Everyone has been to one. It is probably where you first tried hookah. Hookah lounges are starting to appear everywhere in North America. While walking downtown, you have probably smelt the sweet aroma of shisha being smoked for a cafe. Hookah lounges or cafes are great places to bring friends if they want to have a good time socializing. But what makes for a good hookah lounge? What would make you want to spend $10 or more for one bowl of shisha? Here is a list of some of the things that I look for in a good hookah lounge that I think you should look for too.

Location

Location is the key to finding a hookah lounge that fits you. You do not have to travel all the way downtown unless you are going to be in the area. Try using Google Maps to find a hookah lounge or cafe in your local area and go and try it out. It will probably only be around 10$ and if it sucks, you can never go back there again.

Courtesy

Treat others the way you would like to be treated. I always prefer going to a cafe or lounge that has a pretty girl at the entrance rather than an old man who may or may not be cussing at you in a different language. If you do not like the vibe of the place, just leave.

Variety

We all love choices and having the freedom to chose whatever we like. That is why you should try and find a cafe that has a good variety of flavours to chose from. Not only flavours, but brands of tobacco also count too. You can most probably find a lounge that serves your favourite brand of tobacco, unless of course your favourite brand is Tangiers, and in that case, you can only go to the Oddessey hookah lounge in California. Don’t forget about the coals. My rule of thumb is if they only serve Three Kings quicklights, it probably isn’t the greatest hookah lounge. Try and find a lounge that has CocoNara’s or some kind of coconut coal.

Time

This is a big one. I once had to wait over an hour at a hookah lounge to be seated, order and get a hookah, the hookah taking over half an hour to get. If this ever happens to you, never return unless you get the hookah for free. This is terrible service and the workers/owner probably does not know what he or she is doing. It should take a max of 15 minutes after you ordered your hookah to receive it and that is if you ordered your hookah with natural coals. Quicklights should take even less time to receive it.

Quality

Even if the hookah comes fast, that shouldn’t mean that you lose quality. A hookah is very easy to prepare. Was it hard to pull smoke from your hookah? Did you get the flavour you asked for? Where the coals properly lit? Ask yourselves these questions the next time you go to your local lounge.

Price

The price all depends on the brand they sell. Nakhla should not cost you more than $10 a bowl. Al Fakher, $12. Try a find of price point which suits you and the lifestyle you live. You don’t mind paying 20$ for a bowl of shisha, be my guest, but I will be at the lounge that has it for 10$.

Luxuries

What kind of extras are you looking for in a hookah lounge? Do you want TVs at every corner or belly dancers dancing to music whereever you look? When looking for that perfect lounge, figure out what king of extra you want that lounge to have. A lot of lounges will have live music, dancing, or even all you can smoke for one low price!!!

That about sums up pretty much what I like to see in a hookah lounge. What do you look for in lounge? Why don’t you tell us about your favourite lounge in the comments below and why it is your favourite lounge. If you think I am missing something on this list, comment as this this of suggestions will be updated.