24 June 2014

Up all night to get lucky

| Jacinta Kyam
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For those of you not in the know, QT Hotels & Resorts recently acquired and refurbished Rydges Lakeside, taking it from a tired hotel with a great location, to one in a chain of Australia’s hippest hotels, right on the waters edge. Boom.

One feature of the hotel we are loving right now is Lucky’s Speakeasy. With it’s moody, Art Deco gangster vibe, Lucky’s is hitting the mark for a slightly more polished crowd looking for somewhere to drink, dance and hold a conversation. Small enough to be intimate, yet large enough to feel like you’re ‘somewhere’.

Lucky’s is also just the right size to host fun events like last week’s ‘The Local Fashion Trail’, which included shows for three hot local boutiques – Pink Ink, Gertrude and Mussen. Axis did their usual thing – amazing hair, with Lexi Bannister & Amber Lahrs on hair detail. Eye Candy Optical – one of the latest hits on Braddon’s Lonsdale Street, were behind the super cool shades sported by models on the night.

QT’s Marketing Manager Sara Jaber is quickly cementing Lucky’s as ‘the place to be’ with regular events, deep beats from Djbrotherj, and finally somewhere you can wear an a-mazing outfit and not feel over dressed, or in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Jacinta Kyam
Editor in Chief
Tonimagazine.com

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mountainman said :

Its called Molly and its great but not all that secret anymore. Same owners of Playground. Canberra is a small town.

Its not the same owners, this is their first bar opened in canberra

Madam Cholet said :

Apparently there’s a better more secret speakeasy type place in Hobart place. Haven’t been there but work colleagues say it’s good.

Its called Molly and its great but not all that secret anymore. Same owners of Playground. Canberra is a small town.

Madam Cholet7:25 pm 25 Jun 14

Apparently there’s a better more secret speakeasy type place in Hobart place. Haven’t been there but work colleagues say it’s good.

Codders111 said :

I hate to be negative but some of the outfits in those pictures are just awful. Why do people always seem to confuse flamboyance with style?

Lesson for youse: sleek minimalism with a (VERY SLIGHT) hint of eccentricity is the way to go.

Ya wanna be avant-garde? Take risks with the cut; not bright, clashing patterns.

ps. The handbag slung ’round the elbow look is also a big no-no.

I hate to be negative but some of the outfits in those pictures are just awful. Why do people always seem to confuse flamboyance with style?

Lesson for youse: sleek minimalism with a (VERY SLIGHT) hint of eccentricity is the way to go.

Ya wanna be avant-garde? Take risks with the cut; not bright, clashing patterns.

My ears pricked up when I heard of a speakeasy opening up in Canberra. We are lucky to have one speakeasy style bar in Canberra, but Lucky is not it. Lucky’s is just a bar.

I have been to a lot of speakeasy’s style bars – mainly in NYC. A lot of the fun is finding the bar and then the reward is the unique drinks created by highly skilled and knowledgable bartenders. The only advertising they do is through word of mouth. No signs, no websites. I have entered bars through phone booths that are in the back of a hot dog shop, walked through a tiny janitors door in a busy Japanese restaurant that leads to a beautifully styled bar. Knocked on a door and booked through a peep hole. Called a number to get a password and sitting time. Each is a unique experience!

One thing I know – if you are going to be call yourself a speakeasy, don’t have a huge neon light out the front. The cops would have been right on you back in prohibition!

Went last Friday night, offered complimentary house wine (very good reason for that..bleugh) and food. Must have had the right shoes on, we are in our 50s – unless we unwittingly crashed someone’s event! 😛

But … a place that is “the place to be” never promotes itself as such …

Firstly, QT didn’t acquire Rydges. QT are Rydges group 5 star brand (similar to Sofitel being Accor’s 5 star brand) and they simply upgraded and refurbished the hotel to become a QT.

As for the hip, trendy crowd, what did you expect? It’s a brand new bar in Canberra and as a result will be frequented by the types of people who like to be ‘seen’. It will remain this way until the next big thing comes along.

Whats the need to be so negative all the time? it is what it is. I have been a few times and Hipster hangout this is not, I have had a few business drinks here and found it to be a pretty enjoyably experience, the place is certainly not trying to be something its not!

marcothepolopony9:50 am 25 Jun 14

……but I had a ‘giant’ handbag (full of money) and short skirt on.
I think it was my winter boots that did not fit in 😉

marcothepolopony said :

This Speakeasy is over rated.
We went one Saturday evening and it was absolutely empty, so we were hoping for a seat and a drink, but were approached by a woman who said all the seating was ‘reserved’. It was like we were far too old to be seen in such a ‘hipster hangout’.
We’d met at Julianas 28 years ago and were simply seeing what had happened to the space.
I got the ‘message’ and we left without spending any of our considerable cash.

Do not attempt entry unless you’re under 25 and dressed in ‘designer threads’ and massive heels.
(like I was 28 years ago!!!)

Take it as a compliment that you they assumed you wouldn’t fit in there. If the photos in the article are anything to go by, then:

1) They haven’t set the bar all that high regarding dress sense;

2) The fourth photo suggests that there isn’t an obvious age limit.

Sort of similar experience as Marco, however we weren’t given any subtle messages to p$#s off (group of 30+ males). Granted the subtlety may have been lost on us.

We did hightail it out of there after our first drinks put us into a gigantic budget deficit….emergency….drink levy….something.

marcothepolopony8:55 am 25 Jun 14

This Speakeasy is over rated.
We went one Saturday evening and it was absolutely empty, so we were hoping for a seat and a drink, but were approached by a woman who said all the seating was ‘reserved’. It was like we were far too old to be seen in such a ‘hipster hangout’.
We’d met at Julianas 28 years ago and were simply seeing what had happened to the space.
I got the ‘message’ and we left without spending any of our considerable cash.

Do not attempt entry unless you’re under 25 and dressed in ‘designer threads’ and massive heels.
(like I was 28 years ago!!!)

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