Simply Abu Dhabi XXVII

T he Soho House style evokes the imaginary home of a hipster Sherlock Holmes or an über-cool Charles Dickens. The aesthetic is quintessentially British and manages to embrace heritage while being strikingly contemporary. Step inside any international house and it only takes a moment to recognise that everything is impeccably curated yet still invitingly comfortable. It’s a look that is unmistakably Soho House and it’s a valuable alchemy that has worked wonders for the brand over the last 21 years. The Soho House empire has evolved from being a small private members’ club founded by Nick Jones above the Café Boheme restaurant at 40 Greek Street in Soho, London, to a portfolio of 18 wildly impressive members’ clubs, hotels, top tier restaurants, spas, cinemas and workspaces in select locations in the most vibrant cities. Soho House is the place to be whether you’re inNew York, London, Berlin, Miami, Istanbul… the list goes on. Jones entered the world of catering as a young man in the 1990s and opened the first Soho House members’ club above his restaurant, specifically for people immersed in the creative industries. If lawyers, bankers and corporate types had their own private clubs, why shouldn’t artistic souls who rejected the uniform of suit, tie and briefcase have an environment of their own? Two decades later and the company’s latest property in London is The Ned – a monumental former bank and architectural masterpiece located within the Square Mile, with a whopping 252 bedrooms, nine restaurants, six private events spaces, spa, gym and, of course, the members’ club. It’s a fitting embodiment of just how far the Soho House brand has travelled.