London has long been the heartland for members’ clubs, with exciting new launches taking place seemingly every month – now there are family-friendly options cropping up all over the capital, too, where the kids will have just as much fun as the adults. From design-led spaces and chic soft plays to a crèche with an on-site spa, there’s something to keep everyone happy. Here we’ve rounded up the best family members’ clubs in London.
family members’ clubs in London
B_Together
Situated on St John’s Wood High Street and nestled between upmarket boutiques, this is the smartest new offering on the kids’ club scene. Founded by Maggie Bolger, a pioneer in the child learning and development space (and one of the original names behind fellow club chain Maggie & Rose), B_Together has been designed as a multigenerational destination, with as much thought put into the spaces for the parents as for the kids.
Set across four floors, there’s a beautifully-designed nursery – surely the most stylish in London, with imaginative play areas and an indoor garden to fill the space with oxygen – a soft play area, a lending library curated by Phaidon, a co-working space to make nursery pick-ups and drop-offs a breeze, and a family brasserie, At Feast, which serves crowd-pleasing dishes like quinoa-coated chicken Milanese and grilled bavette steak. Add to that the excellent classes and camps – from bake clubs to joyfully messy art sessions – and it’s no wonder this place has become the go-to for west London families in-the-know.
Maggie and Rose
their first location in Kensington in 2006. Now there are three across the capital, with newer outposts in Chiswick and Islington, as well as branches abroad in Hong Kong and mainland China. Each of the clubhouses comes with its own Ofsted-registered nursery and are full of spaces to stimulate play and learning, whether it’s their gorgeous soft-play areas – complete with slides and multicoloured ball pits – or their outdoor treehouses and roof terraces.
Every month there’s a jam-packed schedule of events for all the family, from movie nights in the cosy cinema rooms (complete with popcorn and blankets) to superhero-themed discos, while their creative classes take place in purpose-built studios – our favourite is the double decker bus in the garden at the Chiswick site, which also doubles up as a brilliant kids’ birthday party venue. Best of all, the adult lounges and co-working spaces are as stylish as those you’d find in any other private members’ club in London.
Cloud Twelve
Tucked away in a pretty mews in Notting Hill, Cloud Twelve is a high-end haven for kids and adults alike. Founded by former fund manager, herbalist and naturopath Jenya Di Pierro, the club was created as a third space between work and home, somewhere families could come and spend time together as well as find their own ways to relax or get creative. The three-storey site houses an interactive magical forest-themed play zone, where kids can enjoy everything from drama and singing to a spot of zoology – but it’s the upper floors the adults will be most interested in.
Situated on the first floor you’ll find a Feng Shui-designed spa offering a wide range of treatments, from Ayurvedic massage to mani-pedis – we recommend trying their signature Katie Brindle facial, which uses lymphatic drainage and acupressure techniques powered by ancient Chinese knowledge to depuff, tone and lift. Meanwhile, the second floor features five wellness clinic rooms where you can book in for everything from acupuncture and osteopathy to cryotherapy sessions. Sustainability is a key pillar here, too, with the menu at both the kids’ club and brasserie being plant-based (there’s also organic wine on offer at the latter).
Purple Dragon
This enormous family club in Chelsea stretches to 14,000 square feet and features over a hundred different activities guaranteed to tire even the busiest of little bodies out, from Boomwacker Bounce sessions in the music room to Simply Sensory in the art lab (which comes with its own miniature pottery wheels) and Michelin Masters in the Gourmet Gofers classes. Kids will particularly love the range of sports simulation machines and the in-house 15-metre swimming pool.
Parents can join in with the fun or leave their children in the very capable hands of the club’s Play Buddies (who speak 26 different languages, from Mandarin and Spanish to Cantonese and Arabic) as they relax in the lounge or library. All of the adventures here are Montessori-led, meaning kids will learn independence, resilience, teamwork and confidence while they’re playing. Though the emphasis here is firmly on fun, there’s an educational framework to everything Purple Dragon does, meaning kids are constantly learning without even realising it.
Peace + Riot
This new spot in leafy West Dulwich is a social club with a difference – a kitchen, bar and workspace with on-site childcare during the day and a buzzy neighbourhood restaurant by night. Housed in a beautiful former bank building, inside is all minimal Scandi interiors, with blonde wood benches for working on and enormous feature windows to let in the light. Parents tap away on laptops or catch up with friends over coffee and cake while their little ones are occupied by the on-site Peace Keepers, who’ll entertain your kids at the play stations around the room, which are filled with jigsaw puzzles, board books and stacking blocks.
As well as the two main rooms, there’s a decked garden (which is handily covered and heated in the winter) out the back where the kids can run around and play on mini slides, and there are regular events held both indoors and out, from singalong sessions with Bea’s Baby Bop to twice-weekly story times. While members get priority access, special perks and free childcare slots, non-members are welcome to drop in anytime, with hour and a half-long sessions available from £10 per child.
Jaego’s House
This new development in the heart of Kensal Rise is opening in summer 2022 and looks set to be the capital’s grandest family club yet. Housed in a beautiful Grade II-listed building and spanning more than 20,000 square feet, the Jaego’s House community hub will feature a state-of-the-art jungle gym, soft play, crèche and kids’ cinema, alongside an adults-only co-working office, gym and treatment room. The club will also house a restaurant and waterside café, as well as a fitness studio hosting regular classes and child-friendly sessions.
As part of this new venture, they’re also opening Kensal House Nursery, which will sit alongside the club. The nursery will offer a bespoke curriculum drawing on the best of a number of established early years education approaches and following advice from leading childcare experts and parents. Designed as a dynamic and diverse place for young children to learn, play and develop, above all the club will be a judgement-free zone, where kids can let off steam, make a mess and throw the odd tantrum and no one will bat an eyelid.
