Enigma (Stirling)

...two in the city centre, Enigma and Fubar (which lives up to its name), one near the uni campus The Beat and one in the student union Glow. So students are limited in their clubbing options. So in stirling has evolved a club rota, Mondays in Enigma, Tuesday the beat, wednesday glow and the beat (glow shuts at 12/12.30), thursday fubar and the weekends, we'll if you can afford weekends you'll be at home.
So enigma, a former Luminar (UKCN) club ...
...have a UKCN card from Enigma it will no longer be accepted so no more member discounts. But the clubs future will the 'big sea bird' looks bright, as Albatross own clubs in Edinburgh and Glasgow like Opium,Establishment, Stereo which was formerly Gaia and last years student bar of the year (whos name escapes me now, Lighthouse i think its called), plus Rush and Q Bar.
I think this is a club to keep an eye on, not least because its likely to ... more

The club has finally closed its doors for the last time, the refurbishment we are told will begin in 2 weeks time and take around 10 weeks meaning the shiny new club will reopen around the time of the students midsemester break. This is something that anyone who knows the club will agree is long over due, and I wish the new manager(whoever that might be) and their new bar team all the best for the future, as currently I have no plans to return to work at this venue, although I will be returning as a guest to see the new venue.

Stirling small city with a large student population, but has only four night clubs, two in the city centre, Enigma and Fubar (which lives up to its name), one near the uni campus The Beat and one in the student union Glow. So students are limited in their clubbing options. So in stirling has evolved a club rota, Mondays in Enigma, Tuesday the beat, wednesday glow and the beat (glow shuts at 12/12.30), thursday fubar and the weekends, we'll if you can afford weekends you'll be at home.
So enigma, a former Luminar (UKCN) club recently bought by Albatross Leisure.

Firstly enigmas student nights are Monday (The Big Cheese) and Thursday's which as of this semester are Carnival (theme nights) for example Pimps an hos night and they had a large bucking bronco style phallus on the dance floor!, toga party they had gladiator style pugelstick games on these nights entry ranges from 2 to 4 pounds with most drinks either one pound or two if you want to splash out!
***** The drink prices and entry havent changed but the new manager decided he didnt feel like working on thursdays so now the club is shut.******
But for some reason on a thursday the club is quiet some nights there can be only 30 people in there, last night however was quite busy for a thursday hopefully this is a sign of better nights to come.
But mondays, well the first monday's of the new semesters, at the uni the club (which has a capacity of 600) has over 800 people through the doors, and was turning people away by 12.30, since then the average has been around 3/4 hundred at its lowest there were 200 hundred through the doors in the exam weeks.

Originally there were in addition to the student nights on a wednesday a 'matchmaking' night. And from next wednesday this tradition is being resurrected with 'Shagtag' Night, which involves everyone getting a number and leaving messges on a board for the person you like the look of with your number and hoping they come find you, its currently a popular night in Edinburgh and Glasgow clubs belonging to the company.
***** Once again new manager is too lazy to work so while 'Shagtag' wasnt the most successful of nights at the club in general wednesdays were almost as busy as Thursdays, pretty dead but just busy enough to be worth opening*****
Weekends are mostly locals and honours students who dont go out during the week due to work/school/assignments. But be warned fridays can be quite rough although the majority of people who cause trouble are now banned from both city centre clubs.
At the moment our Friday night is called Hypnotique and is an R'n'B night, the DJ's are Bigga T and Waltmysta. In my opinion Bigga T is a prat, i dont like him personally and the music he plays isnt to my taste, Waltmysta on the other hand seems ok as a person and the music is much easier to listen to, he plays more of the mainstream/chart stuff with the less known stuff that T favours.
On fridays entry is 6 pds but on a saturday its 8pds unless you have one of the flyers that can be obtained from either the PR staff or one of several bars, these flyers usually give you 2pds off entry but check them as they are only valid before 12.30-1am currently, so please dont hassle the person on the cash desk if they wont accept it, it will get you removed before you even get in.
Music on these nights can be almost anything and usually if you request something the DJ will do his best to play it.
We also have at the moment VIP cards, these if you have one allow you free entry before 12 and cheaper drinks, the deals change fairly regularly but usually include things like vodka and mixer £1.50, VK £1.50, its only the premium stuff thats never on offer.
For me the main gripe is the layout of the place its a long room with seating and toilets as you walk in and the main bar along the opposite side, then steps down to the dance floor. The dance floor is generally crowded and the stage get filled with people who are just seeking attention and frequently fall off.
It currently looks scruffy, we're still waiting on the refurbishment, but we're pestering the manager to let us at least paint some areas, and get some new stools in and reupholster some of the fixed seats as it really does look like a total dive just now.
There is a small upstairs area but the stewards wont let you up there if you seem too drunk as the much smaller bar there is directly over the dance floor, its like a balcony, and its just so tempting to drop things on the people below, i know i want to do it while im working so i have no idea how the customers resist the temptations.
The cloak room is on the right as you go through the doors and costs 1.50 and if you lose your ticket you will have to wait to until everyone has gone to retrive your coat, they're also strict on one item one ticket.
But the bars are almost always crowded so waiting for drinks gets boring and as soon as you reach the bar they always put on a track you really wanna dance to, but that happens every where.
Another thing is they regularly check for drugs and weapons, they often have an airport style metal detector in the courtyard out front. This reassures me greatly. Plus the Stewards will ID everyone going in on student nights and then not as many as they should the rest of the time ( i went i a couple of weeks ago with 4 people who were underage in a group of 9).
If you have a UKCN card from Enigma it will no longer be accepted so no more member discounts. But the clubs future will the 'big sea bird' looks bright, as Albatross own clubs in Edinburgh and Glasgow like Opium,Establishment, Stereo which was formerly Gaia and last years student bar of the year (whos name escapes me now, Lighthouse i think its called), plus Rush and Q Bar.
I think this is a club to keep an eye on, not least because its likely to change its name since the takeover.
**** Most people who work at the club currently feel that the company are dragging their feet about the refurbishment, and some dont believe it will happen under albatross. While there is no proof of this it is making the club staff nervous, and because the refurb has been put off so many times now many people think we're already closed.******
Although this situation isnt helped by a less than enthusiastic PR team, most nights only 1 member of the team actually seems to do any work, for that Aron we love ya.
The girl nominally in charge, Toni, spends the evening sat on benches around town with a face like a slapped backside, which in anyones book is not a good way to advertise a nightclub. Other people who go out PRing tend to be the barstaff on nights when they arent meant to be in the bar or when its quiet we go out in an attempt to boost the entry numbers.
The ratings below are hard to do, while the club is the cheapest in town most people would say that good value for money in terms of a nightclub isnt just about price.
The menu im taking to mean drinks avaliable, its pretty standard, with no cocktails or mixed drinks avaliable due to licensing restrictions.
The atmosphere is currently terrible, its too quiet to get an atmosphere, and the DJ's play the same music week in week out, even the staff are sick of it.
The standard of service im ashamed to say is slipping along with staff morale, we do our best but its disheartening to come to work and be so quiet that you can revise for exams in the periods between customers.
Cleanliness, again we do our best but our manager always seems to forget to order things like disinfectant, cleaning sprays and cloths. We think hes trying to save money but all hes doing is making the place look bad, if we cant clean up properly why should customers waste their time with us?
Obviously its a nightclub so it totally unfriendly to families, and we wouldnt have it any other way.
Despite all this i still would say come up have a look at the place, im probably overly harsh in my reviewing as i work there and like i said the staff morale is very low just now due to the company messing us around and the manager being totally uselss. 

...less