We've been visiting Cupids for a few years, it changes a little every now and again but the changes are usually subtle and usually for the better.
However, there has recently been a Sea Change at Cupids, Glen and Mary no longer manage the club with the long time owners son 'Carl' (or Colin) now running the show. Glen & Mary appear to have left under a cloud but for the record we found Glen & Mary to be excellent hosts, they ran a very tight ship, were always friendly and without them I don't think Cupids would have retained it's spot as one of Northern Englands best swinging clubs, We have no desire to involve ourselves in the management change but recognition of Glen & Marys time served at Cupids should be given, we hope we've given some of that recognition.
To the review, we'd been in mid december 2010 but this was when the management was in the process of changing over, the bar staff were different, things were up in the air so we left reasonably early. We returned on Saturday Feb 19th 2011 arriving later than we usually do (this was because we'd visited Partners of Bury first ) getting to Cupids at 11.30pm. Entrance fee was the usual £20, no ID required for couples but is as usual required for single males.
Parking is easy and they have security that tend to keep an eye out on the cars parked around the club.
First thing we noticed was the stairway had had a paint job and when you got to the top of the stairs to pay we were greeted by the new owner who was friendly enough, there is a camera right on the reception for the purposes of snapshotting new members (single males)
The changing rooms are simply cubby holes with no locking facilities but again it does have a camera in there so there is some security to your belongings, we'd prefer small lockable lockers but it's never been any different at Cupids and we've never had anything go missing in all the time we've visited the club. As with most private clubs there is no drink licence so take your own alcohol which they keep refrigerated for you, soft drinks can be purchased at the bar.
The new owner is obviously keen to add his own changes and some of the decor in the bar area has been updated (for the better) and I seem to think some of the screens have been replaced (gone are the days of the old overhead projector they used to have..but that was a long time ago) The bar area is reasonably big, the dress code is the same througout the club, towel or shorts for the males and towels or lingerie for the females, good to see it hasn't changed. As is usual with Cupids the place was warm throughout, the private rooms both upstairs and down are private enough with lockable doors with just one of them having a viewing area, the newly appointed dungeon looks fun as does the small 'glory hole' cubicles. The couples room by the sauna has a dark viewing area and although not lit it does gain a little light from the already lowered lighting in the couples room, it works well. The jacuzzi isn't particularly big, it's been there for a while now but it's never overly populated anyway, probably only seating 4 anyway. The Sauna was excellent and you could add your own water (in moderation of course). Not sure I like the 'netted area' by the pool area, this would be better served as maybe a darkroom free for all (dimly lit). The private rooms were clean with some of them having full sized mirrors.
Cupids can be a bit hit and miss in as much as their can be an unhealthy ratio of single males to couples with single males being in the majority or close to but this wasn't apparent on this visit, the music was good and not too loud, the place was warm, the bar staff friendly and the atmosphere was pumped up a little, action was never far away, couples room, netted area, the seating area downstairs next to the large couches and the private rooms are always busy.
Jules felt at ease when she went on a wander by herself, she wasn't harassed or followed by droves of single males (which can sometimes happen) but she did stop and talk with a few and things progressed and we ended up leaving around 2.30 after a good amount of fun for the last hour.
Cupids I guess is our swinging spiritual home, we're sad that Glen and Mary have moved on and should they ever get themselves a club of their own or appointed somewhere else then we'll be sure to check them out but we'll also still visit Cupids 3 o4 4 times a year and on this occasion we had some seriously good fun.
Andy