Virginia Friends

Virginia Friends is a couples-and-single-ladies-only lifestyle club that has run monthly hotel-takeover socials in the Richmond area of central Virginia since 1993. Events rotate among Richmond-area hotels rather than sitting at one fixed address, with the specific property announced on each event page ahead of time; the club positions itself as roughly 2 to 3 hours from Washington DC, Maryland and North Carolina, drawing a regional rather than strictly local crowd. Each social opens with a newcomer's seminar in the hotel lounge that is mandatory for every first-time attendee, even experienced lifestyle couples, before the main dance gets underway. Dances typically draw 65 or more couples ranging from their mid-twenties to mid-sixties, with most between 30 and 50. Once the dance winds down, the party shifts to a reserved club floor open only to members and patrolled by headset-wearing security, where a hospitality suite, an adjoining group-play room known for its Sybian, and private member rooms take over; a separate "party floor" (commonly the hotel's fourth floor) hosts member-booked theme rooms for couples who purchase that ticket tier in advance. Entry requires an online membership and event ticket, typically released about four weeks before each social with a same-night cutoff around 9pm, plus a valid driver's license and each partner's real name on file — the club states it cannot admit anyone unwilling to register under their legal name, citing its private-club status. Wristbands and name tags issued at check-in must be worn to access the club floor. Dress runs from casual streetwear at early registration to costume or theme wear at the dance and lingerie-or-less upstairs, with "street legal" coverage required in hotel hallways and elevators. Drinks bought in the lounge must stay in the lounge under Virginia ABC rules, while the club floor itself is BYOB with mixers and snacks supplied by the club; hotel guest rooms, including a limited discounted block, are booked separately and directly with the property.