Unlike Groucho Marx, who said that "I would never want to be part of a club that would accept someone like me as a member," the frenzy for exclusive circles involves virtually every major city in the world. The fashion, however, dates back to London at the end of the 17th century, where the male political and economic elite met in private clubs to drink, gamble, sign contracts and new laws.
In more recent times, a more eclectic type of club has reshaped the English capital's social scene: from Mark's Club to Annabel's, the only nightclub Queen Elizabeth II has ever been to. The novelty of the moment is The Twenty Two, in the heart of Mayfair: hotel, restaurant, cocktail bar, where a private club with a glamorous Victorian-inspired atmosphere is hidden, frequented by Kylie Jenner, Jeff Bezos, Naomi Campbell or Tom Cruise. So exclusive that there are no images of its luxurious interior.
Unlike London, New York used to measure success by results rather than membership fees. In fact, even the most exclusive venues used to be open to anyone who could shell out considerable sums. For a few years, however, private clubs have also reigned in the Big Apple. One of the most striking examples is Casa Cruz, a private playground, as defined by the New York Times, of 99 members who pay at least $250,000 to access, after being examined by an internal commission.
New York millionaires have been fascinated by this type of club for twenty years, starting with the arrival of Soho House in 2003, a brand that has been present throughout the world since it opened its first location in London in 1995. Becoming a member means being part of from a golden circle loved by celebrities, royalty and members of high society. In Spain, Soho has been present in Barcelona since 2016, in an 18th-century building facing the sea, with 57 rooms, a spa, restaurant, gym, projection room, an indoor pool and another on the roof. The luxurious design is inspired by the Mediterranean, with Catalan vaulted ceilings and Gothic influences.
The club also houses a restaurant, Cecconi's, as is the case at all its venues. Numerous events are organized every month, from lectures to reserved concerts like the one by Mary J Blige. Added to Soho House Barcelona, whose annual fee is 1,800 euros, is the even more exclusive Little Beach House, located in a renovated 1950s hotel in the coastal town of Garraf, between the Catalan capital and Sitges. It has 17 rooms, panoramic terrace, bar, restaurant, spa and private beach.
As happened in New York, the arrival of Soho, and the other London franchise Hedges Club, opened the ban on private clubs. In fact, if in Madrid there are examples of success such as El Matadero, in Barcelona this type of offer has found especially fertile ground, and in recent years the openings capable of refreshing the former glory, somewhat bombastic, of the Círculo del Círculo have multiplied. Lyceum (1847) and the Equestrian Circle (1856).
Fortunately times have changed and also the misogyny of certain environments seems to have been overcome. So much so that in the Eixample there is a club dedicated exclusively to women. It is Juno House, founded by a team of Spanish and North American businesswomen with the purpose of promoting the personal and professional development of women.
Special attention to its members is also reserved for The Cover, the first private social club of the Dutch group Sircle Collection, which has just opened inside the five-star Sir Victor hotel, a few meters from Casa Milà. A monthly fee of 150 euros, plus enrollment of 400, allows access to exclusive facilities, such as The Study, a coworking space located on the first floor, which has a collection of books by selected authors in honor of Caterina Albert i Paradís, one of the most renowned Catalan feminist writers of the 19th century.
The club also has an exquisitely decorated leisure and work area on the sixth floor, where masterclasses, small concerts are organized and you can have lunch or a drink, as well as reserve rooms for meetings. In addition to yoga, Pilates, meditation and dance classes, members also have access to a spa and gym with an indoor pool, sauna and water area; On the panoramic terrace of the hotel they have a bar, restaurant and swimming pool.
Liran Wizman, founder and owner of the brand, believes that: "Barcelona represents the spirit that has inspired the creation of The Cover, an environment for creative talents and people willing to exchange and share ideas, aspirations and projects: a meeting point between Barcelonans and expatriates who have made this city their new home".
The success of private clubs in Barcelona is something that Isidoro Andaluz, known as The Dream Maker, the creator of the city's iconic venues since the eighties, explains as follows: "People are now looking for security, privacy and quality, something that in Barcelona is already very difficult to find. The truth is that, since 1995, the city has lost a lot of cultural offer and what we now have in abundance are cannabis clubs”.
Eager to solve it, Andaluz has just opened By Safe House, on Bruc street, a place of more than 700 m2 that, paying a monthly fee of 100 euros, works as a meeting point that offers a wide variety of services. On the floor at street level, there is a large space where the member can work, socialize, eat or have a cocktail from the hand of the bartender Antoni Escoda, as well as being guided by the sommelier Anna Solé Lopez among more than 180 wine references . On the lower floor there are two rooms for private parties or work meetings.
If for some private clubs are boring inbred circles of millionaires, in the vision of the Dream Maker, "a club is a cocktail shaker where different ingredients are mixed in their correct proportion: I like to have creative people, musicians, dressmakers or businessmen , foreigners or locals, and sometimes I even open it to the general public, because that way an enriching environment is created from which interesting things always come out, be they friendships or business”.
Conferences, company meetings, monologues, concerts, gastronomic events, it is precisely this combination of office, restaurant, bar and cultural space, which characterizes this new batch of venues for members of the city, of which the first example is 100% Local was The Wild Bunch, founded by the businessman Oriol Bueno in 2018, between the upper neighborhoods of San Gervasi and Putget.
Just like the Nuts Indulgence Club, one of the latest releases, voted for the aesthetics of the twenties, premium spirits and live music, The Wild Brinch also fully embraces the vintage style, with leathers, carpets, jazz and a slight aroma a cigar that transports you to a London of the forties.
For 100 euros a month, the members here have lunch and dinner, meet with clients, play dominoes, work, watch movies, football, attend talks and concerts and even organize trips together. In fact, the club was born with the idea of renewing business relationships, "eliminating labels, surnames, usual ideas and dandruff, to discover that we all want almost the same thing: to have a good time". As Bueno says: "LinkedIn is useful, but having a beer face to face is infinitely more productive."
