfect for a thursday night
the place itself is very intimate (ok small) but you get yourself in good position you wont have to worry… if you dont like alot of people around you. why are you here… lot of bumping in grinding. reggae dancing
I believe that the place when through some renovations havent seen the new. place

The dance floor is pretty much 3 feet wide… but it’s a longgg dance floor. It’s pitted between the extremely long bar and blocked off sections (by handrails) where VIP’s can sit in their comfortable little booths.
Through out the night, it was a battle fighting people since the dance space was ridiculously thin and people kept walking back and forth. It should help to mention that I came here for an Envision Nightlife event so the crowd was predominately Asian.

Went there for happy hour with a girlfriend of mine last Thursday when I was visiting the city. I guess the promoter was Asian… so everyone was Asian, including the bartender-​ess? Drinks weren’t that bad… strong for them being free. The place is rather small but cute. There was a small section upstairs for beer pong… they had an inflatable beer pong ‘table’.
Crowd got bigger and probably a tad better later on… but it was time for the next party.
Tip-​bit:
Use the beer pong table to compete with any hot guy you spot!

I came here for my Asian social networking event. At the entrance, I mention my party promoter’s name and his company, which I was granted free admission without hassle. Thus, membership has its privileges!
This nightclub/​lounge has a nice setup with an «L» shape couches with sufficient seats. The upper level has ample room for Beirut to be played as there are Beer Pong tables. The bar tender messed up my drink request as I ordered a Martini which the woman gave me a Dirty Martini as it tasted very bitter and nasty. If I were to order a Dirty Martini it was not garished with a olive for presentation. For $ 12.00 of cocktail drink yet the bar tender messed up my drink request as the woman was not focused or lack the intelligence of a normal bar tender. Thus, I did not bother giving any gratuity of any means. There is a mandatory coat check for all night club patrons of $ 3.00, but thankfully one can hang tote bags, scarf’s all on the same hanger to avoid an additional $ 3.00 fee. They also have business cards to distribute to nightclub patrons, which I always collect.
The music is your typical nightclub music mix as it’s predominantly Asians. There is a Happy Hour of Open Bar from 5−6pm and a «2 for 1» drink special from 6−8pm.

A very small club. Should it even be called a club? I guess that’s why it’s a lounge. The DJ played r&b, and hip hop (not of the popular mainstream music) and basically me and my cousin and his friend did not seem like we fit in. Past reviews said they were a lot of «fob’s» but when I went we were the only asians there, plus the crowd was mainly urban. So we left after our first drinks which were free for some odd reason. That’s probably the only perk of the night at aura.

THE best music.
Too small though, and not enough girls. I’m a girl, but I don’t like clubs that have more guys than girls. No one enjoys that, am I right? Charging cover for girls also boo. Adding your own tip also boo. Although the bartenders were quick and attentive aside from that.
Crowd was mixed, not Asian, mostly Black actually (on a Friday). Maybe it depends on the night. If it weren’t for the music this place would be 3 stars.

A very average place. Aura is nice enough, the music is actually a really good selection of R&B and hip-​hop. Bathrooms are really pretty and clean, Tables are large and spacious but that’s where it all stops. Drinks are decent but bartenders try to tack on «your discretionary tip» into your bill. Cover is $ 20 for guys on a Friday night (Who charges cover anymore?). Given the crowd and the way things are handled here, this place is really amateur hour for the people who go out in the city a couple of times a year. For real New Yorkers, look elsewhere, you will only be disappointed.

i celebrated my 23^rd bday here. i had fun because i was with family and friends, was completely drunk and dancing all night, and the owner hooked me up with patron shots a few times. why did i give it a mere 2 stars? Because i promoted the place for my party and they wouldn’t let ALOT of my people in. My party was downstairs so i had to keep running back up outside just to get them in. I told the bouncer WTF and he’s like ‘don’t worry ur VIP baby all ur ppl are gettin in’ yeah! so the next day i had so many texts that said «couldn’t get in. going to another place or going home» although i had alot of fun, i wouldn’t recommend booking a private party. And i wouldn’t come here again anyway.

I have never seen an Asian at Aura!
But them again maybe thats because I go on Thursday nights A.K.A. Caribbean Night!
On Thursday nights the music is SICK! I mean really wild and crazy, its like you have been transported to the Caribbean. I took a couple of my co-​workers there recently and they had a blast!
The place really know how to treat its guests. After six shots of things I can’t pronounce we were given a free drink and then complimentary Guinness. So say Yuck for Guinness I say YUM, especially when its free.
Great for groups… I was was there last Thursday with group of 8 girl, and I must say it was a blast!!!

This is one of my weekly haunts. Keep reading. I am am from Trinidad and this is one of the only lounges in NYC that plays Soca and Calypso music. Thursday night is West Indian night. Nice place two levels nice drinks. Feels like I’m back home when I’m here.

Friday night at Aura is now a salsa/​merengue/​spanish rock/​hip-​hop/​spanish pop/​reggeaton/​top 40 fun time! I’m not going to lie. when i want to dance this mix of music will do it for me! Only 3 stars b/​c it’s insanely crowded and at times I could barely move, the drinks are ridiculously overpriced and i’m over any place where i have to be on some some sort of list in order to get in for free! I think it’s an age thang… That being said, if you don’t mind any of the aforementioned and like spanish music mixed with your english music try this spot out on a friday.

Asians.
That’s pretty much all there is to say about the crowd at Aura. It’s packed full with Asians and a few asian groupies. Also, everyone travels in packs. Guys bring more than 1 buddy. Girls bring their girlfriends. And couples seem to come in 3s. I’m not sure why but that’s just how it is at Aura.
Aura is the type of club that is too big for its britches. The bar is long and well staffed. The dance floor is right next to the bar and is long and about 3 feet wide. You know what this means right? That’s right. There’s no where to dance.
The music is hip hop on the weekends and is loud. You have to scream to talk but that’s nothing new in the night scene. The drinks are your typical 12 dollar cocktails. They do have a VIP section for bottle service with bottles ranging from 200 to 700 dollars. It’s all a crap shoot but you gotta make money somehow.
There was no cover when I arrived though there is a mandatory 4 dollar-​per-​item coat check (and the coat check is extremely poorly designed but I didn’t lose my stuff so there ya go).
The bar is pretty though.
So, all in all, yeah. I don’t see this space lasting too long. It’s just too damn small.

In what is certainly an amazing transformation, Aura is the new and improved version of what used to occupy the space known formally as Cyn Lounge. Aura has a different vibe completely with great lighting, renovated furniture, stylish ambiance, and a trendy lounge theme that was much more apparent than Cyn ever was.
The music that is played here is not bad, inspiring a lot of folks who are occupying the open space to start dancing up a storm. There isn’t much room to dance as the place is not large, but when there is few people it makes a world of difference. The bar is long and spacious, which sometimes makes it hard to get in touch with the bartenders if there are too many people. The hostess and cock tail waitresses are insanely hot here and so are a lot of the patrons who tend to visit this club. Perhaps the pheromones were cranked high during my last couple visits here.
First impressions are everything, and my first visit here was marred by semi-​rude promoters out front who were all slightly pretentious and a little too pushy especially when there was no line. What was equally disturbing was during the night were the DJs openly smoking from way above and it permeating into crowd below. The bouncers didn’t seem to care that much, which was a real letdown in my book. Then toward the very end they started letting these super ghetto crowds come and the place went from a trendy vibe to a near strip joint as these girls were giving major lap dances to all of the guys at the table. No, I’m not bitter that I didn’t get one.
Despite all of the new changes, there is still an element of «Cyn» that resides in this «Aura.»

Hehe any club that can make me stay there and DANCE for 4 hours non stop deserves a 4 star automatically. I can’t believe I stayed so long, even after my dear Joey ditched me early on at 1am. Lol but it turned out fine and I had a great time. Not giving the 5^th star because it was a bit too crowded as the dancefloor and bar area was pretty much one area altogether. And some weird private party going on downstairs where these three scary tall women in bikinis threatened us to pay $ 20 cover or leave. Other than that, fun hang out.

Its a sexy, small lounge located around Union Square. The cover charge is cheap; they have a signature drink called the Auratini (smiles). If you are into Thursday nights, the place is popping off with some reggae and soca with DJ Back to Basics (he plays at Brooklyn spots, thats how I know him). Overall, its okay.