Virgin to open 'connected' members club

Virgin Media has announced plans to temporarily open a "connected" private members' club in London later this month.

The club, dubbed Our House in reference to the cable operator's latest marketing campaign, will take over the House of St Barnabas in Central London from March 28 until April 21.

Our House will feature seven rooms, a bar, private garden and even its own chapel. Each of the seven rooms will be equipped with a different Virgin Media product, including The Broadband Lounge featuring 100Mbps fibre broadband, and The TiVo Lounge showcasing the next generation TV service powered by TiVo.

Open Monday to Friday between 9am and 11pm, Our House will also host a variety of events, including film screenings, acoustic gigs and launch parties.

Membership to the club is free, but by invite only from Virgin Media. Members will be able to get tickets for events, as well as book meeting rooms and order refreshments.

In support of the St Barnabas charity, Virgin Media will vacate the house on April 21 leaving all of the cabling infrastructure up and running.

Simon Dornan, head of PR campaigns at Virgin Media, said: "The superiority of our network really has to be seen to be believed. It's all very well boasting about how fast our 100Mbps broadband is or how compelling our new TiVo-powered TV service is, but we want people to experience it for themselves.

"Our House is the perfect vehicle to do that - a Central London private members' club offering superb connectivity with the latest technology and entertainment, as well as a chance to support a worthy organisation."

Our House will be supported by various partners of the Virgin Group, including Sony, Nokia, Grey Goose vodka, Nespresso, Teapigs and Tyrrells.