XX CLOSED TN23 1EZ Platinum Bar, Ashford

Closed strip pubs and clubs south of the Watford Gap (but not inside the M25).
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zante
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XX CLOSED TN23 1EZ Platinum Bar, Ashford

Post by zante »

The Platinum Bar from Shoreditch of old has now moved and is now up and running in Ashford:

The Platinum Club 01233 621111
Kudos
Station Approach
Station Road
Ashford
Directly opposite Ashford International Railway Station

All those who were members of the original Platinum Club and who hold the original Platinum Club cards may come along for a new free membership up to December 31st. The club is set out on four floors with a winebar and restaurant. We are open three nights a week Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to midnight and Wednesday, Thursday and Friday lunchtimes from 12 noon to 6pm.

Some recognisable girls who have worked in the Shoreditch triangle will be working at the Platinum Club, Ashford, they are:

Kerri Gold (Browns / Tuesday Club)
Dee (Browns)
Angie Mitchells (Browns / Platinum Bar)
Danni Mitchells (Browns / Platinum Bar)
Karen (Tuesday Club)
Canadian Maxxx (Browns / Platinum Bar / Olympia Moments)
And many, many more!!!!
For all you Shuffle guys, please come along and try out our new venue!

[Karen & Angie, 14/9/04]

[Have heard varying reports as to whether this venue is connected to the old one, but if they're honouring the memberships, that seems at least a nod to the previous holder of the name! :-)]

Just seen your site, and thought I would set people right about our Club, Diamonds & Pearls at the Platinum Bar. We re-opened this venue about 6 months ago, with a top management team, with former members of Spearmint Rhino managment. We are aiming to take this venue up a class, better than the old "Jug-Clubs". The venue is on an ongoing refurb, with the aim of being complete by the summer of 2004, with a change of entrance, and dance area. Also we aim to have pole dancing very soon. Good to know that folk are talking about our club, and positive talk too.

[Ben S, 29/04/04]

Visiting London weekly as I do I generally call into Metropolis on the way home. It is a very nice venue, not expensive, the girls are brilliant and an hour or two is very affordable.

However on a very wet Tuesday night I went to search for pleasures lost at the Platinum Bar as I saw from your site it had re opened. At 8.30 in the evening it was 10 pounds to get in. The main area is now the ground floor with the familiar leather sofas and a bar at the far end. No pole and no dancing here.

The girls, about 7 or 8 of them hanging around waiting. (It became apparent that football was on the TV therefore a large drop in clientele) The girls seem to be mainly Brazilian, a number very pretty indeed and happy to sit and chat for as long as you like. Drinks are 2.50-3.00 for a beer (small bottle no draft) and 4.00 for short and mixer approx.

The venue is really rather pleasant. Private dances take place downstairs. More leather sofas, interesting lighting and "top class" dancing. Generally a slow night but all the more for me! Platinum is rallying, the market is up! so are the prices but I like it...

[LongfellowB, 26/11/03]

The former Platinum Bar has got ideas above its station and become a 'Diamonds and Pearls Gentlemen's Club'. This means an entrance charge of £5 or £10 depending on time of day, and dances for £10 topless or £20 nude (no contact). Oh yes, and for a mere £100 per hour you can sit and chat to a girl. All this a stone's throw from the above-mentioned establishments where you can do quite a lot of chatting for free.

True, the Axe or the Rainbow may not impress your business contacts much, but if you want to entertain them, why not take them to the Griffin, where you can spend most of the afternoon talking to some of the most beautiful, intelligent and friendly girls in London for the price of a few drinks and the odd dance? Let's hope 'Diamonds and Pearls' comes to its senses, or meets the fate it deserves.

[GL, 18/10/03]

Went to Platinum tonight so thought I would make a few comments. There was no entry fee, but I got there early - a flyer implied that latecomers could be charged. Can't remember drinks prices but didn't strike me as OTT.

The old arrangement had a basement (never visited) a ground floor (a regular bar, nothing to do with striptease), a first floor (main bar for striptease, this is where the girls danced on stage and mingled), a second floor (a VIP room which I never saw in use) and a third floor (3 small and discrete private dance rooms, and dancers' changing rooms). It was a hell of a climb from the first floor to the third when you wanted a private dance.

Under the new arrangement I only saw the ground floor and basement - the rest of the building is being worked on. One of the upper floors WILL be used for stage dance in due course, and I would guess at that point there would be jug collections (if there wasn't it seems harsh on the dancers as as well as giving free stage dances they would have to cough up a hefty house fee.) The ground floor is where the dancers mingle and the basement is where PDs take place.

When I arrived, on the ground floor there were 4 dancers and 4 customers, a crap ratio as what tends to happen is that when the girl you'd been chatting to/enjoyed a private dance with goes uppstairs to change, someone you are not really interested in will come over and make small talk and expect a dance. I will leave it a few weeks before I return and would hope by then there are more customers.

The basement is open plan. Dances are a score and I enjoyed them. The biggest downer is the lighting where you get the worst of both worlds. The ambient lighting is so dim you can't see as well as you would like. Yet there is a very bright flashing white strobe which if you are facing it directly will have you squinting throughout the dance and frankly not enjoying it. Wherever you sit you won't get away from the strobe, due to mirrored walls, but pick your seat so you are not facing it. I told the maqnagement about it so let's see what happens.

Overall I'd go again. I prefer it to the Axe, about on a par with 108 (which was exceptional value but quite strict, and so some girls were better than others) but I'd go in preference to TCs - However, with the TCs rota I don't see all my favourites as often as I would like, so it's good to have a backup venue.

Brazilian Sunny seems to have a supervisory role - so she is there Monday to Friday from 4 pm to 2 am - so any Sunny fans will know where to go! She doesn't do Flags any more. Also there were Danielle (a Brazilian who recogniswed me from the old PB but I didn't recognise her), a Czech named Nika (new to me) and a girl I recogniwed but couldn't put a name to (voluptuous, tall, blond and appeared to be wearing a floral dressing gown - go figure!) Although she wasn't there tonight I know Vida is working there. As I was leaving I think I spotted Lola who left the Axe some 18 to 24 months ago - if it was her she has her hair different now - I'll try and chat to her next time.

From london_strip, with permission: [Tanned Blond Bloke, 1/10/03]

A number of reports indicate the place is open and fully functioning once again, as at time of writing.

[Jim, 30/9/03]

The Platinum Bar is definitely closed at present. I checked it out two days this week (once lunchtime, once evening) and it was dead and shuttered-down. Sad but true.

[John A, 5/2/03]

I too visited the Platinum Bar on a recommendation and agree it isn't very big. This I thought made it better, a bit more relaxed, the leather sofas add to this. The best bit though is the area for the private dances which, unlike most places, is private. I would highly recommend the place.

In response to Longfellow I heard they have closed for one month so should be open soon (mid Feb?). This is strange as they were starting a membership list when I went.

[Jon, 28/1/03]

I read the report sent in by "The Beard" regarding the Platinum Bar. It sounded very interesting, so travelling via Liverpool Street regularly I called in.

A very low key access, in fact if you didn't know it was there you would never find it by accident. In the entrance door, turn immediately right and up the stairs. Faced with the toilets at the first floor, take the door on the left into the lower room with the leather sofas as "the Beard" describes. Not a large room, eight sofas and probably as many girls mostly Brazilian but very accommodating. Naomi warmed my hands up with no trouble at all!

The dances take place on a small stage at one end of the room but the private dances take place on the top floor, a good hike up the stairs. At twenty pounds a go not cheap but the best value in town. A venue not to be missed. So I called back yesterday (22.01.03) with equally cold hands and the security shutters were down!! Has the bottom fallen out of Platinum? I hope not!! Jim the dancing is better than Birmingham I hope they havent been shut down.

[Longfellow B, 23/1/03]

I paid another visit to the PB yesterday evening and I was a little disappointed that the number of guys had dropped, while the number of girls had increased to seven (!), although the latter was of course a bonus!

Tania Amazon has given PB a nice review on her site (although she isn't working there) and Tyke recently corrected his clipjoint remarks in his London striptease diary, but I'm sure the girls working there (many of the Brazilian persuasion) could do with another plug.

[The Beard, 5/12/02]

As a one-time regular in the Shoreditch Triangle who is now only an occasional visitor, I thought I would check out the new venue in Paul Street, The Platinum Bar on a rainy Wednesday evening (yesterday in fact!)

I was pleasantly surprised. In the upstairs bar, about fifteen guys were talking to four girls / watching an excellent poledancing show. Moreover, the private dancing area was as good as reported. Another plus was the absence of a door charge.

Clearly the dancers knew their stuff and I suspect that some of them may have been starting their careers at other Shoreditch venues about the time I stopped being a regular. Although I didn't catch any names, a couple of the girls looked slightly familiar.

So, any rumours that the PB is a 'clip-joint' are DEFINITELY WRONG. Anyone who likes the friendly atmosphere of smaller venues such as the White Horse (Shoreditch) or the Sunset Strip (Dean Street) but wants the additional bonus of private dancing should definitely check this place out."

[The Beard, 21/11/02]

Intrigued by all the comments about the Platinum Bar, I've just undertaken a reconnaissance mission. I've been an addict of the Shuffle since 1988 and would report that this has the makings of the best thing to hit Shoreditch for yearst in order for it to work we punters need to include it in our circuit. I completely respect Gollum's advice to be guarded about who's working there at this time of year, so all I'm saying is that anyone who was a fan of the mid `90's Gemini/Browns Golden Age won't be disappointed. They are being selective in their choice of girls and there's a lot of class.

Apparently it was a dodgy dive until the present management team were brought in six weeks ago to clean it up. They are a husband and wife team who have two daughters in the business and are already running clubs in Kent, so their primary concern is for the girl's working conditions. And the conditions for both girls and punters are potentially great. They want to create a family business atmosphere, relaxed, friendly and fun not money grabbing.

The club occupies three (and potentially four) floors above the pub. (You turn right and head upstairs immediately as you enter the door - there is nothing on the street to indicate a gentleman's club/pub). Entrance is free. The main bar room is quite small, intimate and comfortable. There is a pole for dancing at one end - for which there's a jug collection. Punters sit in comfortable armchairs and sofas around the walls. Drinks are a little dear at 0 (Champagne is, as always, ridiculously more). If business picks up they may be able to lower the bar prices

private dance's are Lap dances are i.e standard East End rates. Butand it's the big but, they take place in almost private booths upstairs. The punter reclines in a comfortable armchair and the girls cannot but be close. The booths have no doors r the security of the girls, but no punters can see into them except in passing. It is the best Lap Dance set up I've seen in the UK so far.

As of yesterday they are open Monday to Friday from 1.00pm til 11.00pm (with the option of later on Thursdays and Fridays if business demands it). They are not open on Saturday and Sunday (yet).

There are two shifts of 4 or 5 girls at a time d all that I spoke to were very enthusiastic and positive that it could become the new (pre-suit) Browns. I think everyone on the list should suck it and see least twice, so that it has a chance to grow. (It's not very far from Old Street tube and you can get to it en-route for the The White Horse, Shoreditch High Street). You might find yourself very happy to discover a discrete and satisfying secret that is off the main drag d which won't get filled with city suits or the pissed boy's brigade.

[Originally posted to the London Strip mailing list - tried to contact the author and get his permission to use it here, but the email bounced.]

[Shuff, 12/11/02]

Would just like to share one of the best nights of my life. On a walkabout in London I came across a gentlemen's club called the Platinum Bar on Pauls Street; on climbing the first stair case, I found myself sitting in a big black leather sofa in the most unique strip clubs I've ever been too. There was no ladies pestering me for a dance - just a beautiful lady who wanted to sit, drink and chat. This, I must say was a first; I spent about an hour on this floor and when I got up to leave, was told to go up the second staircase.

So I did; I found another room with more beautiful ladies and there i found the lady to dance for me, thinking it would be there and then. I was taken by the hand and led up the third stair case - to my surprise there I found more ladies doing dances for customers, in these unique booths with black leather sofas. I would like to let all you gentlemen out there know this was the most pleasurable night I have ever encounted in the London clubs. I will be going again, and would also advise you all to look in and enjoy a night like mine.

[Joe, 9/10/02]
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Re: ** TN23 1EZ Platinum Bar, Ashford

Post by The Great Smell Of Brute »

Kudos has undergone several changes of name since this venue was listed - it's currently called Cameo, with no sign of striptease on the premises any longer:

https://www.cameonightclub.co.uk/ashford
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