Nightclubs

RESERVE ONLINE OR CALL 1-866-80-SHOWS
 

I-Bar

3700 W. Flamingo Rd.
Las Vegas, NV 89103
(702) 777-6869
Map it
IBar

I-Bar Details

  • Hours of operation: Opens at 12 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. Saturday - Sunday. Closes at 2 a.m. Sunday - Thursday, 3 a.m. Friday - Saturday.
  • Cover price: 

    No cover charge. Average drink price $6 - $12. Packages:

    • I-Bar front of line package: $35, per night (Sunday - Thursday), $45, per night (Friday-Saturday). Start the night out right with two specialty drinks at I-Bar and then receive front-of-the-line admission to VooDoo.
    • I-Bar VIP Package 1: $155, per night (Sunday - Thursday), $195, per night (Friday-Saturday). Start the night out right with a table for four and a bottle of Moet at I-Bar, followed by front of the line admission at VooDoo. Includes tax and gratuity.
    • I-Bar VIP Package 2: $295, per night. Start the night out right with a table for four and a bottle of SKYY vodka at I-Bar, followed by front of the line admission at VooDoo. Includes tax and gratuity.
    • New Year's Eve 2009:
      • New Year's Eve (Dec. 31, 2008) Open Bar package: $200, includes open bar from 9 p.m. to midnight, includes domestic and imported beer, wine, basic liquors (Smirnoff Vodka, Bacardi Rum, Jose Cuervo Gold Tequila, Jack Daniles, Crown Royal, Bombay, Seagram's 7 and Hennessy), bottled water, soda and juice. No shots. Table seating not included.
      • New Year's Eve (Dec. 31, 2008) Gold package: $400, includes VIP table for up to four guests, midnight champagne toast featuring a bottle of Veuve Cliquot Brut and four speciality cocktails with party favors.
      • New Year's Eve (Dec. 31, 2008) Diamond package: $625, includes VIP table for up to six guests, one bottle of Belvedere Vodka, mixers, midnight champagne toast featuring a bottle of Veuve Cliquot Brut with party favors.
      • New Year's Eve (Dec. 31, 2008) Seven Star package: $1,200, includes VIP table for up to six to eights guests, two bottles of either Belvedere Vodka, Bacardi Rum, Captain Morgan Rum, Crown Royal, Jack Daniels, mixers, party favors and a champagne toast featuring a bottle of Dom Perignon. 
  • Payment information: Cash, all major credit cards.
  • Location: Inside the Rio hotel-casino.
  • Music: Varies. Transitions from Swing, R&B, Soul and Techno throughout the evening.
  • Resident DJs: No DJs.
  • Clientele/Age Group: 21 and older.
  • Attire: No restrictions at I-Bar.
  • Occupancy: I-Bar seats 100 people; maximum occupancy of the lounge is 250.
  • Parking: Parking located in garages at the front and rear of the Rio hotel-casino. Valet parking at the Rio.
  • Reservations: Reservations for bottle service only.
  • Seating: Yes.
  • Handicapped accessible: Yes.
  • ATM: ATM available inside the casino.
  • Special events: 
    • No weekly events, but special parties are held occasionally.
    • Dec. 31, 2008: New Year's Eve celebration.

I-Bar Review

There's a whole smattering of different kinds of bars in Sin City. But if you think about it (like we have – whole, exhaustive hours, thinking about nothing but bars), it really comes down to two categories: convenience bars and destination bars.

The former are bars that are strategically placed to be near wherever you are when you're thirsty (near a casino floor, near the exit to a showroom, etc.). The latter are bars you plan to spend your night at (good atmosphere, a theme, etc.).

What would happen, though, if a convenience bar actually was a destination bar?

That, wrapped up in a neat little package, is the idea behind I-Bar at the Rio.

Located near the edge of the casino floor and pretty easily accessible from just about anywhere on the casino floor, I-Bar is obviously convenient. But the Rio went the extra mile to make it more than just a few beer taps and a handful of booze bottles. They made it a destination.

Fashioned after Ipanema in Rio (hence, the 'I' in I-Bar), the circular bar is decked out with some tricky lighting features, both around the edges and in the center. And then there are the tables. Equipped with Microsoft Surface capabilities, tables at I-Bar allow guests to "flirt" with other tables, create their own cocktails or even play a few just-for-fun games on 30-inch displays.

I-Bar occasionally throws special events, like a Super Bowl party, and partners up with other Rio hot spots to offer night-on-the-town-but-still-in-the-Rio deals, but, like we said, there's no real reason to even leave I-Bar.

The bar's speakers are usually pouring out some eclectic mix of top 40, hip-hop, dance or house songs (depending on the time of day) and because of its location (which is slightly elevated), it's a great spot to people watch.

This, though, is all without mentioning the most intriguing part of I-Bar and the part that'll cement you to your chair there – the servers (occasionally referred to a I-Girls, but we haven't heard that in a while).

These beautiful women are helpful (they're pretty handy with a cocktail, as are I-Bar's mixologists), but they're also clad in some of the coolest garb this side of a bunny costume. And "cool" was almost literal, as these gravity-defying (or is it physics defying?) outfits are, um, well-ventilated – which is to say, there's not a whole lot of cloth.  

The atmosphere at I-Bar, aside from being helped along by very pretty ladies and eye-catching technical features, is relaxed, but adaptable – you can talk to your buddy or you can get a little crazier.

Whether you found yourself there as you wandered away from the craps table or as you beelined right to it, I-Bar is definitely worth your time.

-- Review by Jamie Helmick