Improving your Club for the future

Following the advice and direction by the Victorian Government, your membership was automatically suspended on Monday 23rd March 2020 when the Club initially closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In effect, no charge for membership has been levied to Club Members in the nearly seven (7) months since March 23rd, 2020. Few Clubs have been able to take such an approach for Members during this crisis, and we are pleased that we have been able to do this for our RACV Club Members.

As we continue to navigate this COVID-19 rollercoaster that continues to impact everyday life and has caused interruptions to your Club membership, I am very pleased to offer, as a gesture of goodwill and in recognition of your ongoing support, an RACV City Club gift card** to all current financial RACV Club Members.

We have also elected not to increase your Club membership fees in 2021, with 2020 fee levels maintained for another year. Your membership fees also assist with the ongoing and considerable costs of the operation and staffing of RACV Club. The Club team has made every effort to continue to support our staff, whilst also minimising operational costs over this period, which to a large extent, continue to be incurred irrespective of whether or not we are open.

During this temporary closure the Club team have completed many activities to maintain and further improve facilities and the Member experience at both Club properties.  We have also delivered a variety of online Club events, Highlights magazine direct to your inbox and the sharing of regular Club stories and updates online to keep our Club community connected throughout the pandemic.

As government restrictions ease, we have commenced re-opening our Club facilities and will continue to do so in a phased approach whilst balancing both operational considerations and government guidelines for the safety of our Members, their guests and our staff. 

We thank all Club Members who have supported us through this time by renewing their membership.

Terms & Conditions

^{* Only current financial RACV Club Members eligible for RACV City Club gift cards. Excludes RACV staff associate corporate, honorary, absentee, complimentary and free/life Club Members.}

^{** RACV City Club gift cards to be spent in the City Club with 12-month expiry. Gift cards can be used across the City Club excluding the car park. Can redeem the credit in multiple transactions. Any amount unused on the gift card is forfeited and not redeemable for cash or transfer to another Club Member.}

To improve and further enhance our member experience, we conducted surveys of Club members to find out what it is they like most about the Club now and what improvements they’d like to see in the future. Following hundreds of responses to an online survey, we engaged a further 40 members to participate in comprehensive research interviews and concept testing sessions to get a good sample across age groups, tenures and backgrounds. 

One of the things that came across strongly was the need to modernise the spaces to ensure the Club remains a place that welcomes future generations of members.

We are now using this feedback to improve the City Club to improve the facilities and offering for both current and future members. Recent changes in 2020 and 2021 include

•        Extension to the City Club Fitness Centre with more floor space and a new indoor sled track.
•        A full refurbishment of the Wine Bar, now offering cosy booth areas, luxurious seating, a modern tasting table and a new menu to match;
•        Expanded outdoor dining options at City Club with Bourke Street Greens pods increasing our capacity on Bourke Street and the launch of the new dining                 experience  ‘Sojourn’ located on New Chancery Lane. Club Members receive 15% discount off food and beverages^ when charging to their Club Membership card;
•        Upgraded car parking system at the City Club
•        Refurbishment of the City Club including works to Level One, followed the Ground Floor which will include upgrades to the Bistro.

We appreciate your patience during these works and will be doing everything possible to keep any disruption to a minimum.

We are committed to ensuring the Club remains one of Australia’s best clubs and believe these upgrades are essential to continue to add value to Club membership and ensure we maintain our rich history and strong traditions, but also appeal to a new generation of members. 

One of the many findings to emerge from member feedback has been the need to modernise our spaces and keep the Club fresh so with all plans we are striving to do this. We will continue to invest in the Club, to add amenities and modernise the space for members, future generations, their families and guests.

We encourage you to visit the RACV City Club website or the screens set up around the Club for updates. 

We will continue to keep you informed through Highlights, Club emails, via the Club and on this website with updates as they are announced and we encourage you to ask one of the friendly Club team members for the most up-to-date information if you have any further questions.

We’d love to hear from you. We are always looking for ways to improve the Club for members and their guests and your feedback is invaluable. Please feel free to provide feedback on how we can continue to enhance the Club by emailing clubmembership@racv.com.au

We are always looking for ways to improve the Club for members and their guests. We are continuing to review your feedback and look at ways we can improve the Club experience for members.

During any change we are committed to maintaining the rich history and strong traditions of the Club, while also ensuring that we are continuously improving it for future generations to enjoy the great club we have today.

We will keep you updated but please remember we are committed to ensuring the RACV Club remains one of Australia’s best clubs.

These works are planned to start in late January 2022 with completion in April 2022.

The City Club ground floor is undergoing a full re-fresh and refurbishment of these extremely popular Member spaces and high traffic areas. The Bourke Street entry and reception area will be designed to improve the arrival experience and movement whilst the Bistro will be extended and refurbished to enable an enhanced Member experience, and provide more flexibility in the space. We hope to complete the works and re-open the ground floor by the end of April 2022.

During these improvements, we encourage Members to plan ahead as the below will impact your arrival:

• Bourke Street entrance will be closed. Members can enter the Club through New Chancery Lane or the car park.
• Bistro and the cafe will be relocated to the Tarrant Room located on level one. Members can enter via the New Chancery Lane entrance or the car park and can take the lifts to level one.
• The Fitness Centre, group fitness, pool, squash courts, One Spa and barber will remain open during this period. Members can enter these areas through New Chancery Lane or the car park.
• The reception desk and hotel check-in area will be relocated to the New Chancery Lane level.

During these Ground Floor improvements, the Bourke Street entrance will be closed and Club Members can access the City Club via New Chancery Lane. This entrance is located next to Little Collins Street, near the entrance to the car park. To find this entrance from Bourke Street, Members can walk down New Chancery Lane (in between 473 and 485 Bourke Street) and turn right just before you reach the car park entrance.

Check in for accommodation will be via New Chancery Lane where there will be a temporary reception desk for check-in services. The Reception Desk and Hotel check-in area will be relocated to New Chancery Lane level. Members enter directly through the New Chancery Lane entrance or take the lift from the car park.

Yes, the Bistro will remain open but will move to the Tarrant Room on level one during the ground floor improvements. To access the temporary Bistro located on level one, Club Members will enter from New Chancery Lane or through the car park and take the lift to level one.

During these exciting improvements, Members can also choose to dine at:

• The Member’s Dining Room on level one
• Wine Bar on level one
• Sojourn
• Bourke Street Green
• Le Petit Gateau 
• Carbine Bar

Yes, all these areas are open. During most of the Ground Floor improvements, revised entry into these areas will be via New Chancery Lane or the car park. Occasionally during these works, Club Members may need to take the lift to the Ground Mezzanine level past the One Spa reception to access these facilities. Across the works there will be signage directing Members on how to access these areas.

No, the lobby shop is closed during these works. Please enquire with the reception team on New Chancery Lane if you have a query.

The reception team has temporarily moved to New Chancery Lane and will be happy to help Club Members make a payment or help with any other queries.

Yes, please enquire with the reception team that has temporarily relocated to New Chancery Lane and they will be happy to help you.

These works were always in our plan. However, with the uncertainty we all felt in 2020, we were not comfortable in making these changes until we had a better understanding of the environment and outlook ahead. As we reopen the properties, we feel that this is the best time to undertake these works whilst the volume of people is still low (relative to pre COVID) and will therefore cause less disruption to Members than if we wait. There is a great deal of planning that is involved in these works, and it was vital to ensure that due consideration was given to planning and design.

RACV management and Board have chosen to invest in these refurbishment works. We are always looking for ways to improve the Club for Members and their guests. The works have been considered independently of any decisions made in regards to Club Membership during the mandated government required closure of the Club properties.

In terms of Club membership fees, we have been very pleased in 2020 to extend all memberships by seven (7) months to cover the period of closure. Few Clubs have been able to take such an approach for Members during this crisis, and we are pleased that we have been able to do this for our RACV Club Members. 

As we continue to navigate this COVID-19 rollercoaster that continues to impact everyday life and has caused interruptions to your Club membership, we are very pleased to offer, as a gesture of goodwill and in recognition of your ongoing support, an RACV City Club gift card** to all current financial RACV Club Members.

We have also elected not to increase your Club membership fees in 2021, with 2020 fee levels maintained for another year. Your membership fees also assist with the ongoing and considerable costs of the operation and staffing of RACV Club. The Club team has made every effort to continue to support our staff, whilst also minimising operational costs over this period, which to a large extent, continue to be incurred irrespective of whether or not we are open.

During these temporary closures the Club team have completed many activities to maintain and further improve facilities and the Member experience at both Club properties.  We have also delivered a variety of online Club events, Highlights magazine direct to your inbox and the sharing of regular Club stories and updates online to keep our Club community connected throughout the pandemic.

We thank all Club Members who have supported us through this time by renewing their membership. 

In 2019 almost 400 Members completed online surveys and a further 40 Members participated in very detailed individual research interviews and concept testing sessions. This is consistent with best practice methodology for Human Centred Design principles, and has provided us with a good and statistically significant cross sample of Members from all age groups, tenures and backgrounds on their ideas on what it is they like most about the Club now and what improvements they’d like to see in the future.

It’s been more than 10 years since we’ve made updates to the City Club and based on feedback from Members, many Members feel this is overdue.

We welcome feedback at any time. Please contact the Club membership team via email clubmembership@racv.com.au or call 1300 501 501.

At this point we will not be re-opening the Tarrant Room lunchtime buffet.