Rollins College - Nightlife

A Rollins favorite, Antigua is an upscale club in the heart of trendy Downtown Orlando. The club is strict on dress and tries to create a sophisticated ambiance, with giant aquariums inside and a sleek bar. Generally, the club blasts top 40 music while college kids grind on the dance floor, and the bravest of girls head to the stage.

Party girl Paris Hilton opened up her own nightclub in Downtown Orlando (packed with celebs on opening night), and Hilton herself is under obligation to party there at least twice a month. So far, the club has received a lot of attention and has many students going simply for a chance at spotting Paris.

Tabu is a swanky club that looks as though it came right out of Miami. The club is adorned in an art deco style, with crimson walls, celebrity photos, and plush furniture. Generally hip hop is the music of choice, but Tabu also regularly has live bands and themed events. Past events include fashion shows, Latin nights, and live comedy.

The Independent Bar is a multi-level night club featuring three bars, each with a unique style, and two dance floors with different music genres. Music alternates between retro, indie rock, or popular chart-toppers, depending on the night. This rowdy club is always a hot spot among Rollins students.

This multi-level club attracts all crowds with its wide variety of music, including rap, dance, disco, and reggae. College kids are the usual crowd who love the diversity of this club, as well as the great drink specials.

Very popular with Rollins students, this two-story club is crowded nearly every night of the week. The main room blasts hot, chart-topping music, while in the expensive Cream and Suede Ultra level, club-goers can relax with classy drinks in luxury. Roxy is 18 to get in and 21 to drink. Dress is dressy-casual.

Bahama Breeze restaurant offers a taste of paradise—right in downtown Orlando! The restaurant and bar specializes in tropical drinks. Try their specialty Bahamarita while listening to the live reggae band. The entire International Drive area where Bahama Breeze is located has endless options for bars and clubs. Dress is casual for this bar.

Chillers manages to please everyone, with three different levels and three different bars. On the ground floor, frozen drinks are the specialty, served while popular tones fill the usually crowded room. Big Belly Brewery is housed on the second level. This bar is more laid-back, with pool tables and darts; a great place to sip on beers with friends. Finally, you reach the top level—Latitudes. Located on the open roof, this bar and club draws partiers with its stunning views and unique setting.

Classy drinks, monthly cigar tasting, and live music can all be found at YBor’s. This bar is the perfect place to grab cocktails before hitting the clubs lining Church Street. Though martinis are their specialty, YBor’s also offers an impressive menu of scotches and brandies. Attire is slightly more dressy.

Houston’s is an upscale restaurant with spectacular food and views to match. Weekday and weekend evenings, the bar at Houston’s is nearly always packed during happy hour. Most come to enjoy a cocktail while watching the sunset on the lakefront porch. This bar is only five minutes from campus, and dress is relatively casual.

Located down the road from campus, Spatz is the bar most often rented out by frats and sororities for party nights. This relatively small bar and pool hall gets extremely crowded on Rollins nights. Dress is very casual; however, most of the Greek-life sponsored nights have themes, such as “Pimps and Hoes.”

Mostly a great Florida BBQ joint, but also a cheap place to grab a beer, O’Boys is local and can be a great night out, with nightly all-you-can-eat specials and amazing food.

One-Eyed Jack’s has not one but three different bars. Wall Street is laid-back, with a large outdoor patio, Loaded Hog serves up creative specialty shots, and One-Eyed Jack’s packs the majority of the crowd for drinks and dancing. This bar is a great place to grab drinks of any variety in a relaxed atmosphere.

Pat O’Brien’s is located in the bustling, always popular Universal Studios Citywalk. While all the bars in the area are worth checking out, O’Brien’s offers an especially unique experience. Modeled after Bourbon Street, the bar includes a flaming fountain, a patio, and opposing piano bars. The cocktails are raved over, particularly the Hurricane.

This rooftop cabana bar has great atmosphere, but style comes with a price—Sky60 tends to be expensive. Still, there are evenings with no cover, two for the price of one drinks. DJs spin different music all the time, including ‘80s, ‘90s, glam rock, and old school hip hop.

Most of the clubs in Orlando allow people 18 and up to enter. The cover charge is generally more, and of course, you can’t drink, but you get the club experience nonetheless. Some of the many clubs that allow ages 18 and up are Roxy, Independent Bar, Antigua, and Cairo.