Cigar lounges

I have a question:

How many of you are paying to join these cigar lounges?
In my area there are a few of these clubs popping up.
Good concept but damn how much are you willing to spend to sit in a big leather chair?

Azucar Cigar Lounge in Corona, California (not exactly Beverly Hills) has a membership costing 2k a year and a $500.00 a quarter spending minimum.They let you bring 1 friend in.
I think these guys are way out there especially for the area.
2k a year and no happy ending either!

http://www.zarkacigarlounge.com/lounge.php In Temecula California, again NOT Beverly Hills.
He has an awesome humi, great selection. He charges 600 a year and no spending limit but you can not bring anybody else in

http://www.redcloudcigars.com/

Best value I have found
They charge 300.00 a year and you can bring 4 friends
This would be ok to split between 4 guys
Still seems kind of crazy to pay to smoke
Thoughts?

beyond the band said:

I have a question:

How many of you are paying to join these cigar lounges?
In my area there are a few of these clubs popping up.
Good concept but damn how much are you willing to spend to sit in a big leather chair?

Azucar Cigar Lounge in Corona, California (not exactly Beverly Hills) has a membership costing 2k a year and a $500.00 a quarter spending minimum.They let you bring 1 friend in.
I think these guys are way out there especially for the area.
2k a year and no happy ending either!

http://www.zarkacigarlounge.com/lounge.php In Temecula California, again NOT Beverly Hills.
He has an awesome humi, great selection. He charges 600 a year and no spending limit but you can not bring anybody else in

http://www.redcloudcigars.com/

Best value I have found
They charge 300.00 a year and you can bring 4 friends
This would be ok to split between 4 guys
Still seems kind of crazy to pay to smoke
Thoughts?

Click to expand...

With all of the smoking bans going into affect around the country, I think we'll see more of these popping up. Smoking outside in the winter is not always the most enjoyable activity and in-the-house smoking is a no-no for many of us. Lounges offer an alternative.

I'd pay $300 a year. The $2k place you mentioned is a bit high, though.

A good portion people instantly associate cigars with "golf", "money", "rich white men", "classy", and "yuppy".

Thus, places like that pop up so people with more money than sense can sit in their gaudy, superfluously decorated rooms and be with the stereotypes I just mentioned.

Posers.

Edit: Bitter that I'm not well off? Nah -- even if I had that kind of money I wouldn't blow 2 large to sit with other rich people to smoke what already costs quite a bit.

stevehawk said:

With all of the smoking bans going into affect around the country, I think we'll see more of these popping up. Smoking outside in the winter is not always the most enjoyable activity and in-the-house smoking is a no-no for many of us. Lounges offer an alternative.

I'd pay $300 a year. The $2k place you mentioned is a bit high, though.

Click to expand...

I agree with Steve. I'd pay $300.00 a year for a nice place to smoke, if it was reasonably close to my home. Summers on the deck are pretty cool, but winter smoking can get downright cold (at least for us PacNW weenies).... :laugh:

Steve is right; with smoking bans on "public places" becoming the norm rather than the exception (dammit) I think this offers a nice way to enjoy a smoke with like minded folks in a nice setting. Four guests sounds about right.

Regards - B.B.S.

Yeah Im ok with the 300.
I know 3 other guys that would pony up 75 bucks a year to partner up for this.

the only problem is Red Cloud has 2 locations but they both are 30 miles from my house




superfluously decorated rooms and be with the stereotypes I just mentioned.
Nice Vocabulary jlada! Props!

I'm a member of Red Cloud, not really happy with what was offered when I joined and what's going on with events now. Also they have been promising that their 2nd location's lounge should be open anytime, anytime, a couple months, soon, etc. I understand the beauracracies involved, but leading people on isn't a good way to start a relationship.

But it's the cheapest of the lounges in the area, really nice place, great people, great area, with ridiculous prices.

Have yet to make it down to Geoff's (Azucar/Caribe), the g/f always finds a way to kill my fun. So I cannot comment on the value of that lounge.

beyond the band said:

I have a question:

How many of you are paying to join these cigar lounges?
In my area there are a few of these clubs popping up.
Good concept but damn how much are you willing to spend to sit in a big leather chair?

Azucar Cigar Lounge in Corona, California (not exactly Beverly Hills) has a membership costing 2k a year and a $500.00 a quarter spending minimum.They let you bring 1 friend in.
I think these guys are way out there especially for the area.
2k a year and no happy ending either!

http://www.zarkacigarlounge.com/lounge.php In Temecula California, again NOT Beverly Hills.
He has an awesome humi, great selection. He charges 600 a year and no spending limit but you can not bring anybody else in

http://www.redcloudcigars.com/

Best value I have found
They charge 300.00 a year and you can bring 4 friends
This would be ok to split between 4 guys
Still seems kind of crazy to pay to smoke
Thoughts?

Click to expand...

I've been to the Azucar lounge. If I had the means and lived in the area I would certainly consider a membership.

These smoking lounges are an excellent means for those with some amount of affluence to congregate and peacefully enjoy good cigars in good company. It's not like smoking outside a restaurant or somewhere else that you'll be disturbing people and freezing your arse off.

All in all, I think the more lounges that pop up the better for us smokers. I think Azucar's private lounge (Club Caribe) is probably at the higher-end of the scale in terms of atmosphere. Hence, it will attract the higher-end clientele who have more means than some smokers. But that's where the niche for something like Red Cloud Cigars (mentioned above) comes in. Based on the pictures I can see on their website, they're targeted more to the average smoker than Club Caribe is.

To address this: "Good concept but damn how much are you willing to spend to sit in a big leather chair?"
You have to realize this is not the only privilege that comes with these types of membership. I would encourage you to read the Amenities and Membership sections on Club Caribe's website. You also get a private humidor - I can't even rent my UPS mailbox for less than $640/year and they don't let me come in, relax, and smoke! Oh yeah, and did I mention the absolutely magnificent atmosphere? That's gotta count for something. Beautiful art, big TVs, bar, straight-razor shaves, shoe shine, luxurious leather chairs - these are things with which value must be associated when determining how much it's worth to you.

You also have to bear in mind the fees associated with running these places (staff, high taxes, expensive property, and the very pricey licenses). Though I'm sure Geoff could weigh in a little more about this.

Jlada thinks it's a waste of money and propagates a stereotype; I say to each his own. I find socializing while enjoying a cigar (with other people who enjoy cigars) and a good drink is one of the finest pleasures in life. Whether you can do that at home, at the local cigar-friendly restaurant, or within the luxury of a private lounge, just enjoy it!

I am totally down with the concept. Seems pretty high priced for the area.
I wonder if Corona can support this. I hope they do well.

It is nice to go through the front door of these places and not have to pass through a sea of hookas, crack pipes, and 400 cases of Marlboros like most smoke shops in our area.

Maybe this is a sign of good things to come for us BOTL's

Would love to see a nice simple "low cost" version to be honest. I wouldn't personally want or need a lot of the over the top stuff, but that could just be because I cannot afford that stuff usually. lol. To each their own though, and god bless those that have the means to do it. I would willingly pay a few hundred a year to have a nice place to go to with some couches leather chairs and tvs, just to hang out and have a stick and beverage. Would be money well spent!

I joined a local lounge here. $750 a year including a large locker. As noted above, it is one of last places you can smoke inside. I also like to be able to share fine scotch and cigars with people who have similiar interests. I keep my best cigars in the locker knowing that I am worry free with the enviornment. Also, that comes with a 20% discount on everything in the store. It pays for itself.

I've been kicking the tires on this issue for a while. When it's twenty degrees outside, I really don't enjoy it all that much. When it's one hundred and ten degrees, I don't enjoy it that much. There are next to no places to smoke indoors here.

There is a lounge literally right across the street from my house. I've heard various things about the memberships. They are either 150 or 300 a year, which is very reasonable. I just haven't done it because I'd rather spend the money on smokes (still a newb with a small collection). The real benefit to me would be that I'd feel fine going in just to smoke if I was paying for a membership. As it is now, I feel bad if I don't buy something when I go in, and I always buy too much.

For me it's simply a temperature issue. The lockers are in the humi which is around 72% RH, so I wouldn't keep cigars there. The member's area isn't anything special. The people are hit and miss (there are some good guys there, and there are some asshats - it seems to be about 50/50). The drawback is that my smoking would have to happen during store hours, and I smoke after 9 PM quite often.

Even though it isn't the perfect situation, I plan on doing it at the first of the year. For $150 (if my memory serves me right), it's a pretty good deal. I would much rather get a locker at Two Brothers in Plano, but the 25 min. drive and the traffic on 75 are enough that I wouldn't go there often enough to justify it.

D

I would spend 3-500 a year for a nice place to smoke. But a few factors I also consider is selection and are you comfortable with the other people at that lounge. I've been to quite a few and I tend to go to one more so because I haven't met one member I couldn't get along with. nice setting and the guys are super generous and social. Then there's one a little pricey, nicer setting but there seems to be too many members who think they are better than you and treat the newer guys like shit. So if you're going to pay for one, make sure that you feel at home there. Maybe you can ask to try it out for a month to feel it out.

Hey, we aren't $2k per year. It's only $1495! LOL

Come see me about the holiday special.

Stinki

My B&M has no charge to sit in "coach". Ed (owner) does have upgrade seating (LOL!) that has a fee attached to it. He has The Woodland Club which includes use of private space, discounts on cigars (singles and boxes) and other goodies.

Looking at the Pics of Stinki's place will justify the price. It is not just a lounge w/ a big tv. Next time i am in Kali i am guna stop by and check it out!

I'd pay for this if one was close by and I could actually go to it frequently. Wife and kids kind of limit how useful this would be to me right now, though. It'd be nice to be inside, air conditioned or heated for the season, be around other cigar smokes to discuss things with, etc. Add in wifi so I can surf CigarPass and I'd be real happy.

Cigar lounges are certainly an evolving problem. I know an owner of a local upscale shop, and he contends the smoking area is a big loser for him. He requires a store purchase, but is saddled with people buying one cigar and spending the afternoon/evening watching the big screen and partaking of gratis snacks. He charges outrageous prices for cigars, and locker space, but still says the smoking area is a loser. He is contemplating a member type arrangement. I own my own home, and don't have small children to consider, so I smoke at home, or at establishments that allow cigars, but the cigar lounge will eventually become more common I think.

I am a member of Red Cloud. They have a full bar lounge. For that $300 @ year, I am able to enjoy the ambience of a place that allows cigar smoke and prohibits cigarette smoke. That alone is worth the price of admission to me. It's difficult to find a cigar bar lounge that prohibits the ubiquitous cigarette smokers looking to piggy back on the cigar smoke allowance. The price of their inventory is high (decent selection though), but I bring my own cigars with me and have never had an issue with the management in doing so. Oh, and they don't make members pony up a minimum spending amount either. Sure, I'd rather not pay anything, but it is (the smoking law climate) what is is and I find the membership to be of value to me.

The memberships fees follow the alcohol. The anti-smoking laws prohibit smoking iin the work place in CA. There are a couple of exceptions. One is a retail tobacco shop, the other a private lounge. You can drink in a private lounge with the appropriate alcohol license. Thus the ability to smoke and drink under one roof. If it were open to the public, you would be classified as a bar and unable to smoke inside.

Great info and feedback on this topic, as expected
Love this place

I kind of figured the laws and fees went hand in hand

As for the higher price of the three I mentioned Azucar
It is the Best looking in appearance. And a straight razor shave too? Damn. Great concept