Best Dance Club

Finally, a place for clubbers to get their party on in Fort Lauderdale. Don't get us wrong: Velvet Lounge is an upscale nightclub on a par with anything South Beach has to offer but sans most of the attitude. As the name implies, there's velvet aplenty: red and black velvet on the walls, royal blue and black velvet couches -- but no Elvis painting. After paying the $5 cover charge, you can stock up on candy, cigars, and cigarettes at the concession counter next to the front doors. Straight ahead is the Bottle Bar, where for $150 you can play socialite and reserve a table complete with your own security guard and hostess. Keep going, and you'll hit the sunken dance floor, right beneath the stage where dancers and live acts perform. Above the dance floor, acid-jazz, house, and trance music are blended together courtesy of renowned DJs Chazz and Vaughan, who spin Friday and Saturday nights respectively. Velvet Lounge does have velvet ropes, naturally, but the elitism is kept to a tolerable minimum.