Best day's pay ever spent
Agree strongly with you, O-D - except that it's only HALF a day's pay for those still serving! An even bigger bargain.
Although it's easy to criticise any establishment, I do suggest that those contributors to this thread who don't take O-D's attitude to the Club are perhaps being rather unfair. The Club is physically constrained by the building's dimensions as to how it can increase its facilities. However, the latest Newsletter says that redundant staff accommodation on the 5th floor is being converted into 10 double/twin bedrooms (planned for opening in Spring 2010) precisely because of the high demand for rooms from members.
Booking as far in advance as you can is always advisable if you want to stay in the Club. When the Club is full, the reservation staff will normally suggest possible accommodation with neighbouring Clubs such as the Cavalry and Guards (literally next door!) or the Caledonian, just a little farther away. You can also ask to be put on a wait list, which I've found does work.
The Trustees and Management of the Club seem to be doing everything they can to encourage serving officers to use the Club, and I'm sure they are also conscious of the long-term threat to the Club which is posed by the steadily reducing number of serving officers. The push to increase the number of Affiliated members and the introduction of Family membership are just two aspects of the way in which that long-term threat is being fought.
The rigid dress code of the past hasn't been relaxed just at weekends. It applies at breakfast throughout the week, and in the Running Horse pub in the basement at all times.
My own non-RAF friends are always hugely impressed when they first visit the Club. For its location, facilities and ambiance it is unrivalled in London. As for the cost, I can only suggest that anyone who thinks it is expensive should enquire as to the cost of joining the RAC Club, or any of the other well-known London clubs. They will then realise what an incredible bargain we have in the RAF Club!
Yes, the dear, departed Brevet Flying Club was also a great place of refuge in the days when the RAF Club was nothing but a stuffy old farts' zone. Happily, the RAF Club has since changed immeasurably for the better.