Soho House is doubling down on the desert, but critics wonder if the brand is just chasing a mirage.
The global member’s only club has officially announced the “Soho Desert House Palm Springs,” a seven-acre wellness retreat set in California’s Coachella Valley with sweeping views of the San Jacinto Mountains. The property will feature club spaces, 17 bedrooms and a sprawling 185-foot pool, along with its signature “Soho Health Club” wellness offerings.
On paper, it’s classic Soho House: exclusive, design-forward and tailor-made for the influencer set. But behind the glossy rollout lies a brand grappling with a very-unglamorous reality — declining cachet, sup-par service and food, internal shakeups and growing complaints that the once coveted club just isn’t that cool anymore.
Slated for a full opening in 2027, the property is a re-imagining of a 1920’s estate originally built as an artists’ colony. But as the brand prepares to offer hyberbaric oxygen therapy and cold plunges to the Coachella crowd, the company itself is the one gasping for air.
The Palm Springs project marks a renewed push into the desert after Soho House abruptly scrapped earlier plans for a members-only club in 2023, and is part of a broader expansion push that includes new houses in Tokyo, New York and Los Cabos.
Industry insiders note the move feels more like a push for retention rather than expansion, and “teasing” the new houses “may aim to stem cancellations among West Coast members, leveraging the ‘promise’ of future relief to maintain revenue streams,” according to Soho House Insider.
Once the ultimate status symbol for creatives and celebrities, Soho House now finds itself facing a very modern problem: too many members, not enough mystique.
With almost 50 houses around the world, the brand has ballooned with reportedly more than 200,000 members across its locations—but insiders say growth has diluted the exclusivity that attracted them to begin with.
Complaints about overcrowding, long wait, and slipping service have become increasingly common, with some likening the experience to a “WeWork with better cocktails.”
The struggles aren’t just cultural—they’re financial.
Despite membership revenue, Soho House has reportedly struggled to turn consistent profits since going public in 2021. That turbulence culminated earlier this year in a $2.7 billion deal to take the company private again.
As part of that overhaul, the company has already begun tightening its membership base—reportedly cutting hundreds of members in cities like New York, Miami and Los Angeles.
At the same time, Soho House is facing stiff competition from never, more exclusive clubs like San Vicente Bungalows (SVB) in LA and Casa Cipriani in New York–both of why have managed to maintain a tighter grip on their guest list.
“It’s not nearly as exclusive as it once was, the prestige isn’t there,” one Soho member wrote on Reddit.
“SVB is definitely better now (i have never been bc im a pleb but from what i hear),” another user chimed in.
Membership has become easier to obtain, prices have climbed into the thousands per year, and the once-elusive vibe now feels mass market.
The Palm Springs location seems designed to rebrand Soho House as a destination experience—less overcrowded, more curated. But whether a desert outpost can restore its fading allure remains to be seen.
