Pleasure Garden Club – Philly’s Lifestyle Hot Spot

Pleasure Garden Club

by: Sex On the Fringe

Erin and I are fortunate in that we have three easy options for lifestyle clubs, all of them being about 30 minutes away from our house. Each have their own vibe. We make our decisions about which we want to attend based on our mood and our hopes for the evening.  The Pleasure Garden Club (PGC) is our go-to when we’re feeling frisky rather than social. We find the typical crowd and layout are more likely to get us turned on and playing with each other rather than chatting with other people and making connections.

The Approach

An important factor for us for any sex club is getting into it. Is there parking? Does it feel safe? How exposed are you during your approach to the door?

PGC is tucked back in the corner of a strip mall, the entrance far from the highway. The door is hidden around the side of the building behind a gate, which is closed during off hours. There is some parking on the side and around back; these spots are completely hidden from view and well lit. It feels safe. Depending on when you get there, you might need to use the front parking, which is more exposed but not to anything scandalous. The Pleasure Garden Club shares a parking lot with a biker bar, a sex toy store, and a gentlemen’s club (oddly, we’ve never investigated any of these other locations).

The check-in counter is close to the front door. Door open at 9:00. We find if you arrive in the first half an hour, it’s a breeze getting in. On busy nights, there can be a line, which will extend out the door. During winter, this sucks.

You need to be a member and to have your ID to check in. Once you are checked in, you get a wristband so that you you can return to your car at any time and easily get back into the club, so you can take your wallet/ID back to your car if you like. I usually lock my wallet and keys in a locker.

Accommodations

Pleasure Garden Club has a coat/cell phone check right at the check-in. You cannot get into the club with a phone. Security pats you down before you enter the club proper.

They have lockers in a small hallway outside the bathrooms (bring your own lock). We’ve never had trouble getting a locker, but this hallway gets crowded, which can make getting to and from your locker a pain.

The club has a large group-sized shower, which is out in the open and on display. We’ve never seen it used (I’m hopeful, though!). It’s definitely designed for show more than utility.

There are plenty of play areas that cater to various playstyles, from themed rooms with curtained windows for privacy to an open play pit, a gangbang room, and plenty of mats out in open if exhibitionism is your thing. It is our thing we found out. Two of the rooms have a sybian that can be used for a $20 deposit.

Security is all over the place, too, making sure things are running smoothly and everyone is having a good time. The club is safe, and the staff is friendly and passionate about the scene.

The Layout

One interesting feature about PGC is that it expands based on the crowd. What do I mean by that? There are a few main areas that are always open and some other spaces that are only unlocked when enough people show up.

The Main Areas

The main room is a large dance floor with tables and chairs along the side, the front bar, a stripper pole on a raised platform, and a padded play pit with chairs and standing space all around it.

Off this main room is the locker and bathroom hallway which leads to the main play rooms. This area is monitored by security, and single guys aren’t allowed back on their own.

There is also a side room off the main dance area. Unless there is a particular event going on in this room, the lights are kept down pretty low. There are tables and chairs and benches for sitting and watching…or playing. Floors mats line one wall. This room also features several pieces of BDSM equipment, including a St. James cross, a cage, a wood throne with spikes and manacles, and a couple rigs for suspension. The equipment is always out for use. And on busy nights—particularly Pleasurecation nights—it will be in use!

The Back Bar

This area is only closed on really dead nights. There is a second stripper pole on a stage, complete with chairs around it (it has the true stripclub feel) as well as a full bar and a few couches. This is where we usually take our alcohol because it’s a little less crowded, which makes it a little easier to get your drinks. We also find this to be the best area for chatting if we are meeting another couple at the club as the music is usually a little quieter.

The Back Rooms

In the back corner off the dance floor is a door that leads back to a large gangbang room and a few other play rooms. These rooms are less private—no curtains—and are only open during the busy nights when the other play areas can’t contain all the action.

What Can You Expect to See?

We like the sexy vibe at PGC. It has a dance club feel with good music, pulsing lights, and plenty of open areas for people to get frisky. It’s common to see dancers on either stripper pole; the pole in the back bar area gets a lot of use and has hosted some of the best pole dancers I’ve ever seen. The main set of playrooms get plenty of action, though it’s usually not too difficult to get a room if you want one. The side room and other areas are frequently used. We’ve even seen a few orgies out in the play pit.

In short, there’s usually some sexy display to watch, and it’s easy to find a place to play yourself.

Pleasurecation

The first Friday of every month is the Pleasuracation Party. Usually there is a theme and a guest speaker/event in the side room (from 10:00 to 10:30 if memory serves). We’ve been to a few of these talks, from Rope Bondage 101 to a talk about sexuality from Dr. Timaree (a local sexologist, burlesque dancer, and podcast host) and suspension demonstrations from a masterful rope artist Spencer (@takeabight on Instagram). Due to the loud music from the adjacent room, some of these events work better in the space than others.

Pleasurecation is a kink-positive atmosphere, and the kinksters show up in droves. These are the busiest nights, and sometimes it can be difficult to even walk around the club let alone meet others, get a refill at the bar, visit your locker, or use the restroom. However, the club is just bursting with sexual energy. So many kinks and fetishes are out on display; it’s super hot. Even if it’s not something we ourselves are into, seeing others unabashedly getting their freak on is hella fun to watch.

If you like a steamy, swinging sex party, we cannot recommend Pleasurecation enough.

The Cons

There are a few areas in which the club space isn’t well laid out. Getting around the Pleasure Garden Club can be difficult because so much space is taken up with sitting space and play areas, making for narrow walkways. This isn’t a huge problem except for the most packed evenings, when it feels like you are pushing through a solid crowd, which just isn’t our scene so we tend to avoid the club if we see the sign-in numbers are really high on SLS.

The locker hallway is small and inconveniently placed, being the only throughway from the main room to the bathrooms and playrooms. The restrooms are annoyingly small for the crowds the club regularly pulls. There is little room between the front door and the check-in counter, causing overflow to spill outside.

The sound system isn’t adjusted ideally to accommodate the Pleasurecation speakers. At least it wasn’t the last time we were there for a talk a few months back. The music from the dance floor continues to pump into the room, and the speakers weren’t micced in any way, resulting in them needing to yell, and it was still difficult to follow the lesson. Not ideal for a rope tying class. Not at all a problem for Spenser’s suspension rope art display.

To Wrap Up

The Please Garden Club is a good lifestyle club. Erin and I enjoy the atmosphere and the night club feel. We have met up with other couples there, but we usually don’t go to PGC to try to randomly meet new people (though we have). We go to PGC to dance, to use the BDSM equipment, and to fuck….usually on the mats in the side room surrounded by other people.