Inside Sydney's most exclusive club
It's hand-picked members pay an annual fee of $10,000, carry a black laminated swipe card and are greeted by "classy" hostesses - welcome to Level 6, Sydney's most exclusive club.
Owned by Merivale boss, Justin Hemmes, the super private den is located, not surprisingly, on level six of his CBD venue, Ivy.
Inside Level 6.
Described as everything from a gentlemen's club to a private oasis where "anything goes", secrecy has been key to its success.
This week The Sunday Telegraph was turned away from visiting by security, on the grounds that it would compromise the privileged members.
"We don't allow any media because our members need to feel that they are able to enjoy themselves in complete privacy," said a rep for Hemmes' hospitality empire.
And without prying eyes, celebrities including Mel B and Kyle Sandilands, and the top end of town, flock to the club.
Inside Level 6.
Even the entry is purposely nondescript.
Members step out of the elevator and walk to a plain locked door, before swiping their black laminated card.
Once inside, hostesses ensure guests are looked after as they sit back in the sunken lounge.
Ex-swim champion Grant Hackett recently met his new girlfriend, model Shane Blackett, at Level 6 where she was working, at the time, as a hostess.
While Hackett and Blackett are reportedly still going strong, their relationship put the focus on the club, which has intrigued Sydney's social set since its opening in 2008 - and not always for the right reasons.
The inside of Level 6, formerly the penthouse apartment of owner Justin Hemmes.
As one member who carries his fabled black laminated key handy at all times said, there is one very pervasive and obvious theme at Level 6.
"When you walk in the door and the first thing you see is a stripper pole dropped from the ceiling, it's pretty clear what sort of environment you are walking into," he said.
"But the women are dressed very sexily but not tacky. Yes, they give you a lot of attention and if, for some reason, you don't click with a particular hostess, another one will come along.
"It's very much classy, classy, classy."
For their annual fee (around half of which is included as a bar tab), members are allowed to bring guests - how many exactly depends on how much money that particular member is in the habit of spending, according to a former staffer.
Justin Hemmes and Jennifer Hawkins at The Ivy.
"Each situation is different," the ex-staffer, who recently left Merivale, said.
"If a member is a really big spender then there is really no limit on how many guests they bring in.
"Celebrities can also usually bring in as many people as they like but often they will come in as guests of Justin's."
And yes, women can buy memberships.
"Though the fee has been known to be waived for women of a certain `standard'," laughs the source.
"Celebrities, too, often get given memberships."
Inside Level 6.
Among those rumoured to be part of that exclusive club are cricketers Brett Lee and Ricky Ponting and radio DJ Sandilands, who's rumoured to be a regular at the famed poker games held at the club.
Natalie Imbruglia has been spied in the penthouse on occasion. Mel B and husband Stephen Belafonte were often seen sipping their drinks in the sunken lounge before moving to the US.
But as the former employee points out - celebrity is not the focus.
"The main focus is on the corporate members ... the big spenders who come in a lot and entertain guests.
"That's where the big money is made. Guests who come in and buy bottle after bottle."
Any leftover alcohol can be left at the club, labelled with the members name, of course, and reopened upon their next visit.
Model Shane Blackett worked at Level 6 as a hostess.
And should any guest have a hankering for a meal, food from any of Ivy's six restaurants can be
ordered and is delivered - pronto.
But naturally, given Level 6 has a `zero' marketing and publicity budget (and all staff who work at the venue operate independently of Ivy's other operations), getting Hemmes or a Merivale rep to talk is as hard as getting past the nondescript door at the top of the George St monolith.
"Level 6 is an exclusive members-only club located within ivy, overlooking the idyllic ivy pool,'' reads a carefully worded statement.
"Like other premium private bars around the world, it offers the highest level of service and the absolute privacy of members is paramount at all times. Membership is by invitation only and price on application."
Source: The Sunday Telegraph, 23 August 2013
