Bling rules at club where Oscar lost it
Not cheap, but VIP venue is a ’babe heaven’
TUCKED away in a little corner in Nelson Mandela Square between designer stores is one of South Africa’s poshest clubs, The VIP Room. It is here where Oscar Pistorius lost it again last weekend as he continued to “self-harm”, as his family put it.
Owned by businessman Chris Coutroulis, the husband of former Miss South Africa Vanessa Carreira, it is easy to see why the red velvet ropes, matching carpets and heavy black curtains make patrons feel as though they have “arrived”.
It is the place to be seen and, although it draws a diverse crowd, is a place for the “nouveau riche”, according to its website.
Pistorius was in the company of an unidentified cousin and a former bouncer, Guil Yahav, on Saturday night last week. His altercation with businessman Jared Mortimer occurred around midnight.
It was a theme party and the patrons arrived dressed as their favourite superhero.
Among the guests was Reeva Steenkamp’s friend, Gina Myers, who came dressed as Catwoman in black leather. A picture of her posing among fellow patrons is on the club’s website.
It is babe heaven: women are hot, many seem to shimmer and they tend to show a lot of skin.
The fashion among female patrons on the VIP step where Pistorius was seen — a slightly elevated access-controlled area — is largely made up of Chris- tian Louboutin heels and sequined, shiny and ultra-short dresses.
Ordinary clubbers who get too close to that section are escorted away by big security personnel in black suits wearing their trademark earpieces.
This area is the reserve of big spenders. It comes with a personal waiter, and drinks orders going here are hard to miss because they are accompanied by mini fire flares.
The entrance fee is just R150, but once inside the club, little is cheap.
On Friday night, a beer — a Castle — cost R40, a mixer R25 and the house wine, the cheapest, R700. The cheapest vodka was a bottle of Belvedere at R1 350 and a bottle of 30-year-old Glenfiddich was on offer for R18 000. A small snack platter sold for R240.
Special guests rarely step down to the dance floor, but many are seen on their iPhones, taking selfies.
The bill for a small table of five, whose drinks included Moët and Jameson whiskey, seemingly came to just more than R8 000. The crowd overall appeared to have a lot of fun, drank a lot and danced, and there was little sign of tension.
Then again, the staff appear vigilant, so maybe trouble in The VIP Room is sorted out swiftly.