The Most Important Members-Only Private Clubs in New York City Right Now

There was a moment, not that long ago, when it felt like everyone in New York had retreated to their kitchen islands in the Hamptons, their Zoom backgrounds carefully curated and their social lives reduced to a grid of faces. Now, years after the first pandemic shock, the city is fully awake again — and one of the clearest signs is the quiet, relentless rise of the private members-only club. As I wrote in The Late Autumn Edit, the city’s social life is finally exhaling again — and nowhere is that clearer than in the revival of the private club.

Not the old-line clubs your grandfather joined in the 1970s. And not the Instagrammy speakeasies that pretend to be hard to get into. The new generation of clubs are expensive, intensely curated, and deeply intentional about who’s in the room. They’re where serious money, serious culture, and serious hospitality meet — with wellness suites, world-class dining, high design, and a level of privacy that’s priceless in a city that never stops watching.

Some of the pandemic-era upstarts didn’t make it. Others — like Soho House and Zero Bond — still have their fans, but no longer define the cutting edge. NeueHouse closed in 2025. Fasano is gone. The scene has shifted.

If you’re trying to understand where the real New York power-and-pleasure circuits are running right now, these are the names that matter.

why private clubs are hotter than ever in 2025

Part of the story is obvious: privacy. After years of life lived online, there’s a renewed appetite for rooms where no one’s filming and no one’s live-tweeting dinner. But there’s more than that at work.

First, there’s curation. In an era when anyone with a credit card and a social media account can technically reserve a table anywhere, the truly affluent are paying for a narrower aperture: edited environments, familiar faces, a sense that the chaos has been filtered out. Luxury now is less about spectacle and more about curation — a theme that runs through our Ultimate Luxury Holiday Gifts guide this year

Second, there’s ritual. The best of these clubs are not just office replacements or restaurants with a velvet rope. They’re vertical villages: places to work, take a meeting, get a facial, change for dinner, and end the night in a piano bar that feels like a movie set.

Third, there’s signaling. The old university and “good family” clubs have lost some of their aura. Today’s luxury club signals that you’re part of a global tribe: of founders, financiers, creatives, and collectors who move between London, Dubai, Miami, and New York with the same membership card in their wallet.

Against that backdrop, here are the members-only clubs that actually matter in New York City right now.

the most important private members-only clubs in nyc right now

1. aman club new york.

If you want to understand the current top of the pyramid, start here. The Aman Club inside Aman New York, in the old Crown Building at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, is widely reported to be the most expensive private club in the city: a reported $200,000 initiation fee, with annual dues around $15,000.

The payoff? A sanctuary more than a scene. Members have access to one of the most lavish urban spas in the world, a serene pool that looks like a Bond villain’s lair, a cigar lounge, private dining rooms, and quietly spectacular suites and residences. This is where you go if your main priorities are privacy, wellness, and the kind of service that anticipates your needs before you articulate them.

What’s special: hush-luxe design, world-class spa and wellness, and the global Aman aura. When people say “old money energy,” this is what they mean in 2025. Aman Club sits at the intersection of travel, ritual, and privacy — the same balance we explored in our Luxury Traveler’s Edit of New York.

2. core club.

CORE has been part of New York’s elite landscape since 2005, but its recent move into a 60,000-square-foot flagship at 711 Fifth Avenue effectively rebooted the brand. The new space spans four floors just south of Central Park, with serious contemporary art, outdoor terraces, dining rooms, screening rooms, workspaces, and a level of design that feels more museum than office.

Membership here is for people who do deals, not content. Published reports put annual dues somewhere between roughly $15,000 and $100,000 depending on tier — and that’s before you start actually spending money inside.

What’s special: this is a true power club. If you want to know what the top end of finance, tech, and global business are thinking about, it’s being discussed in a corner banquette here.

3. colette at the gm building.

If CORE is the power club, Colette is the office-in-the-clouds fantasy. Located on the 37th floor of the General Motors Building at 767 Fifth Avenue, Colette has been described as “WeWork for the 0.01%” — with an initiation fee around $125,000 and annual dues reported at about $36,000, capped at roughly 300 members.

Inside, it’s less startup and more salon. Think: natural light, art, sound-insulated offices, boardrooms that look like gallery spaces, and Coco’s — the members-only restaurant that’s become one of the most discreet power-lunch settings in Midtown. The clientele skews global: hedge-fund principals, founders, family offices, and the advisors who orbit them.

What’s special: it’s where office, restaurant, and private club converge in one very expensive, very Fifth Avenue package.

4. casa cipriani.

Set in the Beaux-Arts grandeur of the Battery Maritime Building at the southern tip of Manhattan, Casa Cipriani remains one of the most glamorous rooms in the city. The club is all Deco-inflected wood, brass, and rich upholstery, with terraces that look out over New York Harbor, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Statue of Liberty.

Membership fees, by recent accounts, include an initiation of about $2,000 (with a lower tier for under-30s) and annual dues around $3,900.

This is the place for black-tie galas, charity dinners, and evenings that feel like an old movie — with better lighting and better food. The crowd is a mix of legacy wealth, fashion, music, and Euro-adjacent glamour. It’s also one of the few truly family-friendly private clubs at this level. Casa Cipriani’s calendar often reads like a condensed version of The Luxury Almanac: art dinners, fashion fêtes, and late-night gatherings with heritage flair.

What’s special: cinematic harbor views, Cipriani hospitality, and a social calendar that runs from art-world dinners to royal-adjacent charity events.

5. maxime’s.

Robin Birley — the man behind some of London’s most famous and famously secretive clubs — has finally given New York its own outpost in the form of Maxime’s, on Madison Avenue in the former Westbury Hotel space. The club, which opened in 2025 at 848 Madison, is purpose-built for Upper East Side discretion: polished, layered, and resolutely off-Instagram.

Exact membership fees are closely guarded, but reporting consistently places Maxime’s in the upper tier of New York’s private clubs, with invitation-only admission and a dress code that leans more “Mayfair in 1968” than “downtown in sneakers.”

What’s special: it’s the most London thing to happen to the UES in years — a true dining-driven, old-world-meets-new-money club where the soundtrack is hushed conversation and the occasional clink of very good crystal.

6. san vicente west village.

San Vicente West Village is the New York outpost of L.A.’s San Vicente Bungalows, and it has arrived with exactly the sort of whisper-level hype you’d expect. The club opened in 2025 at 115 Jane Street, beside the former Jane Hotel party space, with interiors by Rose Uniacke and an amenity mix that includes dining rooms, screening spaces, studios, and a rooftop terrace.

Membership is by nomination only. Recent reporting indicates initiation fees in the roughly $3,000 to $15,000 range, with annual dues between about $1,800 and $4,200 depending on age, plus monthly charges.

What’s special: an L.A. sensibility — strict no-photos policy, ultra-careful curation, and high-profile entertainment and art-world members — translated into a moody, West Village townhouse-style setting. If someone invites you, clear your calendar.

7. the ned nomad.

The Ned NoMad, from the group behind Soho House, occupies the historic Johnston Building near Madison Square Park. It’s part boutique hotel, part private club. Membership gives access to the members-only spaces, including the rooftop with its city views and Cecconi’s-adjacent hospitality.

Membership tiers reported in the press include annual dues of around $5,000 with a joining fee of about $1,500; there are reduced rates for existing Soho House members and an under-30 tier.

The vibe is fashion-media-creative, but more grown-up than the original Soho House era. Less influencer, more editorial director.

What’s special: a beautifully restored building, a strong restaurant and bar program, and a membership profile that tilts toward the global creative class.

8. zz’s club.

If your idea of a great club is built around dining rather than desks, ZZ’s Club at Hudson Yards is one to know. From Major Food Group — the team behind Carbone — this private club spans multiple floors with two marquee restaurants (including Carbone Privato), club bars, and lounges, all wrapped in lavish Ken Fulk interiors.

Membership isn’t cheap: the official membership page for New York lists an individual membership with a $20,000 initiation fee and $10,000 in annual dues, with higher initiation rates for dual or corporate memberships.

What’s special: it’s one of the purest expressions of members-only dining in the city right now — a place where the food, the room, and the guest list are equally high-gloss. As we’ve seen in our Extra Fine series, craftsmanship in food is having a renaissance — one reason ZZ’s Club feels so of-the-moment.

9. flyfish club.

Flyfish Club began life as a much-discussed NFT-based concept; in 2025, what actually matters is that it has matured into a genuinely beautiful, members-only seafood club with a serious culinary program and a space that feels considered rather than gimmicky. Eater and other outlets now describe a more traditional membership model layered onto the original token concept. I’ve dined there, and the vibe is similar to Sketch in London: whimsical, maximalist, and fun.

The club’s own FAQ puts annual dues at $3,500 for an individual and $4,000 for a partner/spouse, plus tax. For members who didn’t come in via NFT, there’s also a reported initiation fee of around $1,500.

What’s special: a maritime-leaning, design-driven space that feels more like a hidden yacht club than a tech experiment. It’s a reminder that even in the age of tokens and blockchains, what people really want is a great room, great food, and a guest list that feels like a secret.

have we reached peak private club?

So where does this leave all the legacy institutions — the Union Club, the Metropolitan, the Harmonie Club, the Harvard and Yale clubs, the University Club? They still exist, of course, and remain meaningful to the people who belong to them. But in terms of cultural currency, their center of gravity has shifted.

The new generation of clubs is less about lineage and more about lifestyle. They’re organized not around where you went to college, but around how you live: what you read, where you travel, what you collect, how you work, and how much you’re willing to pay for a day that moves seamlessly from laptop to lunch to low-lit martinis.

A few early pandemic-era experiments have already vanished — The Wing, Fasano Fifth Avenue, even NeueHouse. Others will likely follow. But for now, New York is in a full-blown private-club moment, with different tribes finding their version of a beloved third place high above the street.

Is it a good trend? That depends on where you’re standing. But if you get an invitation to any of the clubs on this list, there’s really only one correct response.

Say yes — and dress accordingly.

faqs: private members-only clubs in new york city

how much does it cost to join a private club in nyc?

It varies widely. At the top end, Aman Club reportedly charges about $200,000 to join plus $15,000 a year. Colette’s initiation is around $125,000 with roughly $36,000 in annual dues. More “accessible” clubs like Casa Cipriani, San Vicente, The Ned NoMad, and Flyfish Club have dues that start in the low- to mid-thousands per year, plus initiation fees.

are these clubs really members-only, or can anyone go if they know someone?

In most cases, you need to be a member or the invited guest of one. Some of the associated hotels and restaurants are open to the public, but the club-only spaces (and certainly the membership benefits) are restricted and often rigorously policed.

how do people actually get in?

Applications typically require more than a form and a credit card. Most of these clubs expect referrals or nominations from existing members, a review by a membership committee, and in some cases an interview. San Vicente, for example, explicitly requires a nomination from a current member.

are old-school clubs in new york still relevant?

They are, but in a different way. Traditional city clubs still offer beautiful rooms, history, and a certain kind of social capital. However, for the current generation of founders, creatives, and global nomads, the energy has shifted to clubs that blend hospitality, wellness, workspaces, and nightlife in one place — places like Aman, CORE, Casa Cipriani, San Vicente, and Colette.

what’s the difference between a coworking club and a social club?

Clubs such as Colette and CORE offer serious workspaces alongside dining and social areas; others, like ZZ’s Club and Flyfish Club, are anchored in food and nightlife; Aman leans into wellness; San Vicente emphasizes privacy and entertainment. The unifying theme is curation: a membership that feels like a network, not a random cross-section of the city.

are any of these clubs worth it if you’re not ultra-wealthy?

For most people, no — these are luxuries within a luxury lifestyle. But for those who can comfortably afford them, the value is less about the square footage and more about who else is there: potential partners, collaborators, clients, and friends, all gathered in a room that feels like it belongs only to them.