Cloud Nine Lounge

Cloud Nine Lounge

Location: 7126 Sterling Road, Davie, Florida, USA

Opened: At least as early as 2007

Closed: Spring 2012?

Gay Bars Fort Lauderdale is pretty much to the point. Cloud Nine Lounge is a "Lesbian Neighborhood Bar, Mixed Crowd." 

From sunny.org: "Lesbian-friendly nightclub with nightly drink specials such as 2-4-1 everything everyday 12pm-8pm, Fri Ladies Night, Sat Free Drinks 11pm-1am, and Sun Karaoke 9pm-1am."

From SouthFlorida.com: "Cloud 9 offers entertainment and mingling for gay women in South Florida."

And from lesbian night life:

Run by women for women, this lounge features two pool tables, dartboards, and beer-pong tables, a dance floor with a pole and a friendly staff.  

Cloud Nine (2008)

Cloud Nine won "the Best Cheap Thrill in Broward" award in 2007. (Woo Woo!) Here's how Voice Places described it: 

Cloud 9 is lesbian hangout that's also the kind of place you turn to for good conversation -- and when you're in need of a stripper pole. The understated interior is disguised by a generically painted/decorated exterior that might lead many a passerby to drive on, ignorant of the genial friendliness inside... And of the amateur strip contests like Dare 2 Bare.

This description is derived from a longer piece (by a dude) on Cloud Nine published on November 15, 2007:

Cloud Nine Lounge 

You can learn a lot about women at Cloud 9 Lounge, a local's bar in Davie where on many nights the majority of the patrons are lesbians. Cloud 9, with its many faces, can act like a dive bar one night, then put on its dancing shoes and act like a naughty schoolgirl on her way to the sock hop the next night. Cloud 9 is not exclusive. It doesn't pretend. It's functional — two bars, three pool tables, TVs, a dance floor, a stage, and, oh yeah, a stripper's pole. And it's the kind of place you turn to for good conversation. The understated interior is disguised by a generically painted/decorated exterior that might lead many a passerby to drive on, ignorant of the genial friendliness inside, ignorant of the stage with the stripper's pole and the few of us guys taking notes. What we're learning is that too often, guys neglect these good traits (functionality, good conversation, humility) for the sake of being a hunter. For the sake of being a "man." You see, here, the hunt is futile, making for excellent practice on how to become better-rounded. Social classroom or not, after a few Corazon tequila shots, it's still a bar (full of women) famous for its amateur strip contests, like this week's Dare 2 Bare, in which someone will take home $150. Friday is ladies night, which means $5 Jäger bombs. On Saturdays, get $3 Long Island iced teas and get spun by DJ Buttafingaz all night.

If you want a sense of the atmosphere, here's a 40-second video from 2008. 

Earlier customer reviews from citysearch are fairly upbeat. 

From September 2008: "it's very crowed, but all the girls are fine."

From January 2010: "fun times.... great time with friends. cozy atmosphere and friendly people."

So are the ones from the yellow pages: 

From December 2007: "Regulars and bar staff alike are always happy to see you and are friendly. just soak up the good vibe. There are some interesting house specials. it feels inviting."

From February 2011: "Although my recent visit to Cloud 9 was during the morning, as one of the few places open during those hours, I could tell it was a cool place to hang out anytime, 24/7....The people and staff were friendly, so it was naturally inviting. Yes, this bar is known to be a favorite of a certain type of female, but who cares?....everyone is there to have a good time, and so will you."

Yelp features four later reviews, though, and all of them are pretty negative. 

By 2010 - 2011, a lot of problems with general quality were apparently starting to develop at Cloud Nine. 

Admittedly, some complaints were of the whiny variety--the "eh" music that was too "ghetto" along with the empty dance floor. That the bartender had an "attitude" and "dressed like an early 90s stripper- not cute."

But not all of the complaints were whiny or minor. For example, we're informed that the bathrooms were both "disgusting" and "horrifying." And it sure sounds like they were.

From July 2011: "One toilet had no seat, and the other was covered in vomit.  Ugh. I probably get herpes just thinking about this place."

In addition, we now had lots of boundary problems with men--a sign of incompetent and/or indifferent management, particularly at a bar that identifies itself as a place for lesbians.

From July 2011:  "The locals were a small handful of local lesbians, and a TON of straight guys, just staring at them (and us).  Not exactly what I want in a bar.  I'm all for mixed crowds, and I rarely enjoy all-lesbian clubs. But cmon guys, don't come just to stare.... pick  your jaws up off the floor, and stop being creepy."

From another reviewer, also July 2011: "full of horny old men who stalk you."

There were also, unfortunately, (barely veiled) racist reactions to Cloud Nine's mostly African-American clientele. 

From September 2010: "I was excited to go here because it was a "club" and so close to home. It was when I arrived when I began to have a mood change. This is a lesbian lounge but obviously you dont have to be homosexual to go. There is not girls all up on each other it is just a place to hang out. The crowd was mostly black, not that this is a bad thing but my friends and I received faces as if saying, "what are you doing here?"

According to jumponmarkslist, Cloud Nine is now closed, but no date is given. However, the last visit regarding health code violations was April 2012 (the reported violations started in November 2010, which more or less coincides with the beginning of the poor customer reviews).