Review of La Quinta de los Reyes

THIS IS A REVIEW OF FRIDAY NIGHT ONLY!
THE FORMAT OF OTHER NIGHTS VARIES AND IS NOT BEING REVIEWED HERE.

La Quinta de los Reyes, on the Fox River across the river from the Hollywood Casino, claims they play Salsa, Merengue, Bachata and other beats on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. This review is of the Friday night only and should not be considered for the purpose of any other night.

Upon arriving, I found the convenient, and at that time of the evening, free, city parking lot next door on Broadway, also known as Route 25, already filled to capacity and people parking in the adjacent lot designated for Aurora Township business. There is also street parking available nearby on Broadway and another small city owned lot on New York Street, across the street from the front entrance. After, entering, we were asked to check our coats for $2.00 per coat, which is fine with me as I like to check my street shoes with my coat. The only problem is the coat check was on another, lower level, and shared the basement landing with what appeared to be a kitchen entry door which was tracked with water, necessitating carefully traversing the area to avoid wetting the soles of my dance shoes. We all know those maneuvers!

The short line up the stairs to the second floor nightclub from the restaurant area, moved along well. Your $10.00 cover charge is collected, your ID is checked and your hand is stamped half way up the stairs on the landing at the turn. You will meet two of the security personnel at the top of the stairs where it appears the men are frisked and the women are not. Apparently, they don't have any female security personnel. So, gentlemen, if you want to bring something into the club, remember to ask your female friends to carry it in for you. The other one or two security personnel roam the floor all night.

Having arrived inside the club, I immediately noticed the long, rectangular bar dominating the room and clearly intended to be the focal point of the club. The bar was well positioned about five feet from two walls, allowing people to both sit or stand while still allowing space to walk all the way around the island bar. Located opposite the other long side of the bar, with a nice strip of floor for dancing in between, is a well equipped DJ booth large enough to hold more than the two DJs in attendance this night. Past the far end of the bar is another area suitable for dancing which gives us an L shaped dance area capable of easily accommodating a 100 Salsa dancers and an even larger Reggaeton crowd.

Unfortunately, the sticky, probably from the smoke machine and spilled drinks, hardwood dance floor is in serious need of refinishing, no, make that refurbishing. There are, however, persistent rumors of a completely new and expanded dance club being built in another section of the building and based on the evidence of construction activity visible from outside the structure, one would be lead to believe this particular rumor. I'll keep an eye on that as it develops.

Although everyone clearly is careful in their attire and takes pride in their overall appearance, if there is a dress code, it appears to be you must wear clean, pressed and not baggy blue jeans and a nice shirt or blouse with dress shoes or heels. The courteous and respectful, young Latin crowd, is clearly there to have a good time at the end of the work week and gather around the floor to watch and admire the dancers while sipping their long necks and enjoying a cigarette. Unfortunately, the ventilation system appears to be inadequate to effectively handle both the smoke machine and the cigarette smoke. Maybe that's why one side of the room seemed to have a cold draft while the other side was comfortably warm but hard to inhale.

Despite being very busy, the pleasant bartenders were fairly quick to serve a nice, cold bottle of water for only $2.00, while a bus boy busily, yet unobtrusively, cleared all the empty bottles and glasses from the tables and ledges about the room.

Where did I find the washroom? I am pleased to state that the washroom was very clean and well supplied. This is probably because it is on the way into the restaurant. That's right, down the stairs, around the corner toward the wet and salt laden entrance, turn left down a short hall.

Having asked one of the 2 DJs for the evening what music they would be playing and hearing him reply, Salsa, Merengue, Bachata and House, I was a bit concerned to see the 2 of them bopping and dancing in the booth to Reggaeton while waiting for the first Salsa set to be played. After the Merengue, Bachata and Cumbia sets, the DJs announced, apparently after a complaint to management, and no, it wasn't me, that they understood there were many requests for Salsa and that they would be playing some Salsa and that they would try to play some music for all musical tastes. So they played 3 Salsa songs, one of which was very bad, at an increased rate of beats per minute, as the DJs clearly like their music fast, or maybe they were just trying to finish the songs quicker, and then started a new Merengue set.

Fortunately, Narce could hear me over the sound of the music as the swirling, flashy lights helped me lead her through the darkened room on the way to the exit.

Let me state that little irritates me more than a venue saying we play x, y and z music when x is NOT the primary music played during the night. If you primarily play z, then say "We play z, x and y. I think whatever music is primarily played should be stated FIRST in their marketing materials. Thank you for allowing me to get that off my chest.

If you are a Reggaeton dancer, or a people watcher, looking to meet and mingle with a pleasant group of people in a nice place, or just want to have a drink and enjoy the action around you, then La Quinta is a good place to spend your Friday night.

If you are a Salsa dancer looking to get your Salsa high, look somewhere else, as this place will only deliver frustration and disappointment.

Ratings:

As a Latin Dance Venue:

4 of 5 Rhythmic Bodies

As a Salsa Dance Venue:

1 of 5 Salsa couples