As beach season inches its way closer and closer to the present, day clubs and pool parties have begun laying down their roots, with each claiming to be the epitome of sophistication, luxury and opulence. But not Hard Rock Hotel’s Rehab dayclub, where they know their job is to pretty much make Mondays even harder to face.
Marking its 11th season, Rehab’s relaunch takes place over two days (think the “birthday weekend” approach) to accommodate performances by both Robin Thicke (April 12) and Flo Rida (April 13). It rolls on that way throughout the season, opening up the poolside stage to live performances by Kendrick Lamar, Puff Daddy (né Diddy) and Aloe Blacc, among others. This year, Rehab experiments with adding Saturdays to what was traditionally a Sundays-only party, a double-barrel approach to a party that’s famous for being plenty devastating only once a week.
The important thing to remember here is how serious Rehab is about maintaining its status as the wild big brother of the dayclub scene—and one of the craziest possible environments in which to wear a swimsuit. Not many of us can fathom the ingenuity or the twisted genius it takes to turn a Sunday afternoon soirée—the historical territory of tea parties and badminton tournaments—into a wild bash that has never lacked accolades like “sexy” and “raucous” and (within its genre) “legendary” since its 2004 inception.
Do you know how to attract 725,000 visitors to a shallow swimming pool in the height of the Vegas heat, or sell more than 45,000 table-service bottles, or talk Angelenos into believing Tommy Lee can DJ? (Sorry, Crüe fans.) Neither do I. But Rehab does. And for that we must salute it, its debaucherous reputation and its continued success as a summertime standard bearer.
Hard Rock Hotel 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat.-Sun. beginning April 12, cover charge applies. 702.693.5555
