Bath & Racquets Club

Spear’s Review

This most exclusive gentlemen’s gym is located in a Mayfair mews. At the Bath & Racquets Club there’s a stringent selection process: a candidate is proposed and then seconded by two existing members, letters are written to support the application, and finally the club’s committee must assess suitability.

Those who do make the cut can play squash, take classes and pay a visit to the barber, steam room or masseuse, as long as club kit is worn while training. The late Mark Birley’s classically designed club – now part of the group owned by Richard Caring – has art-lined walls, antique rugs, comfortable sofas to relax in and a bar serving an all-day menu. With a waiting list for new members, Birley’s intention to create ‘a place that will make its members want to exercise’ is certainly being realised.