Soho House, the world’s most famous and well-known private members club that boasts a wealth of locations such as London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris and Rome (among others), is finally getting its first Australian house, set to open in the inner Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst (and edging out Melbourne for its first official post in the process).

According to a report by Australian Financial Review, the $20 million three-storey “island site”, which was purchased by the Smorgon family-backed Trenerry Property Group and Kanat Group, offers a 512-square-metre site on Sydney’s Crown Street, and just a short walking distance from Sydney’s iconic Oxford Street.

While Sydney-siders will be thrilled with the recent announcement, Melburnians are feeling the burn after many months of speculation that it was, in fact, going to be the first Australian city with a Soho House club.  In 2021, the consortium paid $18 million for the iconic Poolman House, a historic six-bedroom mansion located in one of Melbourne’s most affluent suburbs, Domain Road South Yarra. The group were forced to abandon plans for a Melbourne Soho House due to strong opposition from the councils of Melbourne, Stonnington and Port Phillip – and its residents.

Though Melbourne will be without a Soho House for the foreseeable future, Sydney’s acquisition of the globally-renowned private members club is exciting, to say the least. The arrival of Soho House Sydney will hopefully inject some life back into the suburb of Darlinghurst and we’re interested to see the details around the House unfold, like its design, member cap and hospitality offerings.

Soho House was founded in 1995 by British millionaire Nick Jones, who set up the first Soho House club on Greek Street in London’s Soho district. Jones designed Soho House to be a ‘home away from home’ for members of creative industries, but have since become a haven for celebrities, influencers, content creators and those who work in the fields of creativity, media and the arts.

Soho House Sydney
Soho House Melbourne renders

In November of this year, Jones officially announced his stepping down as chief executive after a serious health scare. Not including the Soho House Sydney to come, the brand has 38 establishments around the world, with many more to come.