On a recent afternoon, Roopal Patel, fashion director of Saks, walked into an apartment on Fifth Avenue in New York, greeting Silvia Tcherassi, a Colombian fashion designer, with a hug. A model walked around in a dress from Tcherassi’s new collection, as groups of women sat on the couches, sipping cappuccinos.
The scene occurred at a private membership club called Fasano Fifth Avenue, and it’s one of the latest to generate buzz in the city. With the rise of private events and smaller gatherings across the globe, it makes sense that members-only clubs are seeing a surge in popularity.
Now, a crop of new clubs, like this one, which opened earlier this year, are making their debut.
“The pandemic increased demand for private club memberships as individuals sought out the safety, privacy, and exclusivity,” says Jeff Morgan, president and CEO of the Club Management Association of America, adding that there has been “unprecedented new member interest” across the U.S.
A recent report from private club consulting firm GGA Partners said that 34% of members saw their clubs as more important since before the pandemic, mostly due to maintaining friendships. Roughly 73% of members use clubs to connect with friends.
“Private clubs offer a much more convenient and intimate option to meet friends, clients, or family,” Zack Bates, CEO of Private Club Marketing, a marketing consultancy firm that works with member-based clubs, said late last year. “These clubs can communicate directly with individual members on a much more personal level than, say, a public restaurant or bar.”
Fasano Fifth Avenue is set in a 143-year-old townhouse facing Central Park. It’s the U.S. debut of Brazilian hospitality brand Fasano, known in South America for its five-star properties. The New York outpost is a private club with duplex apartments that can be rented, suites that can be reserved, and a gym, sauna, and bar, which hosts special events for members. Membership is by invitation only from other members, which is then reviewed by the club’s Board of Approval. For a stay here as a member, rates start at roughly $6,000 per night for the duplex residences, which also go for $100,000 a month.
Meanwhile, on Park Avenue South, Chapel Bar is a members-only spot set in a stylish, renovated 19th-century church, right beside the photography museum Fotografiska. The location is open exclusively to patrons of the museum or members of NeueHouse, a co-working space.
Both are owned by CultureWorks; the company’s CEO, Josh Wyatt, calls Chapel Bar a “sanctuary for culture.” Annual membership to become a Patron member, which grants nightly access to Chapel Bar and a variety of experiences at Fotografiska, is $2,500.
Scheduled to open in May, the Aman Club is a new private club on the 14th and 15th floors of the new Aman New York, a five-star hotel on Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, where guests can use the Cigar Lounge, Wine Library, and the Aman Spa, with more dedicated spaces for members at the Swiss-owned hospitality brand’s other locations globally.
A Space for Work and Play
New trends for city-based private clubs are far different than their countryclub counterparts. For one, many clubs are adapting to the work-from-club trend—whether its top of the line tech or secluded areas for Zoom calls and cozy environments for work meetings.
“There’s certainly been a global yearning, post-lockdown, to reconnect, to exchange ideas, to feel rooted in the culture of a city, and, most of all, to feel a sense of community again,” says Jennie Enterprise, the founder of Core:, a private club in New York.
The initiation fee ranges from $15,000 to $100,000 and the annual membership fees are $15,000 to $18,000, depending on the category (there is a waiting list, and there currently are 1,500 global members).
In London, a new members-only club and working space for wellness professionals called Until caters to self-employed health and well-being professionals, such as personal trainers, therapists, and acupuncturists. The co-founders, Alex Pellew and Vishal Amin, will soon open their 9,500-square-foot space in the city’s SoHo neighborhood.
The Aster in Los Angeles is a new club and hotel opening this August. Overlooking the Hollywood sign, there’s a pool, workspaces, pink-hued lounges, and ample palm trees. It also boasts a recording studio for musicians.
Nearby in West Hollywood, The Britely opened in spring 2021 sharing a property with the Pendry West Hollywood hotel, with two restaurants by Michelin-star chef Wolfgang Puck. It features a poolside bar and interiors designed by the Martin Brudnizki Design Studio.
Style and Celebrity
Private club Zero Bond, set in the heart of NoHo in New York, is a go-to spot for the city’s new mayor, Eric Adams, and celebrities including Pete Davidson, Tom Brady, and Kim Kardashian, according to the New York Post. Since opening in November, it has quickly become one of the most stylish places in the city, boasting conference rooms for meetings,
several restaurants, bars, and a private event space for members. The club currently has a waiting list for membership.
Casa Cipriani, set in Manhattan’s Battery Maritime Building, a Beaux-Arts structure built in 1906, was co-created by Thierry Despont and the Italian Cipriani family, which owns 30 restaurants across the world. The property is home to 47 rooms and suites with views, a spa, and wellness and fitness center.
While clubs of yore were more for older people in high-ranking positions, they are increasingly popular with millennials and Generation X, who are more likely to work remotely, says Bates of Private Club Marketing.
“Some would say older millennials were finally shedding their hoodies and ripped jeans for members-only access,” Bates says. “In fact, I believe it’s the clubs who’ve adapted to allow a more casual dress code and stylish Instagrammable decor that really gave private clubs less of the stuffy feeling of their father’s time.”