Dear Reader, Girl Behind the Lens here with a couple of exclusives! Firstly, I’d like to report that chivalry is not dead – shock horror, but it’s true; more on this later. Secondly, a difficult to spot species (at least according to my research) was spotted during the work on this article and finally? Well finally, it’s an exclusive review of Luxure for the Observer! Three things in one, well reader I better crack on shouldn’t I.
The venue – Luxure Lounge
So, like all my business reviews (1 2 3 4 5), what I intend to do here is talk about the venue, take some photographs so you can get an idea of what’s there and then speak with the owner or staff to find out what makes the place worth visiting in Hathian. I’ll then try to come up with some kind of fair scoring system and also let you know about any alternatives in Hathian (as competition is a good thing!).
First of all, how did this interview come about? Well, that’s where my first two exclusives come in! It was rather surprising to have someone approach the Observer at midnight and *not* be a potential problem; after-all, many of the froth of Hathian cling to the phrase ‘No news is good news‘, so when our door was approached I confess to being apprehensive. But I didn’t have to be worried; after a little bit of a security dance to ascertain as much as I could through the ‘safety’ of the door I opened it and admitted one Bowen MacRieve. Now, I didn’t actually know him by sight and if you’d given me the name I don’t think I’d have made the connection either, but if you’d said ‘Lions Family’, then sure… I’d seen those gold crested SUVs around Hathian and down in Vodou I was told there was extensive property owned by the Group.
So Reader, you can probably tell that this first exclusive was that I had now been introduced to a ‘difficult to spot’ species! The high society of Hathian (think Camden, Brandie, Liz’s husband) had a layer on-top of the already well-to-do and it was this layer, perhaps excluding Mayor Bobby Boxer, that I had not had any reason (not had anyone invited me) to investigate or meet with. Afterall, I’m intern sub-editor of a small town paper, ‘No news is good news‘ right for high society? Especially if you have oodles of money. Yet here it; the high society, was. Here he was… in the dingy little Observer office, with a smile and sharp clothes and that dangerous charm that seemed to imply that you were prey; but not the gang kind… It was probably good, or at least it helped secure the interview, that I was *not* normally attired in my straps and torn tights and black leather! I was actually dressed-up, imagine that!
Anyway, so that brings us onto another exclusive. Chivalry is not dead. Doors were held, drivers were called and uniformed staff at Luxure attended to me with a level of detail usually reserved for those who have travelled first class with Singapore airlines or similar. In my personal life reader, I don’t need any of this stuff and frankly, my partner makes me happier than any amount of money could bring. However in what was a business transaction, it was nice to be treated well, even if it was tinged with a little imbalance perhaps due to my gender. Oh well, not going to complain about gentlemen treating me right; I’m not so churlish!
Having agreed the ‘VIP tour’ with Bowen, I thought this was a relevant quote to perhaps wet your appetite for a little more on the Lions for later…
“Also my assets include Swamp Bottom Boxing club and LL Warehouses. Though I am the co-owner of those with a Miss Redenblack. You will always know our assets… As we have our own way of marking our holdings.”
Bowen MacRieve
The venue – Luxure Lounge
So after a (very lovely) car drive over, I was shown to the Lounge. I confess I had been here once before, but it had been closed, so other than the imposing outside, I had not seen inside yet. I was quite excited that this was going to change!
Luxure is comprised of a number of areas, these include:
- A bar near the entrance with a wide variety of drinks, including mostly premium and super-premium spirits, wines and champagnes
- A main dance floor with a stage that currently was occupied with a beautiful piano (see lead image!) but can be reconfigured for various forms of entertainment including live music
- An upper lounge with a small stage as well as various seating elements and games tables. This space is able to be used for a more intimate event, including private hire
- There are various other nooks and crannies to sit in and drink or take light refreshment. There are also well appointed wash-room facilities (I’m sorry in Hathian, a nice bathroom is a good thing readers. Let me also say, ‘Men to the left, because women are always right‘ – nice door motto!
The drinks at the bar were good and my daiquiri (raspberry – the true classic) was perfectly done (right glass, right temperature, all the good stuff) so I’m of course pleased to recommend the drinking. I wanted to find out a little bit more about what Bowen’s direction was for Luxure and anything else relevant to my review. We chatted together as we toured the club.
GBTL: “What made you want to build or acquire this place?”
Bowen: “The streets are dirty and you know we can’t wash that filth off. Go to most places around and it’s always the same dance. Filth, blood, violence… What if there was those out there that wanted something different? A clean glass to drink from? I got this place because I wanted something different and wanted to show that there is more to Hathian than the systemic violence between gangs and police we see reported every day. I made Luxure a higher standard that all should strive for. I make sure to keep that standard in all I do”.
GBTL: “So, tell me a bit more then, I’m going to need some family history or something, what’s the lure? People like being near celebrity, and well, your name means things to some people, but some of us… myself included are just settling in after a year or even less and may not know you.”
Bowen: “Well, the Lions were always a standard above. Instead of squabbling in the streets we funded scholarships and even helped renovations to the younger Seaside school. Minds need cultivating. Put a rotten seed into the ground, and you get nothing but dirt. Put a seed, nurture it with opportunities to grow, and your bountiful harvest will be enjoyed by all.”
GBTL: “So about the club specifically, tell me a few things that readers would like to know, or events managers looking for a place would care about?”
Bowen: “Here we can cater to anything. As you see, the first floor has ample room for guests to dance. The main stage to hold live musicians and performers too. My piano can be moved, and if the older clients wish a bit of sin, then we can take care of that too.”
GBTL: “Sin?”
Bowen: “What ever the need is, we cater to it. We want the bass banging off the walls as the latest rappers bust their rhymes or maybe the bass drops on the rave’s newest synth. We can even have themes should we want the swing bands of the roaring 20’s. Maybe a simple piano lounge to relax with a drink and a good cigar. As for sin? What is sin to one, is saintly in another. Do you put only one ingredient in a soup? Too many places cater to one thing, we expand. Like me, one should be flexible in the moment. So is my club, I can have this place set to a soup kitchen that treat the lowest as if they was the highest, or treat people like you and me better than what you are used to without the sticky floors and blood soaked histories with police nightly raids.”
I found Bowen to be a charming speaker, although clearly he was used in some ways to having his way. Slick, oiled. Polished. Like the club which had ample security, a no weapons policy and very well trained staff.
“I take it very seriously with security here; all patrons will be safe as all weapons are stripped before even stepping through the door. Security inside can deal with any issues as well”
Bowen speaking about the suited security staff around the premises, a guarantee of a safe night.
A little more about the Lions
So reader, this may be the subject of another article later, but for now I wanted to just highlight that a family with this amount of wealth will obviously have some interesting businesses and history… The Observer (my first stop for research) has a few articles, one about their R&D for medical services at HGH… This was in 2020 and I think I know some people to ask how it went…
Other news was less positive… It included (a factually unsupported at least so far as I’ve been able to find so far) suggestion that a raid by HPD on one of the Lions businesses might have been connected to a large trafficking cartel. In addition, from 2018, it was alleged that the Lions import/export business in the docks may have been the source of significant toxic pollution. While no follow-up to the article and HPD statements has been located, it’s for sure interesting…
So, like any group, the Observer has featured them for good and for ill, although the two less positive items do have HPD and other statements associated with them and as far as I can tell seemed pretty serious; but then again these people have the wealth that anything could be *serious*.
Well, far be it from me to bite the hand that gave me free drinks, but do watch this space. It feels that if ‘old money’ is opening the wallets again and encouraging Hathian into their waiting businesses, that this newspaper should do a little more research. Watch this space !
Conclusion
Well, the venue is very nice, the drinks are very nice and having a piano centre stage, well, that’s going to always go well with me. Overall though, the review really depends on atmosphere and the crowd that attends. With the posh (very) Vond Hotel next door and various mansions (including one owned by the Lions) this may appeal to those looking to spend big, impress a date or host a lavish event. I think time will tell, partly based on the effort Bowen goes to promote the venue in Hathian with events and so forth. I find it hard to imagine Club Aurora losing the student crowd, but you never know. Other than students though, the town does have money and the groups and factions here do look for neutral places to meet. Bowen can provide the security to facilitate that and the luxury to fill their evening.
I’d therefore rate the venue an 8, good potential, great decor and sense of luxury, but to really land well in Hathian, we’ll have to see the events. If you do fancy a bit of celebrity spotting though, whether that be Bowen himself, or Ryder Millet who has been seen at Luxure before then this is a good place, take a taxi there (or your limo if you have one) and let your hair down. If you get to meet Mr.Bowen; add to the score, minor yum right?
GBTL
