Living a sheltered nightlife

CABANAS are one of the hot trends on the L.A. nightlife scene, but just what is going on behind the curtains?

Though the hideaways are traditionally the playground of the elite, nightclubs and hotels are offering cabanas to clubgoers as an intimate setting to party with friends -- for a price.

Cabanas are not a new thing in L.A. of course. From the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Viceroy in Santa Monica to the Avalon Hotel, where the canopy-covered playrooms are almost exclusively the stamping grounds of the Hollywood elite, being seen in the right cabana has long been a way to display power, wealth and connections.

But after the Standard Downtown and Mondrian Hotel’s Skybar revived the cool factor of partying outdoors -- and the Roosevelt Hotel’s Tropicana Bar turned it into an art form this summer -- nightclubs are realizing the value of the cabana as a tool to lure not just the clubgoing elite but also those who want to party like the stars.

Nightclub cabanas range in size from those built for one romantic pair to those that can accommodate parties of up to 40. They typically lack the toys of their hotel counterparts, which can include TVs, phones, fax machines and, at the Viceroy Santa Monica, an exclusive dinner in the Whist luxury dining cabanas. But the lure of a private setting and the appearance of being a player are strong for those willing to fork over a minimum of, say, $300 at Hollywood’s Cabana Club to observe the scene from within their little hideaway.

The Cabana Club’s 20 cabanas, which each can hold six to eight people, allow parties to split the cost, which is measured by bottle service and therefore varies depending on the amount a person drinks.

“The cabana is the easiest way to make someone feel special,” says Eric James Virgets, co-owner of the club, which was formerly the Sunset Room (he and his partner, Chris Breed, also claim the Roxbury and White Lotus on their resume). It’s perfect for “someone who says, ‘Look, I just want to come out. I have some friends in town and I want to show them a good time, but I don’t want to be mobbed.’ I say, ‘I can stick you in a corner, I can close [the curtain] halfway.’ ”

Stacy Keibler, an actress and wrestler in World Wrestling Entertainment, was one of the celebrities at a recent Cabana Club party. She says the cabanas are appealing because they create options.

“The whole cabana thing is a way for friends to go in a group and be social in a more intimate environment. You can hang with your friends and talk more than just being in a club where you can’t hear anyone,” she says. “But what I love is I can also walk around and go to the dance floor with everybody.”

At Vanguard in Hollywood, which has three cabanas and plans to build three more by the new year, the intimate settings begin at $200 on Saturday nights.

Jordan Birnbaum, co-owner of Vanguard, says the cabanas are always sold out by 11 p.m. Saturdays. But for a relative bargain, on other nights, the cabanas are free on a first-come, first-served basis.

On the high end of the scale are the cabana rooms -- poolside suites with balconies and porches that open into the heart of the party -- at the ultra-trendy Roosevelt Hotel. They range from $500 up to $1,500 for the Marilyn Monroe Suite.

THE large amount of money some are paying to hang in the cabanas (Virgets says the most anybody’s spent so far in one at the Cabana Club is $15,000, but “that will go up”) is also forcing hotels to reevaluate their waterfront playgrounds. Beginning in May at the Beverly Hills Hotel, the lower-level cabanas, which previously have rented for $175 a day, will go up to $225 during the summer.

The Viceroy now charges from $250 for half-day use of its small cabanas, which hold 10 to 15 people, to $750 for weekend night use of its larger cabanas (10 to 20 people). The latter price includes a private server, flat-screen TVs and PlayStation Portable games.

Assuming that cabanas’ popularity doesn’t soon fizzle out, the accommodations and perks will continue to evolve as well.

That includes the further pimping out of the cabanas, as well as their design.

“We’re creating different canopy designs, different looks, different themes, because we are in a real upswing,” says Marlon Theilacker, a sales and design rep for Ide Industries, which built the Cabana Club’s signature element.

“These are people, they want what they want, they want to be served and accommodated, and this is one more area where they can do it. It’s one more status thing.”