Still, The Chateau in Camberwell offers a possible template for a new, more affordable kind of queer venue. Their business model is incredibly admirable, but clearly unrealistic for anyone without independent wealth. Owners Lucy Fenton and Phil Hunt say they opened their "unconventional neighbourhood public house" in 2018 to create a "space where the LGBTQ community and other people living an alternative lifestyle can be themselves".Įveryone's welcome, but Fenton reckons around 80 percent of their customers are LGBTQ, and says: "We’re all about bringing the greatest diversity of people together." Their super-inclusive entertainment programme has made The Apple Tree a destination for queer folks who may feel alienated by more traditional gay venues. Like LICK, The Apple Tree in Clerkenwell provides an alternative to older venues that have often catered mainly to cis gay men. Still, she concedes that "we definitely still need more ", adding: "As long as they’re being started for the right reasons and run in the correct way, then the more, the merrier." Since LICK opened its permanent space in Vauxhall last summer, Edwardes says she's seen "a lot of new nights" launched as "people have realised how just popular and needed" they are. All these elements have created something that people have embraced and really run with." Co-owner John Sizzle told VICE last year: "The reason we make money is because we work bloody hard and our emphasis has been not on profit, but on glamour and fun and entertainment and theatre and community. Call me!"Īlso flourishing is The Glory, which this month celebrates five years of bringing forward-thinking drag and off-the-wall parties to an east London area it's playfully renamed "Faggerston". "If some rich sugar daddy with deep pockets wants to buy the RVT for the community and protect the UK's first Grade II listed queer building forever, we have plans. "While that's the case we need to be vigilant," he warns.
The RVT Future campaign's Rob Holley says this historic south London venue is now "flourishing" as a business, but points out it's still owned by the same Austrian property development company that wanted to flip it for a profit. Thanks to a grassroots campaign to protect it from property developers, for example, the future of the Royal Vauxhall Tavern looks less precarious than it did five years ago.
All the rooms are equipped with amenities befitting memebers’ status, like rainfall showers, private balconies, and house-bottled cocktails from the bar.Still, instead of blaming dating apps for killing off gay bars, it's important to highlight the exciting ways in which the scene continues to evolve. All of the rooms are decorated with art made from the H Club’s own Club Art Program along with invaluable antiques curated from around the globe. On weekends, guests can enjoy a special bottomless brunch menu with favorites like avocado toast, eggs Benedict, and smoked salmon with scrambled eggs.įinally, there are the 18 boutique hotel rooms. Here, members will find a brasserie-style menu in a beautiful and modern setting. When guests get hungry, The Hospital Club restaurant is located on the second floor. There is also a fully-equipped television studio with state-of-the-art equipment for memebers to produce whatever kind of content they need. Filmmakers and cinephiles alike will be able to utilize the building’s private screening room for a private shows, press launches, corporate meetings, and pitches. The building also has a large event space that is perfect concerts or speaking engagements. There are several coworking and meeting spaces here, but that is just the beginning. Memebers of The Hospital Club will first and foremost find a place to connect with likeminded creatives. The Hospital Club has another location is Los Angeles, and membership to one automatically grants access to the other. Known as “London’s Home For Creatives”, this beautiful building is located in the center of Covent Garden in London. The Hospital Club, now known as the H Club, is an exclusive social club with seven stories of incredible facilities and 18 boutique bedrooms for memevers to take advantage of.