Courtesy of the Mandarin Oriental
In March, the Mandarin Oriental hotel launched Tai Pan, an exclusive lifestyle club aimed at Washington’s power brokers; its name translates loosely from Mandarin Chinese as “high-powered executives and entrepreneurs.” Tai Pan is designed as an urban country club, offering an array of high-end amenities including access to the hotel’s gym, pool, and spa, a full-service concierge, and two chauffeured Audis.
The club seeks to attract influential businesspeople, entrepreneurs, politicians, and lobbyists as members, who will have access to the recently renovated 2,200-square-foot clubhouse on the hotel’s eighth floor. Decorated with Asian accents, the clubhouse features a 20-seat bar, a small lounge, a 20-seat dining room, Wi-Fi-equipped business facilities (with a formal desk and conference table), a library, and an outdoor terrace for 20—complete with views of the Washington Monument. But access to Tai Pan’s meeting and event space comes at a hefty price: Members pay a $9,000 initiation fee and $425 in dues each month. Hotel guests who are not members do not have access to the club’s facilities.
