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This 15,000-sq ft (1,480 sq m) venue takes the prize for Orlando’s coolest new dance club. Copping style points from the film after which it’s named, Matrix offers an upscale industrial decor with a cobalt blue and stainless steel color scheme, a gigantic computerized lighting rig above the dance floor, and walls of video screens. Orlando house, techno, and electronica rule the decks.

Co-owned by one of the Back-street Boys, this former theater is now a darkly stylish and cavernous club. The main floor boasts two large bars, a big dance floor, and video screens. Occasionally, the old upstairs balcony is transformed into a late-night sushi bar, and the lobby sometimes has a roster of supporting DJs. Lines can be long, especially when there’s a big-name DJ or PA on.

Once named top club in the US by Rolling Stone magazine, The Club occupies the sprawling interior of one of Orlando’s oldest buildings. The magic ingredients (vast size, an awe-inspiring light and sound system, and an international DJ lineup) still make this the best night out in Orlando. The Club attracts a mixed crowd that is very gay-friendly. The sounds runs from trance to hip-hop to Latin, depending on the night of the week.

Who could have guessed ancient Egypt would make such a splendid theme for a dance club? In between the Sphinx paintings and columns in this multi-level space, clubbers dance to alternative house, disco, retro-progressive music, and more. Upstairs, an excellent rooftop lounge known as the Reggae Bar features reggae and other downtempo beats. When there’s a line stretching down the block, duck into Knock Knock next door and have a drink.

Between the futuristic metal decor, the barely dressed cage dancers, and the steady beat of house music, Icon is a trendy slice of Downtown’s club scene. Tucked into the first floors of an otherwise nondescript office building, Icon’s main room is a surprisingly big, multi-level affair, with a hefty sound system that can rattle teeth. As with most Downtown clubs, things get moving fairly late on.

This South Orlando club is upscale and hip. It’s a restaurant during the week, but on Friday and Saturday nights it also has live Latin and Reggae music, and dancing until 2am. The menu features Latin fusion cuisine and there’s also a cigar lounge.

With a single-story interior, this downtown club is more intimate than some local options. The Blue Room excels with a comfortably upscale vibe, making it less of a meat-market than other clubs in this area. There’s lots of room around the bar to chat, if you can be heard over the progressive house beats. Top DJs have residencies here.

Pleasure Island’s 21-and-over dance club is the real deal, not some Mickey Mouse knock-off of a modern club. The decor is surprisingly dark and foreboding, with an eerie industrial interior that wouldn’t look out of place in a dominatrix den. The dance floor revolves while the DJs spin techno and house. If hip, young celebrities are visiting Disney, they’ll likely end up here at some point. (see Mannequins Dance Palace).

While most of O-Town grooves to house, techno and electronica, the sizeable Caribbean Beach Club jams to the earthier vibes. Expect Latin, disco, calypso, soca, and reggae sounds, which pack in an ethnically diverse crowd.

Tucked into an after-dark desert area of town, Roxy is a big multi-floor dance club, with impressive hiphop, Latin, and house DJs playing nightly. The loyal following tends to be less self-consciously trendy and more hetero than the usual downtown club mix. Monday Night Fights see amateur boxers from the crowd knock back a few beers then jump in a ring to fight each other. Well, the crowd is different to that found in Downtown.