Maya London Review
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Maya sits on the top of London’s Dean Street in Soho, just down from Oxford Street – it’d be easy to miss if it wasn’t for the velvet rope and glam guest list girl, as on street level Maya is just another doorway – all the action takes place underground.
At the bottom of a staircase and at the end of a corridor with large coat-check facilities, lies the single large room which is Maya. The club feels more Arabian in influence than Mayan, with dimmed lighting and Asiatic screens covering the walls. It has the feel of a mysterious box of jewels, with the lights throughout the venue slowly changing colour over the evening from orange, to blue, to red, and purple and green, changing the mood subtly each time. This is definitely Maya’s crowning achievement – I’ve rarely seen a club transformed so beautifully by light, each hue reinventing the space, sometimes making you feel like you’re in a different place altogether.
However it can be a bit too dark at times, and it’d feel strange to be sitting in this venue on a bright summer evening – definitely a place to move on to later at night, rather than somewhere to pop into for a quick cocktail.
Maya is a club for sitting and drinking the night away with a group of friends, with over two thirds of the space given to inbuilt tables and benches. There are few intimate corners, and due to the relatively shallow tiering of the tables and open-plan design, this is a place to see and be seen, rather than a place to hide away for a discreet drink with celebrity pals.
There is a small dance floor opposite a round, raised DJ booth, but it is very small. This, combined with the table set-up which act as self-contained units, give the club a cliquey feel, great if you’re happy with the company of your own inner circle, but not the best for networking and meeting new people.
Maya tries to fill the gap left by clubs like the much loved celeb haunt China White, with mixed results. The whole place has an air of exclusivity, hidden below the streets of Soho, but stunning lighting aside, the atmosphere is lacking; again, probably down to the self-contained tables that take up the majority of the space. A separate VIP area with its own personality and feel would be a plus for Maya; you might have your area cordoned off with the mandatory velvet rope, but the uniformity of the layout waters down the exclusive feel.
Again like China White, Maya is not cheap. At £20 a head for Saturday night entry, and bottles for the table ranging from expensive to astronomical, Maya isn’t suited to everyone’s budget. A good place if you’re feeling flash and want to spend your night sitting with a group of friends, but probably not the place to be if you want to mix and mingle. Overpriced and not suited to everyone’s going-out style, but if you’ve already got your own gang and cash isn’t an issue, Maya may be the place for you.
Dan Harrop-Griffiths (06 10 2009)
Maya London Description
Maya opened its doors in September 2007 to critical acclaim, bringing some glamour back to the West End’s nightlife. Maya is all about sophisticated decadence, with music spun by the house DJs in a beautiful gilded club venue, featuring one of the best sound systems in the UK – the Funktion One. All this is muddled with an impressive cocktail list designed by one of the UK’s best mixologists, Jeremy Jewitt. Maya is one of London’s most beautiful clubs to see and be seen in, having been awarded Best New Club 2008*; providing mid week and weekend nights to satisfy even the most experienced London Bon Viveur.
Maya is part of ‘World’s Finest Clubs’ which is a collection of the best clubs in the world; a coveted accolade. The venue features the world’s first 3D live interactive holographic experience in a club that creates a real wow factor. With state of the art lighting, walled lightboxes that can change colour, gold gilded pillars and a sumptuous lounge vibe; Maya is one of London’s most inviting and warm club lounges. Maya is also leading the pack to bring back the dance floor back to London’s club lounges! Maya is also part of the Luxury Network; a group of the UK’s top 50 luxury brands also including Sunseeker and Jaguar, to name just a couple.
Served at the table or straight from the bar, the drinks list is one of London’s finest. From a Mathuselem bottle of Dom Perignon at £9,000 which comes with the use of a £188,000 Spyker C8 supercar and a stay at Bovey Castle for the weekend; to the humble yet excellently mixed cocktail, Maya provides a real taste experience. The most expensive drink is the Louis Roederer Cristal Methusalem at £28,000; expect light shows and special music to be played when these expensive bottles are bought.
The spirit list includes 11 bottled Vodkas, headed up by the £1,500 Grey Goose and Belvedere Mathuselem bottles. Also available are the famous Giant Martinis, from £200, for those who like to share. The talented house mixologists are available to create and host your drink creation at your table, pre booking of this service is recommended.
Customer Reviews for Maya
The following customer reviews are not endorsed by Fluid London and are simply those of users who wish to publish their independent experiences of Maya.
“The Bouncer on the door was, according to my friend, 'honey-eyed' and he was a really nice guy to deal with. We turned up about 11:15 and he told us the place was empty and it was probably best to come back later and that he would remember us and it would not be a problem. So, we popped down to Zillis for a number of excellent Mojitos and pitched back up at Maya at midnight. True to his word we walked straight in, I paid £20 and it was free for 'ladies' so Sue was in for gratis! We walked down into the club - very nice if still quite empty. Bar at one end that was roped off and seemed to remain so for the whole evening so we used the other bar. £21 for two v&t's! Clientele - young girls in short dresses with knickers showing who clearly didn't like music and whose only desire was the gyrate to every track in a way they have seen on music videos, the same way to every single track. Couple of guys hanging around?. The DJ - blonde and pouting in her Swarovski diamante headphones. I recently DJ'd at a friends wedding and a 40th using two iPods and I can honestly say that I rate my efforts a lot better than hers. Gaps between tracks, no attempt at mixing just fading tracks in and out of each other - she was even being helped by 3 other people - absolutely laughable and the whole place was not exactly jumping. I chatted to a guy who turned out to be one of the owners - having bought the club from administrators last year. Even he admitted she was useless but 'pretty'. Anyway after ”
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melkeenjef, St Albans (4 months 11 days ago)
“Maya is one of the best clubs in London and I would recommend it to anyone! Fantastic staff fantastic drinks wicked music! A great night out.”
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Rachel Wilcox, London (9 months 14 days ago)
“I have been to Maya bar and restaurant once, it was really mind blowing. Very nice place to have a drink and a chat. recommend it to everyone. Keep it up staffs of Maya. Really good work. Thank You.”
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Ashok Nair, India, Trivandrum (1 years 6 months 7 days ago)
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