The practical split is access. The Ned lets anyone book a hotel room and walk into its public restaurants; only the club floors are members-only. At Soho House, the bedrooms are mostly for members and their guests. Soho House is the global creative network; The Ned is the grand hotel with a club bolted on.
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People treat these two as interchangeable London members' clubs, and they aren't. The thing that decides most bookings is access. At The Ned you can reserve a hotel room like any other hotel and use its public restaurants without belonging to anything; the members-only part sits upstairs. At Soho House, the bedrooms are tied to membership, so a non-member generally needs a member to book.
Soho House is the bigger story by reach. Founded in 1995 by Nick Jones above his Café Boheme in London's Soho, it has grown to more than 40 Houses worldwide (about 46 as of 2025) and a creative-industries membership in the hundreds of thousands, with bedrooms at many locations and its own Cowshed spa brand. It is a network you carry from city to city.
The Ned is a smaller, grander idea. It opened in 2017 inside the former Midland Bank headquarters in the City of London, all marble columns and a vast banking hall of restaurants, then added The Ned NoMad in New York and a Doha outpost in 2022 and a Ned's Club in Washington, D.C. in 2025. Choose Soho House for the global club and the crowd; choose The Ned for a room you can simply book in a landmark building. Full case below.
| Soho House | The Ned | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Global creative members' club network | Grand hotel with members' club layered on |
| Founded | 1995, Soho, London (Nick Jones) | 2017, City of London (Soho House + Sydell) |
| Locations | 40+ Houses worldwide (~46 in 2025) | London, New York, Doha, Washington D.C. |
| Book a room as non-member | Mostly members & their guests | Yes, hotel rooms open to all |
| Public restaurants | Members & guests | Several ground-floor outlets open to all |
| Membership crossover | No crossover into Ned's Club | Top global tier adds Soho House access |
| Best for | The network, the crowd, multi-city | A bookable room in a landmark |
What you get: Access to a worldwide club of creative-industry members, with relaxed, design-led Houses, bedrooms at many of them, Cowshed spas, and the same membership working from London to Los Angeles.
The point of Soho House is reach and crowd, not any one building. A membership opens Houses across the UK, Europe, the Americas and Asia, which is genuinely useful if you move between cities for work and want a familiar base each time. Many Houses have bedrooms, so members and their guests can stay on, and the in-house Cowshed spa and members' events round out the experience. It is the more social, lower-key, no-suits environment of the two.
Honest trade-off: The bedrooms are tied to membership, so it is not a hotel you can simply book if you don't belong. House rules limit phones and photography in social areas, and applications can take time and be declined. The vibe is the product, which is great if you're part of the crowd and flat if you aren't. Who this isn't for: travellers who just want a room tonight without joining a club, and families with young children.
Weighted: Network 25%, Design 20%, Access / Dining / Rooms 15% each, Value 10%. Scores are HotelsForKings editorial judgments, not guest review averages.
What you get: A grand, openly bookable hotel room in a landmark building, plus a stack of ground-floor restaurants you can use without belonging, with a members' club and rooftop layered above.
The Ned's appeal is that it behaves like a hotel first. The London original turned a 1920s banking hall into a sweep of restaurants under the old columns, and you can book a room and eat there without any membership, which is exactly what most travellers want. The New York outpost, The Ned NoMad, brought the format to a landmark Manhattan address, and Doha and Washington extended it. It is grander and more occasion-feeling than a typical Soho House, and the public spaces do a lot of the work.
Honest trade-off: The best bits, the rooftop and club floors, are members-only, so a hotel guest doesn't get the full run of the building. The footprint is tiny next to Soho House, so it is not a multi-city network you can lean on. London can feel busy and event-heavy in the public hall. Who this isn't for: travellers chasing a quiet retreat, or anyone who wanted the rooftop included with a room.
Weighted: Network 25%, Design 20%, Access / Dining / Rooms 15% each, Value 10%. Scores are HotelsForKings editorial judgments, not guest review averages.
Book Soho House when you want the network and the crowd: a membership that follows you across cities, design-led Houses, and a base in town after town. It earns its place if you're part of the creative-industries world it's built for, and the multi-city access is the real prize.
Book The Ned when you want a grand room you can actually reserve without joining anything, in a landmark building with restaurants open to all. It's the simpler choice for a one-off stay; Soho House is the better long-game if you'll use the club worldwide. They don't share memberships, so plan around whichever you actually hold.
Off peak pricing, suite upgrades, and subscriber only offers, flagged only when the value is real.
These work differently. At The Ned, anyone can book a hotel room and use the hotel restaurants and lobby without a membership; only the club floors and Ned's Club spaces are members-only. At Soho House, the bedrooms are primarily for members and their guests, so a non-member usually books through or alongside a member. If you just want a room you can book outright, The Ned is the simpler option.
They are linked but run as separate clubs. The Ned was created by Soho House together with the Sydell Group, and the two share a common major investor, but memberships do not cross over: a Soho House membership does not get you into Ned's Club and vice versa. You can hold both, and The Ned's top-tier global membership does add access across both networks.
Soho House runs more than 40 Houses worldwide (around 46 as of 2025) across the UK, Europe, the Americas and Asia, several with bedrooms. The Ned is a much smaller, grander set: London (2017, in the former Midland Bank headquarters), The Ned NoMad in New York (2022), Doha (2022) and a Ned's Club in Washington, D.C. (2025).
Neither is really a family hotel; both are adult, design-led members' clubs where the energy is dining, drinking and socialising. The Ned is the more workable of the two with children because its hotel rooms are openly bookable and some areas are open to all hours, but children's access to club spaces is restricted. For a genuine family trip, a resort brand will serve you far better.
Soho House pricing varies by tier and region and is set by the club; The Ned London membership runs around £4,000 a year, and the newer Ned's Club D.C. starts with a $5,000 joining fee plus $5,000 a year. The Ned's top global membership, which spans both Ned and Soho House locations, is a $100,000 one-time fee plus $15,000 a year. Always confirm current rates with the club.
At The Ned, yes for several of the ground-floor restaurants in the old banking hall, which are open to the public, while the rooftop and club areas are members-only. At Soho House, dining is generally members-and-guests only. If eating in the room without a membership matters, The Ned is again the more open of the two.