Mahalia Hamid said she and her friends were told they could not enter Volt as they "did not fit the criteria".
She said she then stood by and watched as groups of white people walked into the club.
In response, Volt told the BBC it had always "welcomed a diverse audience", including people of different races.
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"To find me and my friends do not fit the criteria for a night out, we couldn't believe it," said Miss Hamid.
"I felt as if I was not good enough or white enough."
Miss Hamid had hoped to celebrate her 24th birthday at the city centre nightclub on 28 January, and paid Â£300 to pre-book a VIP table through a promoter.
"We were basically left there without any explanation, apart from we do not fit the criteria of the night," she said.
"Looking at the other guests, looking at ourselves, the only criteria that we didn't fit was our skin colour."
A female member of staff gave the group their Â£300 back.
Volt said: "The lady responsible for these accusations has attended the venue numerous times previously without any issues, and it was only the four males in the group that were refused, due to dress and security concerns."
In response, Ms Hamid said the entire group was refused entry, and they were all "dressed to the nines".
There was no mention of their clothes being a problem on the night, she added, and other customers were allowed in despite wearing T-shirts, caps and trainers.
Nottinghamshire Police said in a comment: "We received a report of a hate incident alleged to have happened at a premises in Broadway, Nottingham, on Saturday 28 January 2017. Our inquiries are ongoing."

An Iranian affiliated broadcaster said MP Nadhim Zahawi bought crude oil from the militant group and sold it to markets in Israel and Europe.
But High Court judges said the Iraqi-born Stratford-on-Avon candidate was a victim of "fake news".
He was awarded Â£200,000 in damages and legal costs of Â£138,483 against Press TV and UK-registered Press TV Ltd.
Mr Zahawi sued the English language news and documentary network - which is affiliated to Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), owned by the Iranian state - over a July 2015 website article which then went viral.
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It alleged Mr Zahawi funded and profited from trade with a terrorist group by purchasing the oil at a low price and selling it on.
But Mr Zahawi, chief strategy officer of Gulf Keystone Petroleum, said: "The ludicrous allegation that I, while a Member of Parliament, had firstly betrayed all of my deepest held moral principles, and secondly had somehow managed to avoid international security services, and the law, to personally trade oil with Daesh, was of course completely untrue."
He said the allegations spread "like wildfire" on social media and he had to defend himself from a "profoundly embarrassing and deeply upsetting experience".
He added that it was "of particular note" the article was published the same day he criticised Iran in Parliament.
Awarding the damages at London's High Court on Thursday, Master Victoria McCloud said Mr Zahawi had been "wrongly associated by way of `fake news' on the internet, with the consequence being very significant harm to his reputation."
Neither Press TV nor Press TV Ltd defended the case and judgment was entered in default

Josh Hanson, of Kingsbury, north-west London, was stabbed in the neck at the RE bar in Eastcote, Hillingdon.
He died at the scene shortly after 01:10 BST on Sunday.
Scotland Yard said about 40 people were in the bar at the time of the attack and urged anyone there after midnight to contact them with information.
No arrests have yet been made.
Det Ch Insp Noel McHugh said: "It is believed there would have been around 40 people present at the time of the incident, many of whom left the venue as paramedics worked to save Josh's life. It is imperative these people contact us to let us know what they saw.
"We are also keen to hear from anyone who was in Field End Road area at around 01:00 Sunday who may have seen or heard anything that they now think might be because of the incident at the RE bar."
Police are investigating a Nottingham nightclub for an alleged hate crime incident after a group of predominantly black people were refused entry.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
A Conservative politician has won libel damages after it was reported he helped fund so-called Islamic State (IS).
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
A murder investigation has begun over a man who was fatally stabbed in front of dozens of customers at an over-21s bar in north-west London.