Page 7 | Applying to Soho House

DaphneDeloresMoorhead · 23/07/2021 18:26

it’s the something being exclusionary based on money. Which in itself would seem a little nasty would it not?
Not really. It's how a capitalist society works. If you have enough money you can join, regardless of your background. Not sure how that can be exclusionary any more than Versace is exclusionary fir people that can only afford Primark.

Bloodypunkrockers · 23/07/2021 18:28

@FourTurnings

I’m surprised at the jealousy and anger of some of these posts.

Where do you see either jealousy or anger

Sparechange · 23/07/2021 18:28

And the Hurlingham waiting list is closed for the foreseeable, and it was estimated at 30 years before it closed

Their memberships can be inherited, and if you’re a member and get married, your spouse automatically qualifies for membership so they don’t need to take any new families on

At least what you’re paying for there is all the sports facilities, rather than the drinking opportunities

Hillary17 · 23/07/2021 18:30

Wow some catty, jealous people here. But to answer your question, with two backers you’re in with a shot. Still pretty selective depending on what you wrote in your application! Memberships are usually reviewed monthly. Good luck with your application!

Needmoresleep · 23/07/2021 18:34

Sparechange I know.

I would much prefer to be surrounded by old soaks drinking cheap wine, or looking out over Hurlingham’s glorious grounds than rubbing shoulders with ambitious, networking, media types. But hey, what about not wanting to join any club that was willing to have me.

Invitation to dinner?!

CaMePlaitPas · 23/07/2021 18:34

So many jealous people around here.

Don't worry OP, I'm not a member either.

EmmalineC · 23/07/2021 18:38

I thought the OP was applying for a job at Soho House.

I was all set with some outstanding interview advice but having read the thread, I just want a fish finger sandwich now, white bread, loads of butter and a blob of ketchup.

Sparechange · 23/07/2021 18:39

@Needmoresleep

Sparechange I know.

I would much prefer to be surrounded by old soaks drinking cheap wine, or looking out over Hurlingham’s glorious grounds than rubbing shoulders with ambitious, networking, media types. But hey, what about not wanting to join any club that was willing to have me.

Invitation to dinner?!

Oh they aren’t drinking cheap wine..! They are drinking very expensive wine but without the usual Chelsea restaurant mark up!

At least the soho house membership process is a meritocracy
Chelsea Arts club is just pure SW3 nepotism

That said, you’ll never feel underdressed on a night there because it’s big on baglady chic

VodkaSlimline · 23/07/2021 18:40

@Awlondoner

Hi everyone! I am trying to apply to Soho House London at the moment, and have the backing of two proposers. I was wondering if anyone was a member, knew what the process was like? How long should I expect to wait to hear whether I have got in?

Thank you!

It will take months rather than weeks, and could take over a year. If they don't want you, they won't tell you, you'll just never get off the waiting list.

FreddieLounds · 23/07/2021 18:45

I'm a member of the Oxford and Cambridge Club (but haven't used it for ages). The advantage is the pleasant accommodation if you don't live in London, which I no longer do. Soho House is a club for Londoners in London.

My close friend's daughter actually works for the Soho House group. Her job seems to consist of bumping regular members from their reservations every time Bono or some similar twat wants to book!

MrsTulipTattsyrup · 23/07/2021 18:47

@Hillary17

Wow some catty, jealous people here. But to answer your question, with two backers you’re in with a shot. Still pretty selective depending on what you wrote in your application! Memberships are usually reviewed monthly. Good luck with your application!

Disagreeing with a post, an organisation or an attitude does not equal jealousy or cattiness. If you think that the reason people don’t think institutions like Soho House are valuable is jealousy, then you must think it’s something that many aspire to. You’d be wrong.

UnicornMadeOfPinkGlitter · 23/07/2021 18:51

If you live near a house it can be good value as the gym and pool alone could cost that much a year for a ‘nice’ gym alone.

We were members of soho house for a while but don’t live near enough tk make it worth while. The children loved soho farmhouse and we stayed at the one in Miami and Istanbul. However there are extra charges for staying overnight. It wasn’t included in the membership.

I couldn’t fault the service there though. Nothing is too much trouble. A passing comment at breakfast about not liking pulp in my juice which was why I wasn’t ordering resulted in a sieved glass of juice turning up unannounced. I was embarrassed and drank it, but didn’t really want it.

The new house in the old bbc building is supposed to be stunning but I’ve not been. And yes access to pools etc on weeks like we’ve had recently would be a huge bonus. Especially if I was young and child free and could go off on a whim.

We stopped as nothing local to us and joined a local spa/gym and paid £115 a month for that and it was nowhere near as nice as the soho ones.

WomanStanleyWoman · 23/07/2021 18:53

@SW1amp

I'm not, but even if I were, I'd still be confused as to why a genuine poster wouldn't choose to ask the members they clearly already know who have presumably been through the process.

Because going through the membership once a few years ago has very little in common with what going through it at the moment, in terms of how long the process takes

Which is the specific question OP asked

And how is asking on Mumsnet working out for her?

TSSDNCOP · 23/07/2021 19:00

And how is asking on Mumsnet working out for her?

Extremely well I thought

whatthejiggeries · 23/07/2021 19:10

I've been a few times - I wouldn't want to join but I wouldn't take the piss out of someone that does. They are nice places and have some fabulous works of art in them 😀

RandomHomoSapien · 23/07/2021 19:13

Well don't say you work in the city in finance for a start. My ex was a portfolio manager and got turned down, not 'creative' enough. When he reapplied some years later, he said he was in media and got accepted. He was a bit of a knob and liked to 'be seen', and to be totally frank, no one who is anyone really goes anymore. Last time I went which was admittedly three years ago, it was full of Made in Chelsea peeps, definitely not the A listers of its heyday when Kate Moss was often seen propping up the bar.

I used to also live with a girl who embellished her application form, she was a life coach (don't laugh) and got one of her friends who worked in PR to say she worked there, she also got in. Point is, they let anyone in nowadays. If you want exclusive, try George or the old but reliable Annabel's.

Nesbo · 23/07/2021 19:15

The house at Television Centre looks lovely but it does sometimes feel a bit like a We Work for media types (I’m not a member but know lots of members so have been up there a fair few times). With COVID a few of those friends are considering giving up their memberships.

I can sort of see the point in joining if you’ll make a lot of use of it, but quite often it was so busy there that you didn’t quite get the sense of having a guaranteed quiet place to drink. If you travel for work it can also be quite comforting having a house to go to in a foreign city as a sort of home from home.

Mumsnet is so huge that most people assume that whatever is happening in their lives, there will be a good number of other people on here doing the same thing, or who might have good advice to offer. It feels fine to post a question to seek those people out.

If you do that though lots of other people will also read the post, and your life might be completely different from theirs. They seem to get really riled that you dared to even ask a question that wasn’t aimed at them (and assume you did it to stealth boast or make some other point).

Apparently the thing to do in those circumstances is not ignore the post and leave it to be answered by someone else (or quietly die) - you have to pile on instead.

Such is life on MN.

JustJustWhy · 23/07/2021 19:21

Hi. I'm Annabelle Bronstein. I left my pass on top of the telly but I've found it now.

BruisedPear · 23/07/2021 19:29

Some really catty responses OP asked a question it may not be your cup of tea but so what ?

OP the wait might be shorter with less people applying since covid but someone I know just joined and the wait was just under a year.

I’m not a fan as PP said it’s more for the media types, but if you’re in the field and live near one and can use the facilities regularly it’s worth it.

rosetylersbiggun · 23/07/2021 19:29

I was invited to join years ago. It's just a very nice club where you can hang out with people, have a guaranteed place to find a seat and drink on a Friday night, and a decent gym. It's also very convenient to have membership if your job involves a lot of solo travel.

I work in theatre/film, so I mainly used it as a free place to have meetings and a place to do low key networking (since I'm terrible at networking). Most of my friends are members and it's nice to have somewhere to go where you're likely to casually bump into people you know, without all the faff of arranging an outing. I honestly don't think someone outside of one of the industries they target, or who didn't have mates who go there regularly, would get that much from it.

Honestly there's no need for people to get so worked up. It reminds me of the 'Spa' episode of Frasier where they get obsessed with finding out what's behind the Gold Door. It's just a club for people in the same industry to hang out and relax, it's not the Freemasons.

One of my best friends is on the membership committee at the Groucho (I'm not a member but have run free events there as part of a non-profit I helped found to encourage women into film), they are honestly desperate for new members. I'm not a member and wouldn't be since it's so expensive, but they're actually really nice and not snobby at all.

Congressdingo · 23/07/2021 19:30

@Midnightballerina

Well you learn something new everyday. I'd never heard of it before. Can you pay for a drop in or do you have to be a full member?. I don't know if anyone's interested but I've got a lovely pub, we don't have a pool but I could get a paddling pool out back, I've got a couple of gym bits I can set up & I make a mean fish finger sandwich (artisan bread of course). £100 a year & I'll save you a seat. Can't say fairer than that.

Save me a table theres a love. I dont care about artisan bread, but I love a good fish finger sarnie with salmoriglio sauce. Or tartar sauce at a push. 100 quid is a brilliant price to pay for a guaranteed seat.

Dogvmarmot · 23/07/2021 19:36

@korawick12345

omg it is center parcs for those who imagine themselves creative and posh.

GellerYeller · 23/07/2021 19:36

@JustJustWhy

Dogvmarmot · 23/07/2021 19:38

@Caritas

Not Soho House, but my PIL are members of the Hurlingham Club, as was DH (until we moved away from London and therefore no longer felt paying the annual fee was if any benefit). It took him over 20 years to be accepted as a member, his parents essentially signed him up to the waiting list at birth. I’m not suggesting it will take you that long, but other relatives who are members of Annabelle’s, Tramp etc also had to wait for several years to be accepted.

omg annabelles and tramps - are those the same trashy/tacky 80s clubs. People pay to be members in this day and age. wow. I would die of embarrassment if I had to enter one.

dementedma · 23/07/2021 19:42

whispers What is Soho house?