Very popular club luring cruisy, older bears (ex-1970s/80s clones) and their younger protégé cubs, rubbing up against less stalky and less bearded but still hungry onlookers. Established in 2000 by Mark Ames. In March 2012 XXL moved from Arcadia (formerly the Arches) to Pulse — an enormous south-of-the-river club that opened March 2011, with five interconnecting arches including three bar areas, state-of-the-art video projection and a well-endowed dance floor. The clientele is more casual an...
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It's gone to pot
This club needs to get back on track Music is terrible and its lost all direction not know who it wants to appeal to
XXL has lost it's charm
Currently £15 entry-that's before you pay for coat check & drinks-this an expensive and (since XXL moved to Pulse) soulless experience. The club is vast with several rooms,bars & dance floors. You will certainly have plenty to look at! I preferred XXL at it's old venue, now it all feels very impersonal & harder to meet new friends. It has lost the sense of intimacy that the old club had. Seems Owner Mark Ames is all about milking the pink pound rather than the customer experience. The 2 lovely outside smoking areas of the previous venue has gone too,now you are just stood on the street outside & made to feel like a social lepor. Yes, smoking is a bad habit but the fact is lots of gay men do smoke. It's a free country & my choice to smoke-I don't need a supposedly inclusive gay club to make me feel like an outcast. The outside areas in the old venue were always busy & fostered lots of conversation. That vibe has gone. For this reason alone I will not be going back. The music on the main large dance floor is very unimaginative handbag-house-expect Kylie,Rihanna,Beyoncé & similar generic pop. They have been playing some of these songs for years now (Kylie's "The One" for example) and it's wearing thin, sadly what was once a nice friendly clubbing experience has become an impersonal,sterile and tedious one.
Need company:)
Hey guys, i want to go to xxl for the first time but i don't have nobody to go with.....anyone wants to go with me ?? I am into bear, chubbies and cubs. I will be on holiday from the 12th to the 19th of january.
Probably the best regular Saturday night out for gay men in London
Whilst ostensibly a bears night, XXL attracts a broad crowd from bears to displaced Vauxhall shirts-off muscle clubbers. The music in the main room may be a bit heavy on The Freemasons for some and this is not the place to hear cutting edge sounds, but overall this a great night out. Pulse is of a good size with spacious bar areas and an attitude free crowd. There is also a dark room which is a rarity for the UK. At a time when London's gay clubs have experienced mixed fortunes, XXL is now probably the most consistently reliable Saturday club night for all gay men in London. For anyone new to, or visiting, London this a great club to meet people.