Soho House in Hong Kong: how new private members club for creative types – no suits allowed – will be different
A version of the British Soho House chain due to open in Sai Ying Pun will have a rooftop pool, gym, hotel and space for events – but only artists, fashionistas, filmmakers and others connected to the creative industries can join
It’s the morning after the opening of White City, the vast Soho House in Shepherd’s Bush, London, so I expect Nick Jones, founder of the chain of private members clubs, to be exhausted and grumpy. We’re in the new 120,000 sq ft (11,150 sq m) club to talk about another opening – Hong Kong’s Soho House, due in March next year.
Despite the previous night’s endless round of glad-handing, Jones is energetic, affable and down-to-earth – not what might be expected of the impresario of an institution criticised for being elite and pretentious.
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Soho House clubs are intended for “people working in the creative industries” and famed for the requirement that members refrain from wearing the corporate warrior’s uniform of suit and tie. Annual membership fees start from US$1,500 (HK$11,800).
Depending on where you sit – a member ensconced on one of the club’s overstuffed lounge chairs, or a not-yet-member hoping to get off the very long waiting list – the club’s policies are either welcome, or obnoxious. (In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a member.)
Founded in 1995, the enterprise now employs 6,000 people and has 19 locations worldwide. It is in full-throttle expansion and, before the Hong Kong club is ready, the first Soho House in Asia will open in Mumbai this October.
