Soho House opened its first American club in New York’s Meatpacking District in 2003 as a home for creative outsiders. Today it has more than 270,000 members around the world. Here is what happened, what it costs, and whether it is still worth joining.

Soho House New York at a glance

Location 29-35 Ninth Avenue, Meatpacking District
Opened 2003, the company’s first club in North America
Inside Six floors, a rooftop pool, a screening room, a Cowshed spa and 44 bedrooms
Cost From $666.75 a quarter, about half that for members under 27
Global size More than 270,000 members and 46 clubs in 18 countries (2025)
Owner Taken private in a $2.7 billion deal led by MCR Hotels, agreed in 2025
Best for A first club, especially for people in creative industries

In September 2003, one of the first films shown in the new screening room at Soho House New York was Kill Bill: Volume 1. That year, the London club had just opened its first house in North America, in a former warehouse on Ninth Avenue, and 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” had spent a month at number one, according to Soho House‘s own retelling.

Soon after, the rooftop pool appeared on Sex and the City, and the Meatpacking District’s most exclusive address became famous across America. Everyone wanted in.

Two decades later, a lot of them got in. That is the story of Soho House: a club so successful that it had to answer the hardest question in the members club business. What happens when the secret gets out?

What is Soho House New York?

Soho House New York is a private members club at 29-35 Ninth Avenue in the Meatpacking District, set over six floors of a former warehouse near the High Line. It opened in 2003 and has a rooftop pool, a members-only restaurant, a screening room, a Cowshed spa and 44 bedrooms, according to Soho House.

It belongs to a global group founded by Nick Jones in London in 1995, originally as a home for people in film, media and the arts who did not fit into the city’s old-fashioned gentlemen’s clubs. That founding idea still shapes the rules. Soho House is famous for preferring creative people to corporate ones, and its house rules ban cameras and recording inside.

How much does Soho House New York cost?

Membership at Soho House New York starts at $666.75 a quarter, or about $2,667 a year, and members under 27 pay roughly half, according to Soho House. A membership that covers every house around the world costs more. There is also a Soho Friends membership, which costs about $130 a year in the US but does not include access to the houses themselves.

Those prices make Soho House one of the most accessible well-known clubs in Manhattan. You can pay more for a gym. The question is not whether you can afford to join. It is whether you will actually use it.

Is Soho House still exclusive?

Soho House is less exclusive than it was in 2003, simply because it is much bigger. The company had more than 270,000 members worldwide and 46 clubs in 18 countries when it agreed to be taken private in a $2.7 billion deal in 2025, according to Fortune.

Here is the friendly comparison that every Soho House member has heard at least once. Starbucks did not stop making good coffee when it opened its ten-thousandth store. It just stopped being the place you went to feel like you had discovered something. Soho House has a similar problem. The rooftop is still lovely. You just are no longer the only one who knows about it.

Demand has not slowed down, though. The company reported a waitlist of more than 79,000 people, according to The Points Guy. A club that tens of thousands of people are still waiting to join has not lost its appeal. It has changed what it is selling: less secret hideout, more global membership card.

Who bought Soho House, and why?

In August 2025, Soho House agreed to be taken private in a $2.7 billion deal led by MCR Hotels, a New York hotel owner and operator, with backing from Apollo Global Management and Goldman Sachs Alternatives, according to Fortune. Shareholders were offered $9 a share in cash, an 83% premium to the stock price before the deal was announced, and the actor Ashton Kutcher joined the board.

Fortune also noted that Soho House had never turned a profit since its founding in 1995. So why pay $2.7 billion? Because the buyers were not buying restaurants. They were buying more than a quarter of a million people who pay every year, a list that would take decades to build from scratch. Our hub on why the rich pay for private clubs explains the economics.

Is Soho House New York worth it?

Soho House New York is worth it if you will go at least once a week, and especially if you travel. At around $2,667 a year, a member who uses the house twice a week pays roughly $25 a visit for a quiet place to work, a reliable table and a rooftop in summer. A member who visits twice a year pays more than $1,300 a visit for the privilege of saying they belong.

The houses in other cities are the hidden value. For members who travel for work, an every-house membership turns dozens of cities into places with a familiar living room. Our honest breakdown of whether a private club is worth the money runs the numbers for every major Manhattan club.

How do you join Soho House?

You apply online through the Soho House website, and applications are reviewed by a membership committee that favors people in creative industries. A reference from an existing member helps but is not always required. Waits can be long in New York, and the club does not always explain its decisions.

The best advice is the same at every club: describe what you would bring to the house, not what the house would do for you. Our hub on how to get into a private club in NYC covers committees, sponsors and waitlists.

The house that taught New York to want a club

Whatever you think of its size today, Soho House changed New York. Before 2003, private clubs in Manhattan mostly meant oak paneling, old families and a dress code. Soho House showed a younger generation that a club could be a place for creative people to work, swim and meet each other. Nearly every club that opened after it, from Zero Bond to The Twenty Two, borrowed something from that idea.

So if the Meatpacking rooftop is busier than it used to be, that is partly because Soho House convinced the whole city it wanted to be up there. That is not a failure. That is a legacy. For how Soho House compares with the newer clubs, see our ranking of the best private clubs in NYC, and for the full story, our guide to the velvet rope wars.

Frequently asked questions

When did Soho House New York open?
Soho House New York opened in 2003 in the Meatpacking District. It was the company’s first club in North America. One of the first films shown in its screening room, in September 2003, was Kill Bill: Volume 1, according to Soho House.

Can you go to Soho House without being a member?
Generally only as a member’s guest. Members can bring up to three guests at a time, and guests must leave when the member leaves. Some Soho House bedrooms and restaurants can be booked by non-members, and the Cowshed spa offers treatments to the public.

How many members does Soho House have?
Soho House had more than 270,000 members worldwide and 46 clubs in 18 countries as of mid-2025, according to Fortune. The company has also reported a waitlist of more than 79,000 people.

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