Life

Given a cocktail shaker, a box of fruit and some crushed ice, L.I.F.E. could be the best bar on the sea-front.

Honest.

It has big sofas and comfy chairs. Cute and friendly bar staff. Awesome music; everything from The Strokes and The Smiths to vintage hip hop and classic Rolling Stones. A cool crowd and a killer view of the beach.

There's just one problem...

No mojitos.
No margharitas.
No cosmopolitans.
No bloody marys.
No long island iced teas.
No sex on the beach.

For those that don't care about cocktails, L.I.F.E. also doubles as a club venue with regular club nights Daft Life, Holdup and Maxxi Soundsystem every Friday, Sat and Sun. The first two run from 11pm-4am and the latter from 5pm-1am.

I can't review this place properly as I didn't actually go inside but what I can tell you is that it was TWELVE POUNDS ENTRY!

That's why I didn't go in.

Maybe I'll return to try it again, if I'm feeling particularly flash with my cash, but generally I would rather avoid a club if it's arrogant enough to rob me blind before I've even set foot inside.

I bet they charge a shed load for the cloak room too. Bastards.

An interesting venue in the Arches, downstairs its a modern swish bar with outside seating practically on the beach, there's also a mini dance floor type area. Upstairs there's another bar and larger dancey bit, the venue has made a feature of the arches and it can seem a little Liverpool Cavern esque if sitting at the right angle.

For a brief period the club was the only venue in Brighton that offer a reasonable indie night on a weekend, this has now been rectified. Situated on Brighton Beach tits a really popular club all year round and it can get to one in one out during the height of summer. Its deffo worth checking out if you want to go dancing to real music, rather than the big fish little fish a lot of the other sea front clubs offer.

Due to the diversity of the city there is so much on offer regarding music, food and all other things debatable. One of my favourite stop offs on a Saturday afternoon has to be Iydea. This little vegetarian café in Kensington Gardens (near Snoopers Paradise) serves top quality organic fresh food. Especially good is the enchilada, which when fully loaded can be a substantial meal or even a snack to go back to. Iydea'a location in the vibrant cosmopolitan North Laine makes it a popular hotspot to many of Brighton residents.

Life has been a great addition to the Brighton night club and bar scene, particularly strengthening the already popular sea front area.

This is one of the nicest and most interesting bars in the area, while it might offer a middle of the road typical Saturday night out, everything they offer is to the best quality.

Throughout the week you can get a number of offers, both as a student and otherwise. Life is a good bar to visit before making your way to a nightclub, although for those who don't fancy the queues, Life does turn in to a club at midnight.

Life is one of the better seafront nightclubs, and is a regular haunt for the Brighton student demographic.

The venue consists of a bar downstairs, which, in the Summer, is also open in the day, and upstairs there's various rooms and another bar. There's also a good sized dance floor, perfect for strutting your stuff on.

The tunes they play in there vary, however I have usually been on a Saturday, which is usually a combo of rock and indie classics with a few pop numbers thrown in.

The entrance fees and drinks prices are what you'd expect to pay for a club in this area - 6 quid entrance and around £3.50 for a pint.

All in all it's not a bad place, and it does tend to go off at the weekend. And if you're a student it's unmissable!

Another seafront club, Life (formerly The Arc) has a much better attitude and clientele than some of its neighbours. With a recent make-over the bar now faces out to the sea, which is great in the summer, but I am not so sure how well it'll work come winter and its howling winds. The music on offer is provided by DJs adept at keeping the party going, with the main focus on the Indie/Rock/Electro side of things. Life is certainly not as scuzzy as some other local clubs and with a younger, more student-based crowd in attendance you tend to have more fun dancing without the fear of treading on someone's toes and getting taken to the cleaners.

Last night I went to this club for the first time since its transformation from Arc to Life, to attend the event 'Daft Life' held here every Friday. Unlike its competitors along the sea front, the entrance fee into this club was actually reasonable, and there wasn't a giant queue to get in. The music was cool, lots of alternative dance, some dub-step, and electronic tunes. Drink prices were pretty standard for a Friday - which basically means they were a little expensive, with pints selling for about £3 -, and the selection of drinks available was ok, without being anything exceptional. The layout is pretty cool, with nice seating areas downstairs and a funky dance floor upstairs. There's also a terrace for smokers and those who want to grab some air.

Life is a new arches club especially geared to entertain the youth and student population with electronic sounds, particularly of the new electro and French house variety. Obviously in this sense, it has missed the boat a bit, the last surge of this scene was seemed to be 2007, and I only saw this place on the scene in 2009, but still they have a host of pretty cool nights that still spin the newest stuff. As with most of the arches spaces, they aren't huge by any means, but still enough room to swing a cat or your best friend.

Formally known as Arc, Life is a club/bar situated on Brighton seafront and has been newly decorated with a change of layout and fitted with a brand new lighting system. I have to say the decor is pretty impressive and it is certainly a great looking nightclub with brilliant views looking over the sea. Saying this, it comes as a massive let down that the nights I've had there have never been anything special. Sure, the sound system is really great with incredibly loud speakers but every time I've been there it never seems full enough, even on weekends when you'd expect it to be full to the brim. The club nights have all been done before, and it never feels like a place that I must go to at all costs. None of the events featured at Life seem to entice me to visit the place as there is nothing that puts it apart from other clubs in the area. However it does have cheap entry and good drink deals, so it's definitely worth checking out if you're looking to try somewhere new. Maybe next time I go I'll have a really fun time with a better atmosphere and music, I can only hope.