HiLiter Earns its Reputation.
TL;DR - HiLiter wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but was still elite in terms of talent-to-mileage available. Good value on drinks and dances. It’s not the most accessible of clubs to out of towners, but for about two hours during a one shot visit I had a good time.
HiLiter gets reviewed a lot, in huge amounts of detail, so forgive me if I try something a little different. I made a bit of a detour in my travels specifically to check the club out, because it was getting talked about on TUSCL all.the.time. Plus I’d heard it had fallen on hard times, so figured I would go while the going was good. I’ve seen a lot of top clubs, including a lot of top clubs during their peak which are gone now. So this review is more about how I thought the place stacked up against other clubs I’d seen around the US. I’m not going to rate it against the Mexican and Canadian clubs I’ve seen because that’s just lazy and almost every U.S. club would lose on those comparisons.
Arrival - Curb Appeal and First Impressions
This club looks like a bit of a dump on the outside. Not a dive, but a little dumpy. Also looks relatively tiny from the outside, with a dingy white exterior and little pinkish awnings. When I pulled up to the club, my first impression was this might end up being a much shorter visit than I’d expected. When you alter your travel plans and prolong an already long business trip just to see a strip club, that is not the vibe you’re looking for right out of the chute. LA had been crazy, so this club was going to need to be something special just to rate. TUSCL gave me the inside scoop, so I was willing to overlook the plain exterior.
I parked the quickie rental and started walking, and noticed a white sports car pulling in with an attractive looking blonde driving. I slow the walk to give her time to get out, and notice she’s a little older but still fit and cute. I ask her what her name is and chat her up a bit as she gets her bag out, then continue to chat as we walk in. She asks me if I’ll be around for a while, and I say I have about an hour or so and I’ll look for her. At this point I’m hedging my bets with at least one workable girl who seems fun, but am still underwhelmed as I get to the entrance.
Warm Ups
The lobby was small, which reinforced my impression of this being a small club. I’m thinking a place like Diamond Girls in Durham, NC on the low end, maybe a Showcase Theater in Beltsville, MD or at best a Players Club in Baltimore. Had a door guy already in late morning, so that was a little unusual. Polite and professional. Once I got past the lobby (don’t recall paying a cover), the club was bigger than I was expecting. Most of the building must have been the main floor from the looks of it. HiLiter wasn't exactly what I was expecting. That’s a quick take, but the place itself was a little underwhelming outside and in.
It was much nicer than a place like Diamond Girls with its strings of xmas lights, and had a full bar which gave it a leg up on spots like Showcase and Players Club. It was nicer than Showcase, and on par with Players Club but larger. If you’ve seen Night Shift in Baltimore or Brad’s Brass Flamingo in Indy, it’s about the same size with about the same level of trim. Maybe a little nicer than Brad’s because it didn’t have biker bar feel, but did have a bar vibe. Underwhelmed was slowly drifting toward disappointed. Basically, this place did not have a Gentlemen’s Club level of decor and for some reason I was expecting something more upscale. Why? I don’t know, but considering how hyped this place is I pictured it a little nicer.
So thank you, TUSCL, because without the reviews I would have walked in and probably not given the club that much attention. But I probably would have noticed how high the talent level was for what gives the impression of a puffed up bikini bar on first glance, and maybe tried out a few girls just to see what was on the offer. The bar runs almost the full length of the right side of the club, and the visibility is still good from there. But I was there early in the day (about noon) so even on a Friday there were plenty of tables. The stage was set at a nice height, and I felt like I could both have a nice and be somewhat interactive with eye contact with the girl onstage from two tables back. There were TVs around but I wasn't watching them. Once the show got going it was enough to keep my attention.
Taking the Field
I went back and took a look at what I’d written directly to other TUSCLers about my visit, and it was nearly all about the dancers and what I liked and didn’t like about how they were in the booths. Literally several pages worth. Good times, but not much about the club itself since they already knew it well. The only thing I was able to lift out that for a general audience is the first line. I was there on a Friday, and it was 2-for-1 drinks so I had four beers and gave away two. So thinking back to the moment where I find a table and get the beers, I’m sitting there and scanning around the room and immediately locked on to a beautiful mixed-race dancer (was my guess anyway) who was slender but curvy in the right places. Found out later she goes by Ariel, and was in the lap of someone who looked like he wanted her there for a while.
Kept looking around and didn’t see much else inspiring, but it was still early. The dancers who weren’t with customers were congregating in the back left corner at a few tables there. Some were looking at phones, scoping out customers, or just chatting with each other. Not a lot of urgency and only a couple of girls were working the floor. When I turned my attention to the stage, the dancer who was going when I walked in was wrapping up her set and heading off stage. I honestly cannot remember a thing about her. The dancer who took her place caught my attention, and things started to get interesting. That gal was a brunette who wore glasses. Was rockin a tight body, with a great enhanced rack. Watched her go for a couple of minutes, then got up and walked over to tip.
At the Plate - Line Drives or Foul Balls?
Girl on stage went by Kayla. Don’t know how many Long Island girls folks in Phoenix see, but her look is what I call Long Island Hot. Long straight dark hair, smooth skin, and sharp features with some dark-framed glasses. This is one of my fav looks, so I asked her to come by and chat after she got off stage. She did. Could hold a good conversation, and didn’t push for dances. But I asked about them and we tried a couple. Nice girl. Would dance with her again but was trying to check out a few dancers since this was going to be my only visit for while (maybe ever). TUSCL says the booth dances (which I'm guessing are the VIP dances - I asked another dancer if there was a VIP room and received a blank stare) are $20, but all three dancers I asked said it was $25. Basically I shrugged and paid the $25 without a problem, since I take an approach where I try to pay the asking price to keep things running smoothly on a first visit.
I did ultimately see the blonde from the parking lot after she’d dressed and was on the floor. We made eye contact as I was heading to get the second set of dances, but (to her credit) she didn’t make a big deal out of anything. Ariel was freed up by then and walking around, so she was already at the top of my list for the next go ‘round. If the MILF had come by to say hi I would have gotten a dance from her, fair is fair, but didn’t see her after that. Two VIPs in I was impressed. Quality dances with lots of two way contact, but I wouldn’t say there was anything exceptional. But I have really high bar for what’s a great dance if the vibe is all about business. At least for an unfamiliar face, this place presents itself like a lapdance factory. Even at Follies, which is the king of the lapdance fembots, there’s been at least one dancer a visit that is hovering around a GFE.
Two Outs With a Runner on Third
Fast forwarding, I got VIP time with three dancers, Kayla, Demi, and Ariel. Another dancer I saw on stage who was going to get some dance time was JJ. Lisa Marie Presley lookalike, at least to my tired eyes. If LMP was built like a brick shit house. If Ariel hadn’t come around on the VIP, JJ was getting all of my money. Not sure that would have been the best decision if other reviews are on the level. Random thing about the dance areas. They have televisions that are directly across from some of the booths mounted up on the wall. You ever hear the old cliche about guys who sometimes think about sports to take their mind off things? It took some trial and error, but I ended up taking in a bit of the game because there were some serious moves the girls had on the lap.
When I finally got the dancer I wanted to walk over (and not that easily), I got right to the point. She got right to hers. We agreed to disagree, and she walked off. End of story? Not quite. After a mini summit with the other dancers I’d chatted with during my time in the club, she came back. Glad she did. Made the visit worth the effort it had taken to get there, and inspired a sudden interest in sports on the TV. Wouldn’t call it a GFE, more like a split-decision title bout with way more strategy than any lapdance should have, but she was top notch and would see me again if I were in town. Game recognizes game. All in all It was messy visit. I burned up over $500 chasing after an experience I could have gotten far more readily on the other end of my next flight. And I dropped an hour more than I needed to if I’d just gone with my instincts and focused on the the hottest girls first. HL gets a ton of traffic, and it’s easy to see why it gets reviewed so much. I visited a while ago, but figured I’d said enough about the club and my visit to the locals who I interact with on TUSCL to go ahead and review it.
Recap - Bottom of the 9th, Two Outs, Two Strikes, and an In The Park Homer
So my trip to HL was very good from an experience perspective (the club definitely earned its rep) but isn't what I'd say was the most lucrative of visits. That was mostly my doing, not the club’s. For the out of towners: set aside a little time if you can for this place. It’s possible to have a good time here as an unknown, but it was obvious that being a recognizable face means more here than in other places. All the staff was friendly, as were the dancers, but there was a little distant in the interactions. Don’t spend what I spent. You won’t need to, and I didn’t need to but I was pushing because I had a time limit with a plane to catch and other clubs I wanted to see. Keep the discussion focused and on point if you’re interested in dances. Without that third VIP I don’t know if I would have called it a loss, but it would have seemed like a missed opportunity given all the tip top reviews the place gets. Even then if I had things to over again I’d have changed a couple of choices, but “that’s why they play the games”.
Obviously HL is an elite club for its experience factor, which most of you readers and true believers already knew. Mileage wise this place is up there, but the set up is a little funky in the VIP and the vibe seems to cater to the regulars. Girls are nice looking on the whole, and some of them are stunners. Typically I lead with the friendly and interested persona, but this place gets busy and I didn’t really get the impression it mattered much in the experience with the girls and private dances. These girls were all business. The in demand dancers here see enough customer volume where I’d just get right to the nitty gritty. Even with just a two hour visit I felt like I wasted time waiting for dancers to mingle. I did ultimately say no thanks to a couple “wannadance” girls once there were more dancers working, but if it’s slow just pick a girl and start spending to get things moving faster.
One of the wannadancers was a very hot latina who I probably would’ve taken up on her offer if I wasn’t two VIPs in with only enough time left for one more with a dancer I was waiting on. There aren’t many places you’re going to be able to go in the US these days and have your pick of the variety and elite level of talent in a mid-tier club. Value wise it’s in line with what you’re going to see in other parts of the country with decent club options. I overspent a little, but mainly because I was being lazy and pressing a bit to grab n’ go. At this point in my strip club wanderings the experience is more important than feeling like I got a “good deal”. Overall I’d say this club was in the Top 5 out of all clubs (about 70) I saw for the first time in 2018. If you can get to Phoenix, get to HiLiter. And have fun.
