Home House London - Private Member’s Club

London was among the birthplaces of the luxury hotel, and it was an early adopter of the boutique-hotel trend as well. But the most uniquely London form of hospitality just might be the member’s club. These meeting places have historically been approximately one part shared workspace to two parts secret society, and they’re exclusive by nature — not simply exclusive in the modern sense, meaning “expensive,” but truly selective about its clientele. Lately, though, a few of them, like Marylebone’s venerable Home House, have offered another path to (temporary) membership: if you can demonstrate that you’ve got the good taste to book a room for the night, then you’re a member for the duration of your stay.

Home House lies on Portman Square, just off of Oxford Street, around the corner from Selfridge’s and mere streets from Hyde Park. It’s essentially hiding in plain sight, a discreet trio of Georgian townhouses, and you’ll immediately notice the old-world approach to service — private club staff are exceedingly capable and accommodating without being chirpy or solicitous.

The style remains true, for the most part, to the club’s Georgian-era roots, with some dramatically contemporary exceptions: the reception and bar feature furnishings by Zaha Hadid which look like something beamed in from some advanced interstellar civilization. The rooms, meanwhile, are as classic as they come, every one different in layout and décor, with modern comforts to complement their 18th-century style.

Perhaps more important than the accommodations are the club’s (semi-)public spaces, which include a pair of restaurants as well as no fewer than three bars and a handful of lounges and drawing rooms as well. It’s here that you’ll mingle — discreetly, of course — with not only hotel guests but club members as well. That, more than the location, the amenities, or the style of the rooms, is the key to the appeal of a place like Home House.