Features

Member's clubs: Open door policy

26 Jan 2009 by Sara Turner

London’s exclusive members’ clubs are welcoming you in – and you don’t even have to join. Sara Turner reports.

Holding meetings in the usual business environments can get a little dull. If you have a client you really want to impress, you should consider booking space in one of London’s private members’ clubs. Many of these are recognising the benefits of getting into the events market and allowing non-members to pay for a discreet meeting room and catering. With advanced technology, top-class service and relaxed dress codes, clubs can compete with mainstream corporate spaces but have that added air of individuality. From neoclassical to post-modern, there’s something to suit all tastes – whether it’s executive boardrooms, presentation suites or conference spaces. New on the scene are Paramount and One Alfred Place, while Eight and Home House are expanding their offerings. Old favourites the Hospital Club, Morton’s and Adam Street continue to offer an alternative to conventional meeting locations.

Morton’s

This small Mayfair club, nestled in Berkeley Square, has the feel of a welcoming townhouse. There is a private dining room in the basement available for hire, which is ideal for a low-key meeting or dinner. Meetings can be held at any time of day around the hand-crafted wooden Linley table, with breakfast sessions proving particularly popular. Although the room has no natural daylight, it is very private – good if you need to discuss sensitive matters in depth. Members (there need only be one among the group) can also make use of the Club Room for meetings or presentations. It is situated on the second floor and overlooks Berkeley Square, giving it plenty of natural light. Morton’s also has a bar and an excellent restaurant. This is true to form for Marlon Abela, the club’s owner since 2002, who owns a group of top restaurants in the US and London, including the Michelin-starred Greenhouse in Mayfair. The building was more of a nightclub in a previous incarnation, but after being closed for two years for a complete refurbishment, Morton’s opened as a club for fine wine and good food devotees – you can access one of the largest private wine collections in England, and there are three kitchens, including a dedicated bakery and patisserie. Walking around, you’ll also notice original artwork on the walls, including portraits by Julian Opie, who designed the eye-catching Best of Blur album cover in 2000. 28 Berkeley Square, Mayfair; tel +44 (0)20 7499 0363; mortonsclub.com

Eight

The mix of business and pleasure at Eight, in EC3, has proved so successful that a new property, Eight EC2, is due to open in March (members will automatically have access to both). The original Eight club, open since 2006, spreads over two basement floors of an office block in the heart of the City, opposite the Royal Exchange on Cornhill. The entrance is more than discreet; it’s almost impossible to find, through a concealed doorway on Change Alley. The new club, near Moorgate, will provide extra meeting spaces and a full-service restaurant. Eight EC3 has free wireless internet access throughout and phone boosters to improve mobile reception. The name refers to the eight-ball in a pool game – the club has three championship Brunswick pool tables in the members’ lounge, where you’ll also find comfy armchairs and sofas, perfect for informal meetings over a coffee. Also on the lower floor are three self-contained rooms accommodating four to six people, each with an LCD screen, DVD player, Sony Playstation, iPod dock and sound system. The business centre, on the upper floor, provides laptops and fax and reservation services. There are four larger meeting rooms that can accommodate between six and 120 people. The Rockingham Suite has a luxury private cinema that seats 18-20 comfortably, ideal for private screenings, presentations and product launches or for playing on the F1 simulator. 1 Change Alley, the City; tel +44 (0)20 7621 0808; eightclub.co.uk

Adam Street

Just off the Strand, the family-owned and run Adam Street is in the vaulted cellars of an 18th-century terraced townhouse. It was originally a social club for theatrical types, complete with rehearsal rooms; in 2001 it reopened as a venue for entrepreneurs and freelancers, although some of the original members still frequent the bar. Today, Adam Street aims to mix work and play effortlessly, with wifi internet access available throughout the bar and restaurant areas, three meeting rooms of different sizes with capacity for between six and 100 people, and a library complete with computers and a comfy leather sofa for reading (or snoozing). Plasma screen TVs, LCD and DVD projectors, flip charts and portable DJ decks are also available. At lunchtime the restaurant is open to non-members, although there is a £10 cover charge per person, and on special occasions the whole club can be hired. If you need more space or would like some natural light, Adam House upstairs provides fully functioning serviced offices. It’s owned by the same people and offers a choice of four meeting rooms with large windows, original frescoes and space for up to 12 people. 9 Adam Street, the Strand; tel +44 (0)20 7520 9285; adamstreet.co.uk

Home House

For a taste of 18th-century opulence, Home House fits the bill, with its frescoes, balconies, sweeping staircases and antique furniture. It can provide space for meetings of most sizes as well as accommodation. There are ten rooms for hire in three Georgian townhouses, which range from a capacity of eight people boardroom-style to 80 theatre-style. Despite its traditional gentlemen’s club grandeur, the building only became a private members’ venue in 1998, after restorations began in 1996. The original patron, Elizabeth, Countess of Home, hired James Wyatt to design and build the property in 1773, but two years later she sacked him in favour of his rival, Robert Adam. Over the years the building has been used as a residence by former prime minister Earl Grey (after whom the tea was named) and as the home of the Courtauld Institute of Art, before ending up vacant and on the World Monuments Watch list of 100 most endangered sites. Originally across numbers 19 and 20 Portman Square, the club has recently expanded into number 21, which has a series of lounge areas and a modern boardroom equipped with widescreen plasma monitors. In 19 and 20, the original architecture and décor has been strictly preserved, while in 21 the rooms have a distinctly futuristic feel – the new centrepiece is a sleek silver bar designed by Zaha Hadid, the architect responsible for the 2012 London Olympics Aquatics Centre in Stratford. 19-21 Portman Square, Marble Arch; tel +44 (0)20 7670 2000; homehouseclub.com

One Alfred Place

A dedicated business club, One Alfred Place opened early last year as a haven from drafty hotel lobbies and busy cafés for the intrepid freelancer without a base in London. But it is also an ideal venue for smaller meetings outside the office. The space, on the second floor of an office building, is bright and airy, with colourful bespoke furniture and lots of original contemporary art, including works by Andy Warhol, Barbara Hepworth and Victor Passmore. The reception space is a large, light-filled room with tables at the right height for a laptop and comfy but not-too-comfy sofas and armchairs. In the restaurant, the tables are large enough to support several laptops, so this could be a good option for lunchtime brainstorming sessions or discussions. The two boardrooms are available for hire by non-members (maximum capacity of 25 people theatre-style), with preferential rates offered to members. Both have large, arched windows allowing in plenty of natural light, and presentation facilities including HD screens, multi-channel TV, DVD, surround-sound system, multimedia PC and audio- and video-conferencing. Other facilities in the club, such as showers, workstations, locker rooms and a bedroom for power naps – popular with international travellers arriving early in the morning – are reserved for members. One Alfred Place, Bloomsbury; tel +44 (0)20 7000 1999; onealfredplace.co.uk

Paramount

Paramount, one of the newest members’ clubs in London, has breathtaking views from the top of the Centre Point tower of the Thames snaking its way through the city. While the area directly below is more grime than glamour, here is a place to rise above it all. The club, which opened late last year, has a dedicated reception desk and a lift to take you straight to its home on the 31st floor. The 117-metre high Centre Point building was completed in 1966 as an office block and is one of the oldest skyscrapers in London. It was designed by the late architect Richard Seifert, who also designed Tower 42, formerly the Natwest Tower, and London Euston train station, rumoured soon to be demolished. The club occupies three floors but only one of these, level 31, is open to non-members, and it’s aimed firmly at the corporate conferencing market. Essentially a 423 sqm blank space to dress how you want, it’s ideal for a full-scale corporate event and has a 24-hour licence, so once your meeting is over you can dance until dawn. Level 32 has a dining area and a stunning bar made of copper, while the 33rd floor has a lounge boasting 360-degree views and a champagne bar. Centre Point, 101-103 New Oxford Street; tel +44 (0)20 7420 2904; paramount.uk.net

The Hospital Club

The Hospital Club has a funky, eclectic vibe all its own. More of a media club than a business club, it is housed in, as the name suggests, an old hospital, and concrete stairs and surgery doors are still on show alongside contemporary art and furnishings. The décor is full-blown technicolour and the bar is full of creative types – to be a member you need to be linked with the arts or media in some way. The club has a dedicated events team to ensure your meeting or conference goes off without a hitch, and there are nine rooms to choose from, including an art gallery, screening room, games room and recording studio, catering for between ten and 100 seated guests. The calming Forest Room, with life-size amber-toned photographs of trees covering the walls, would be perfect for an all-day meeting or conference (seating 20 boardroom-style) and is equipped with a free-standing plasma screen and built-in speaker system. Alternatively, the Gallery is a large blank space to put your mark on. It can be dressed as you wish and has been the venue for car shows, art exhibitions and press launches. For smaller, informal meetings, the Bellini Bar has walls covered in a collage by artist Julie Verhoeven. 24 Endell Street; tel +44 (0)20 7170 9148; thehospitalclub.com
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