[Anonymous]

[BusinessTraveller]

Which ones do you belong to? What do you use them for? Are they worth the money? Would you like to know more about them? Let us know your thoughts

[Tim2soza]

I used to be a member of the Cavalry and Guards club. Very inexpensive accommodation but not really business friendly. (understandable given it’s heritage.) A quiet escape from the hussle and bussle of London.

I use the IOD, both in Pall Mall and in the City.

Boodles (St James’, London) does a very good lunch.

Fantastic swimming pool and steam / sauna at the RAC, also on Pall Mall.

East India Club great for rugby fans and has a very pleasant downstairs bar.

Finally, I use Regus Businessworld for lounge access in many Cities. (Not a private members club per se.) Is membership still free with a BT subscription?

[LuganoPirate]

I’m a member of the Royal Overseas League in St. James and just round the corner from the Ritz. Executive rooms are great value for only £ 130 a night with breakfast. Rooms are business friendly with broadband and wifi. Good food but also not business friendly in the lounge or cafe where business meetings are heavily discouraged. I can live with that as you can have meetings, just don’t pull out piles of papers or brochures!

One advantage is their reciprocal clubs throughout the (mainly British Commonwealth) world, including the USA.

Like Tim I also use Regus when traveling as our company is registered in one of their offices in the Netherlands. That was a very good move as for about £300 a month I have my own phone lines, someone to answer the phones, meeting rooms etc. It has saved me a fortune over the years.

Otherwise I tend to use Executive Lounges in hotels for meetings but am thinking of joining a club in Cape Town.

[MarkCymru]

I’m a member of the Royal Over-Seas League too and recommend it highly. The staff are brilliant and the bedrooms are very comfortable — it even has free Wifi. Membership is a great bargain at under £200 a year. It is also a really good place to host meetings with grand old meeting rooms and excellent service.

I’m also a member of the Frontline Club (of Wikileaks and Julian Assange fame). You’ll need journalistic credentials (preferably linked to news gathering in conflict zones) or two sponsors to join but, if you qualify, it is a great place. It’s 200 metres from Paddington and, therefore, perfect for those of us who live at the mercy of First Great Western or if you’re coming off the Heathrow Express. The bedrooms cost from £60 to £100 a night and are mostly ensuite. The other members are friendly and a fascinating bunch. Even if you’re not a member, you can use the excellent restaurant and go to the frequent screenings and debates on media and global issues.

[TheArchitect]

I also use an organisation called CountryclubUK. Whilst primarily selling goods they also provide access to a number of clubs in London and a couple of other cities. I stay at the Naval Club in Mayfair (typical old school) and in extremis last winter because of the snow, in the New Cavendish Club (founded for Ladies). You can also use the Irish club over in the Temple area, no rooms but good craic.

The annual subscription is peanuts and you get some good deals on an number of things including ordinary hotels.

[IanFromHKG]

I am a membe of three private clubs in my home base of Hong Kong – the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (primarily for the boating, outdoor dining, swimming pool), the Ladies’ Recreation Club (now unisex, I hasten to add! – primarily for kids’ activities, outdoor dining, video library, pools) and the Hong Kong Club (dining and drinking).

The advantage from the traveller’s perspective, as LuganoPirate has noted, is the reciprocal club network. I have used reciprocal clubs in Bangkok, New York, Mumbai, London and, most recently, San Francisco where I enjoyed a few very pleasurable gin-and-tonics with a colleague one evening at less-than-market prices in an uncrowded, quiet, oak-panelled, comfortable bar walking distance from the business district. These places really are a haven, and even if you are not with someone it is very pleasant to be able to go to a place where you know you will have a friendly reception, probably be able to have a chat with someone else at the bar if you feel so inclined, usually pay less than ordinary bar or restaurant prices, and in any event not feel too sad if you are on your own because so many members’ clubs do have a contingent of regulars who go solo

Attending the home premises of your own club also generally means one or more of (a) faciltiies which are hard to find in commercial establishments (especially sports or fitness facilities), (b) better prices than commercial establishments and/or (b) better food than you can find at comparable prices elsewhere. For example, the Hong Kong Club has probably one of the finest restaurants in Hong Kong (it is managed, and the staff are trained, by the Peninsula Hotel group) among its various outlets, with staff who go out of their way to remember your name and preferences, and yet a large (read double) glass of the house Sauvignon Blanc (no prizes for guessing my regular tipple) is HK$30 – a bit under GBP2.40. And it has squash courts, a gym, barbershop, massage, and some rather fine snooker tables. All right in the middle of the Central business district.

London, unfdortunately, features most of its better clubs in the West End rather than the City…

[alwaysreadytofly]

Indeed the ROSL is great. Family been members for ages…..enables one to travel to so many countries and stay or have a drink in stunning friendly places

[LindsayW]

None in London, but I am a member of one in Australia (Queensland Cricketers Club) that has reciprocal rights to ones in London: the Nottingham & Nottinghamshire United Services Club Ltd as well as Lloyds Club. If I have the time and inclination in my upcoming trip to London, I’d drop into Lloyds Club.

I also use Regus Businessworld for lounge access in many Cities. I believe membership was offered for one year free with Priority Club, not sure about a BT subscription

[TomBuckley]

Hey, I do sometimes use private members clubs. Great way to organise professional business meeting. I recommend “Adam Street”, great and luxurious one. Third on this list of private clubs here (you can visit it by clicking)

[BusinessTraveller]

LindsayW – Business Traveller does indeed offer the Regus Businessworld card within a subscription package – more information can be seen here:

http://www.panaceapublishing.com/newsagent/subsoffer/regus

[LuganoPirate]

I recently joined the “Western Province Cricket Club” in Cape Town. Not really a private members club in the traditional sense as there are no rooms to stay, but it’s a great way to see some excellent matches in S. Africa and they have reciprocal arrangements with Lords amongst others.

I guess there’s no law about holding business meetings on the lawn or in a lounge while watching a good game? Could be tax deductible as well for good measure!

[AMATAO2011]

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