Tales from the other side
So you think you've got what it takes? You might be wrong. And being ready for rejection is always a good idea.

"You have to know somebody to get in but even then it's all up to the discretion of the bouncer," says Vanessa Cumming, a 24-four-year-old New Yorker who says she enjoys clubbing once in a while.

PHOTO: MARTA FERRER Outside Spa, customers wait to get inside.

Cumming says she usually can't stand bouncers' attitudes. "I go out only if I'm with people who have serious connections."

Having to depend on the whims of the bouncer makes Cumming think twice about approaching the door. "You don't want some dorky, no-education, meathead deciding if you are good enough to get in," says Cumming.

Manhattan native Jessica Kapadia, 21, who doesn't call herself a "club-goer" says part of the problem is that bouncers are underpaid and treated badly. "Then they take it out on their clientele," says Kapadia.

Another customer, Kathleen Highsmith, says she came to Spa because one of her friends is a promoter.

"I wouldn't stand in line anywhere," says Highsmith, who is a student at the School of Visual Arts.

Next: The Three Deadly Sins

Past the Velvet Rope
Tales From the Other Side
The Three Deadly Sins

Being on the guest list helps, but it doesn't mean you made it through the door. At Spa, it's the doorman who has the last word. So even if you are on the guest list, you might be turned back. "A promoter can put 200 people on the guest list, but they might all look like crap," says Alex Jimenez, a doorman at Spa. At Lotus, there is a permanent guest list and a daily guest list, according to doorman Henry Haile. Both are done via the owner. "If you are not on the guest list, another good way to get inside is by coming to dinner first," says Haile.