If even the best hotels are just not good enough for you, or if you need a long-term lodging in London (but can't afford or don't want to be bothered by keeping a house), consider joining a club.

"The building is a sort of palace, and is kept with the same exactness and comfort as a private dwelling. Every member is a master without any of the troubles of a master. He can come when he pleases, and stay away as long as he pleases, without anything going wrong. He has the command of regular servants without having to pay or manage them. He can have whatever meal or refreshment he wants, at all hours, and served up with the cleanliness and comfort of his own house. He orders just what he pleases, having no interest to think of but his own. In short, it is impossible to suppose a greater degree of liberty in living." - Walker's "The Original."

In Castle Falkenstein terms, it is assumed these clubs require at least Good Connections unless otherwise stated. Some of the notable London clubs as of 1873 include the following (along with their entrance fee and annual subscription fee):

Alpine

8 St. Martin's Pl., Trafalgar Sq. Founded 1857 with the object of encouraging exploration and travel. The mountaineering and educational qualifications for membership are severe (Great Athletics and Education). Entrance £1, sub £1.

Army and Navy

36 Pall Mall. Almost always known as "the Rag," for military men only, Napoleon III is a member. Entrance £40, sub £10.

Arthur's

69 St. James's St. Founded 1756, no foriegners, no guests, Great Connections. Entrance £31, sub £10.

Arts

17 Hanover Sq. Art, literature, and science, very uproarious on Saturday nights. Entrance £15, sub £6.

Athenæum

107 Pall Mall. Intellectuals, scientists, CofE bishops, judges, poor food ("all the arts and sciences are understood there, except gastronomy"), extremely grave and respectable (but Richard Burton is a member!); best club library. Talk Dinners monthly in season; 16 year waiting list (Great Connections and Education required)... Entrance £31, sub £8.

Beefsteak

24 King William St., the Strand. Founded 1735; dinner club with excellent food and conversation; "there is no particular object in this club, nor is there any particular qualification", despite which members are typically peers, politicians, diplomats, writers, actors, and academics; to be a member, one has to be "a relation of God - and a damned close relation at that" (i.e., Great Connections); no gambling, no visitors, and all waiters are called 'Charles.' Entrance £10, sub £5.

Boodles

28 St. James's St. Founded 1762, a bastion of County society & the lesser peerage (Great Connections required), no library, very good service.

Brooks's

60 St. James's St. Founded 1778, politically liberal, many aristocratic members (600 in number); guests only allowed in a small room just inside the door. Entrance £31, sub £11, Great Connections.

Carlton

94 Pall Mall. Conservative politicians & financiers, and in fact essentially the Conservative party headquarters; peers and M.P.s preferred (Great Connections); no guests, no bedrooms. Entrance £30, sub £10.

City of London

19 Old Broad St. Shipowners, businessmen, bankers & financiers, usually not open evenings. Entrance £31, sub £10, Great Connections.

Conservative

74 St. James's St. Every member must be, of course, a Conservative; however, solicitors have difficulty joining. Entrance £33, sub £10, Great Connections.

East India United Service

14 St. James's Sq. Founded 1849. Soldiers, sailors, churchmen, and civil servants who served Britain in India. Entrance £31, sub £8.

Garrick

15 New King St., Covent Garden. Fine food, 650 artistic, literary and theatrical members; no rooms or female guests. Entrance £21, sub £10.

Grafton

Grafton St. A proprietary grill club, for good dinners, smoking and conversation. Entrance £5, sub £3.

Gresham

Lombard St. Business & finance, good food and cellar, a status symbol for the City -- members are merchants, bankers and other gentlemen "of known respectability" (Great Connections). Entrance £21, sub £8.

Guards

70 Pall Mall. Only current & retired officers of the Grenadiers, Coldstream, and Scots Guards, very strict protocol is observed (Great Connections). Entrance £31, sub £11.

Hurlingham

Ranelagh Gardens, Fulham. 40 acres nr. Putney, six miles from the center of London, this new club (1869) caters to sports of all types: croquet, swimming, badminton, lawn bowling, American skittles, boating, fencing, squash, cricket, archery, fly casting, and esp. pigeon shooting April through July. Members must be "received in general society," female 'guests' have essentially full privileges. In 1874 this club will be the site of the first polo match played in England, about the same time as the first lawn tennis games ('sphairistike'). Entrance £15, sub £5.

Junior Carlton

30 Pall Mall. Conservatives and "gentlemen of position" only, many peers and M.P.s, very politically active; they have just last year moved into a huge new building, impressive and oppressive; the library contains Disraeli's (Shadow Cabinet) Table. Entrance £39, sub £10, Great Connections.

Junior United Service

11 Charles St., St. James. Only military officers, many from the Indian Army. Very easy about guests. Entrance £40, sub £7.

London Athletic

Stamford Bridge, Fulham. Members partake of various sports and exercises (running, boxing, fencing, rowing, gynastics, etc.). Indoor practice takes place in the "Iron House" on the club grounds. Entrance £10, sub £2; Average Connections are sufficient to obtain membership.

Lord's

St. John's Wood Road. Sporting types - and home of the Marylebone Cricket Club, center of cricketing; the Gentlemen vs. Players matches have been organized by this club since 1806 - but a grandstand for the public was only felt needed since 1866; in 1874 the Tennis and Rackets Sub-Committee will draw up the rules for lawn tennis.

Naval & Military

22 Hanover Sq. Military officers only, but a very friendly atmosphere, no 'rank pulling'; many Regimental dinners and wedding receptions held here. Entrance £36, sub £8.

Oriental

18 Hanover Sq. Open to those who have served, travelled, or resided in the East, and are "noblemen, M.Ps., and gentlemen of the first distinction and character" (Great Connections). Entrance £31, sub £9.

Oxford & Cambridge

71 Pall Mall. Graduates only (Good Education). Entrance £42, sub £8.

Pelican

Shaftesbury Avenue, Soho. Very raffish and 'fast', interested in wine, women, gambling and song; many pugilists and theatrical types. Not actually founded until 1887, but too good to pass up.

Portland

1 Stratford Place. 250 old, rich whist players, many doctors & lawyers - nobody in England plays bridge until introduced here in 1894. However, "no game of hazard shall be played, nor shall dice be used in the club." Entrance £10, sub £7, Great Connections, Good Education.

Pratt's

14 Park Place, St. James's St. Conservative senior dinner club, very select (Great Connections), long waiting list, opens 7 p.m. One of the rules provides "that no member bring a stranger into the Club under any pretence whatever." Entrance £2, sub £5.

Reform

104 Pall Mall. Politically liberal, very high class (members must be "socially eligible"), excellent food, tremendous architecture, Phileas Fogg's club. Guests allowed only in the Strangers' Room. Entrance £40, sub £10, Great Connections.

Royal Thames Yacht

7 Albemarle St. Est. 1775. To encourage yacht building and sailing; the Prince of Wales is the Commodore. Entrance £21, sub £7, Great Connections. The club members may fly a special flag from their yachts.

Savage

King St., Covent Garden. Members must be writers, artists, musicians, theatrical performers, scientists or lawyers (Great Education or Performance). Entrance £5, sub £5.

Savile

15 Savile Row. Recently founded, an intellectual lot (Great Education), whose object is "good fellowship"; it is said that no one can get in unless they are an atheist, or have written a book. Roast beef and beer for dinner; all present dine at one table. Entrance £10, subscription £5.

Scottish

39 Dover St., Piccadilly. Members are landowners in Scotland, or gentlemen otherwise connected with that country by property or marriage. Entrance £10, sub £7.

Sports'

8 St. James Sq. Sporting types; a focal point for rugby and cricket.

St. James's

106 Picadilly. Mostly diplomats, much genteel gaming till all hours. Entrance £26, sub £11.

St. Stephen's

34 Queen Anne's Gate. Just founded this year, with support from Disraeli, as a convenient club for Conservative M.P.s. Entrance £21, sub £10.

Thatched House

86 St. James's St. Established 1865; deliberately apolitical. Entrance £26, sub £10.

Travellers'

106 Pall Mall. No conversation or guests in the club! Members must have travelled more than 500 miles from London, many are from the Foreign Office. Entrance £32, sub £10.

Turf

85 Picadilly. Aristocratic racing set, also excellent whist players (both for money). Entrance £31, sub £15, Great Connections.

Union

Trafalgar Square. Very jolly. Entrance £31, sub £7.

United Service

116 Pall Mall. "The Senior;" field grade military or naval & up, no guests to dinner (except invited by the club), very 'stuffy,' all of the staff are former enlisted men. Entrance £40, sub £7, Great Connections.

United University

1 Suffolk Street. 1,000 graduates of Oxford or Cambridge (Good Education); one of Gladstone's favorite clubs. Entrance £31, sub £8.

Victoria

Wellington St., Strand. Horse-racing and other gambling bookies club - in fact, a great part of the commission betting in Europe takes place here. Entrance £5, sub £5.

White's

37 St. James's St. Founded 1693, long waiting list, no bedrooms available, excellent dinners and wine cellar. Entrance £19, sub £11, Great Connections.