Travel & Hotspots

MARIE-CLAIRE IN MALIBU

This week we went for the second time since we've been here to the Soho House in West Hollywood. That's a members-only club where you pay a few thousand dollars a year for membership. To become a member, you need to have a creative profession and at least two friends who are also members and write a recommendation letter for you. Then there's a waiting list where you can easily be on for a few years. But after that, you are a member and can go to all 17 Soho Houses around the world. From London - where the first Soho House is located - to Miami and Istanbul, and soon there will also be one in Amsterdam.
We were there by invitation; that can also happen. Down in a parking garage somewhere on Sunset Boulevard is a door. Behind that door are two ladies at a desk where you give your name (or that of the host). After approval, you can take the elevator up. On the top floor of a tall building overlooking LA is the crème de la crème of Hollywood. They drink a drink at the bar, watch a movie in the screening room, have a snack among the olive trees in the Garden Terrace, or take a dance in the club. There is a relaxed atmosphere and you feel that everyone is left alone. For example, Russell Simmons is sitting alone at a plate of pasta without anyone bothering him.
We eat a steak tartare, drink a gin and tonic with our friends, and take a photo in the infamous photo booth. We dance in the club and enjoy the nighttime view from the balcony. Thus ends a special evening in a special place.