Lakers and Hyde Lounge Make for a Great L.A. Evening

Going to a Los Angeles Lakers game at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles is a fun experience whether you sit up in the rafters or in a fancy VIP suite with its own waiter. It doesn’t matter if you live in L.A. and go to games frequently or are just visiting the city, watching the Lakers at work is a must-see. Game tickets start at about $40 and are available via lakers.com. Advance seats are available and even season ticket holders can sell their seats through the website, making good seats sometimes available the day of the game.

I went with three friends to watch the Lakers play the New Jersey Nets on April 4, 2012, and as always, had a great time. We watched the game from the San Manuel Club, then continued the party after the game at Hyde Lounge. Whenever possible, I suggest fans get access to the San Manuel Club, the STAPLES Center’s private bar and restaurant, with some seats and tables overlooking the floor and the action. There are seats along the rail facing the floor directly and I think they provide a better view of the court than a lot of regular seats in the Staples Center. The San Manuel Club is for season ticket holders and other holders of Premiere Seats or Luxury Suites.

The San Manuel Club offers a full menu, but we always have the buffet. They offer a wide selection, and the food is delicious. The menu changes, but they always have a salad section with greens and salads of different types. They have a cheese and meat station with several types of hard and soft cheeses, olives, crackers, and other snacks. They have a hot buffet section with several kinds of pasta, fish, and chicken, along with vegetables and rices. Main courses included a prime rib carving station, along with carved roast turkey. Both were moist, tasty, and really good.

I’m always impressed by the friendliness of all the employees and servers at the game, probably because they are having as much fun as we are. We had a group of four and were given a table right next to glass overlooking the floor, one level above floor level. The sight lines are excellent; the food, drinks, and service combine to make an unforgettable night. As usual, we spent the entire game dining and watching from our table and never even went to our actual seats. We enjoyed the game and watched Kobe Bryant lead the Lakers to a last-second victory, defeating the New Jersey Nets, 91-87.

But the best was yet to come. After the game, we retired upstairs in the STAPLES Center to the exclusive Hyde Lounge. Hyde Lounge presents an upscale nightclub experience within the confines of the STAPLES Center. The space is spectacular and is open for concerts and other events, in addition to Lakers games. The 4,000 square-foot space is simply luxurious and has multiple rooms, three bars, a dance floor, and a private room for the ultimate VIP viewing experience. Hyde Lounge also features rows of ledge seats overlooking the court or the stage if there’s a concert. They’ve literally taken the hottest, most exclusive nightclub in Los Angeles and opened a branch inside the arena, and it’s a perfect match. Hyde Lounge is operated by AEG, the owners of the STAPLES Center, and expert nightlife gurus SBE. SBE operates some of the hottest hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs across the country. Hyde Lounge has a very exclusive door policy, but fans can reserve a table with bottle service to get inside.

Freddy Sherman is a world traveler and editor of the travel blog travel4people.com. You can follow him on Twitter @thefredsherman.

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