House of Cards

The once-definitive members-only Soho House is in peril. Where will the rich and famous flock to next?

Last Sunday night, Universal Pictures shut down West Hollywood’s Soho House to celebrate its Oscar haul for “Oppenheimer,” and the anointing of Da’vine Joy Randolph as best supporting actress for “The Holdovers.” Beneath paper lanterns and aged olive trees, Steven Spielberg held court with Nbcuniversal chief content officer Donna Langley and Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.

Charlize Theron and Vin Diesel giddily took laps around the expansive rooftop. John Krasinski dove onto a chaise longue with mock exhaustion while wife Emily Blunt greeted revelers. Christopher Nolan and partner Emma Thomas received thunderous ovation from every corner. Could it have been the last grand ball in the house of Soho?

Recent headlines about the private club would suggest that. Billed as a home for creative types — where screenwriters could linger from breakfast to cocktail hour before executives, movie stars and the glitterati filed in for dinner, all without attracting the prying eyes of the public — Soho House has found itself on the other side of the velvet rope.

Thanks to aggressive expansion, a dismal public offering in 2021 and media reports claiming the club “isn’t cool anymore,” the institution made immortal by “Sex and the City” and countless boozesoaked after-parties is on a downward trajectory.

Hollywood types tend to vote with their feet and their pocketbooks, so as Soho House attempts to stem the bleeding, here are a few posh competitors cutting in on the action.

San Vicente Bungalows

This West Hollywood power den has been giving Soho House a run for its money since it opened in 2018. Owner Jeff Klein created a multiroom dining experience so exclusive that non-members must cover cellphone cameras with stickers if they wish to enter. A library, a luxurious screening room and a smattering of guest rooms sweeten the deal. Devotees include Ryan Murphy, CAA’S Kevin Huvane and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

The Bird Streets

This Sunset Boulevard members-only spot attracts deep pockets looking for white-glove service. It is named for the ultra-exclusive Hollywood Hills neighborhood where streets carry names like Blue Jay Way and Skylark Lane, and Leonardo Dicaprio and Jodie Foster keep homes. With perhaps the most generous lighting Hollywood has to offer, the staff hand-engraves guest names into the dining menus. Lebron James, Kris Jenner and agency mogul Casey Wasserman are regulars.

The Right Coast

Let’s not forget that Soho House is an international experience, and plenty of VIPS have other options in New York. Those include the coveted Zero Bond in Manhattan’s Noho neighborhood. Legendary Cipriani opened the members-only Casa Cipriani two years ago in the Battery Maritime Building. And all will be running scared from an eastern expansion of San Vicente Bungalows, which has recruited founding members for its Jane Hotel location.

Restaurants (Gasp!)

Perish the thought, but the waning of Soho House’s power could be a boon for the glossy eateries where the hoi polloi can book a table. Mainstays like West Hollywood’s Craig’s, the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel and Santa Monica’s Giorgio Baldi stand to benefit.