Inside Soho House, « A home for creative people to come together »

https://www.sohohouse.com

You might have seen it in « Sex And the City » or « The Tulip Fever ». Let’s dive into one of the fanciest private member’s club of London « Soho House ». The place where people from fashion, media and arts industries meet around an elaborate cocktail and gossip about what’s going on in the high society.

« Soho House is a place for our diverse membership to connect, grow, have fun, and make an impact. From the beginning, and throughout our 25-year history, our members have always been at the heart of everything we do »

Created by Nick Jones in 1995, Soho House is today wordwide famous

Nick opened the first House on London’s Greek Street. The idea of a private members’ club came to his mind when he was offered the space above his restaurant, Cafe Boheme. The rooms of the townhouse were accessible only via a small door around the corner from the Cafe, so perfect for privacy. He immediately thought of a place for local artists and actors who had become the restaurant’s regulars.

Since opening 40 Greek Street in 1995, Soho House now includes 27 Houses in 10 countries, with more openings in Europe, Asia, and North America on the horizon. In July 2021, Soho House had 119,000 members.

Today the company operates clubs, but also hotels, working spaces, cinemas, studio spaces, restaurants, farmhouses and even has its own brand of interiors collection.

Be a Soho House member

The company offers 3 membership options : Soho House, Soho Friends or Soho Works.

For the Soho House one, you can choose for « Local House » or « Every House ». The price can vary depending on your location and age but monthly cost should be between £80 and £150 for Every House, and between £40 and £90 for Local House.

The Soho Friend type of membership is the cheapest one, around £10 a month but it doesn’t give you access to the Houses, only the option of booking a room in one of their hotels or a table at one of their restaurants.

And finally Soho Works. Available in London, Los Angeles and New York, it gives you full access to the Soho House members-only workspaces. Once more, 3 options here, « Lounge », « Desk » and « Loft », going from a place in a openspace, to your own private spaces for you and your team. No indications on price here, only accessible to Soho House and Soho Friends members.

What are they known for ?

Soho House is mostly known for their events. Around the world they organise concerts, shows and fesitvals. This goes from a famous magician performance to St-Germain’s Pride party, passing by fashion week afterpartys in Paris.

The clubs are being pretty careful with their members’privacy, no picture inside and less dramas. However, in 2002 it’s the two-year-old toddler daughter of Jude Law who accidentally consumed a part of an ecstasy tablet she found on the floor of Soho House while attending a child’s birthday party.

Is it worth it ?

Paying hundreds of pounds a month to have access to a place where you still have to pay £15 for a margarita could sound crazy. But according their 119,000 members and 63,000 ones on the waiting list, it may worth it after all. So what makes it so special ? Is it really the quality of the service, the food or the fancy interior ? Not sure of that. It must be the hype around it. Soho House is not the only member’s only private club of London, and definitely not the most expensive one. It’s kind of cultural here, Londoners love to be well surrounded and stay with people of the same social class. So if that’s your thing, go for it ! You will be the 63, 001 on the waiting list !