Club Room — Restaurant in New York

WORST EXPERIENCE AT THE CLUB ROOM * – A Serious Stain on Grand Soho Hotel’s Reputation*

My husband and I spent nearly a week at the Grand Soho Hotel, and while most of our stay was pleasant, our experience at The Club Room on Friday, the 2nd, was deeply disappointing and honestly unacceptable.

We arrived at 7:30 PM to enjoy the live jazz show. We paid a \$20 cover charge per person, ordered drinks and snacks, and spent a couple of enjoyable hours there. Around 9:30 PM, we decided to leave briefly to explore another bar before the DJ set began. When we returned at 11:45 PM, the tone of the night changed dramatically.

As we tried to re-enter through the second-floor entrance, the security guard stopped us and said we couldn't go back in because we didn’t have wristbands. His attitude was incredibly condescending—one of the rudest we've ever encountered. We explained politely that we were guests at the hotel, and he dismissively told us, “Talk to Kint, that’s not my business.”

Still maintaining our composure, we walked around to the main entrance on the street level and asked for "Kint." He ignored us until someone else addressed him by name. When I finally got his attention and explained that we were hotel guests trying to re-enter the lounge, his response was shocking:

“I don’t care if you’re staying in the hotel. I’m the one who manages this place.”

He told us to get in line like everyone else. We watched as several people were allowed in ahead of us—without wristbands and without paying any cover. When it was finally our turn, we were told the cover was now \$300. It was clear we were being treated unfairly, if not outright discriminated against.

Both “Kint” and the security staff were offensive, rude, and completely unprofessional. We later learned from other hotel employees that this kind of behavior isn’t uncommon, and multiple guests have had problems with this individual and his crew. It’s incredibly disappointing, especially because The Club Room is actively promoted by the Grand Soho Hotel as a perk for guests.

This experience left a bitter impression on what was otherwise a nice stay. The Club Room is a liability to the hotel’s reputation and its guests' overall experience. Management at Grand Soho should seriously reconsider its relationship with the staff running this venue. Until changes are made, I would strongly advise hotel guests to avoid The Club...

On a usual jazz night, the place is very nice, classy ambiance with good drinks. But I cannot agree with the way they run the place on a “clubbing”/party night. For example, this past Saturday while we stayed at the hotel.

To enter the place, you first need to get a stamp. To get it, you’re required to stand outside a squared off area, with a single guy stood in the middle, wait for him to come and PICK YOU. No line, stand anywhere, clear indication of their intentions to filter.

You could be picked within a second if you know him/he knows you or if you fit a certain demographic profile, otherwise, endure the sheer arrogance and be prepared to wait.

Other people work there shared with us that “they give preferential treatment to hotel guest, but they run as independent business on nights like this after 10 pm”.

While we waited, an extremely rude guy just cut through, stood between me and my friend, brought a group, apparently knew the guy PICKING people, started chatting. I said “you just came and stood between me and my friend while we’re also waiting to get in.”, no apology, no nothing and the picking guy told me “you need to step aside”, then let the rude guy and his friends in. Till now I still cannot comprehend this exchange. I regret very much for have not said “no I’m not stepping aside, please apologize first then ask again politely”.

At this point, I really wanted to get in to see what a great party they must have curated with this opaque selective process. Once you’re in, it’s a very small dance floor with extremely gender imbalanced crowd (this is what you created with that selection process??!), and there’s apparently another guy deciding who can stand close to the DJ and who cannot. The tone the hand gestures to wave people out or let them get closer were also extremely condescending. We left within 10 min.s to go somewhere else.

If the group runs this place on a clubbing night is outside contractors hired by the hotel, please seriously consider change this up. If it’s hotel employees, please consider employee training, from basic lesson 101 - respect your guests.

From the squared off area to giving all the power to ONE GUY, let him making selective and preferential decisions based on rules only “the club” knows. This resembles very closely to a certain political regime that’s hugely unpopular in the west. To see this in action in SoHo NYC was astonishing. Why are people putting...

I used to visit Clubroom 2 to 3 times a month, always going alone to enjoy some jazz and occasionally staying for the DJ afterward. Depending on my mood, I’d spend anywhere from $80 to $180 each visit.

However, there’s a staff member, a tall, skinny guy with dyed hair, who has twice told me that I had to spend at least $200 to stay after I asked for the stamp. I always arrive before the DJ starts, for the jazz, and the stamp is needed after 11 p.m. On both occasions, he seemed unaware that I had already been spending money and time there. In fact, last Halloween, I even brought my 7-year-old daughter and wife to enjoy the jazz. But still, he insisted that I needed to spend $200 or leave.

So, I left. I won’t return unless this unreasonable policy is reversed. On those nights, the club barely has enough people spending that much money, and I know the decision was made randomly. I hope someone sees this and realizes that a mandatory $200 minimum spend is unreasonable, and after that, I won’t be spending any more.

People like him shouldn’t be allowed to make decisions like this. As a paying customer, it’s uncomfortable to be confronted like that. The club doesn’t attract many people over 30 with the financial means to spend that much, so either let things happen naturally or make it a rule for everyone. Don’t let an unprofessional staff member set such arbitrary demands. He clearly doesn’t know how to recognize someone who may be wearing a Patek Philippe but only wants to spend $30 in a night and 2k in another, or a guy on the list who shows up already drunk and will only buy one beer.

I’ll give it another shot soon, but I hope I’m not treated as the "stupid guy" who’s expected to spend an unreasonable amount just to stay. The amount he’s asking for probably exceeds what he’ll make working that night...