Some patrons of an exclusive Hong Kong sports club have escalated action against the Rosewood Hotel Group’s plan to change operations at its clubhouse in Central, but the hospitality firm says it has made some “refinements” to the arrangement.
A representative of a group of concerned patrons at the Hong Kong Golf & Tennis Academy (HKGTA) told the South China Morning Post on Thursday that complaints had been filed with the Consumer Council watchdog.
The group had also threatened to take the matter to the Customs and Excise Department over alleged breaches of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, the representative said.
Rosewood, the parent company of the Carlyle & Co private club, told the SCMP on Friday that it denied any breach of contract.
A spokesman said the group had introduced a number of refinements to its plan, under which Carlyle & Co would take over operations of HKGTA’s Town Club in Central. These included retaining the HKGTA identity in the club’s name, adopting a phased transition to protect patrons’ exclusivity and establishing a patrons’ committee for communication, he said.
“We have listened carefully to patrons’ feedback, and having considered their feedback, we have introduced a number of refinements,” the spokesman said.
However, a representative of concerned HKGTA patrons, who identified himself as KK Chui, said that he did not believe Rosewood cared about the interests of members, especially perpetual patrons.
“That is why there are so many patrons that we have grouped together [and] are just very, very angry about this,” he said.
The dispute erupted in late April after HKGTA patrons, who had paid as much as HK$2.68 million (US$342,086) for a perpetual membership, said they learned from news reports that Carlyle & Co would take over operations of the Town Club in Central in early June.
The move would allow Carlyle & Co members, who could pay as little as less than HK$50,000, to access the same facility.
Carlyle & Co is located on the 54th floor of the Rosewood hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. HKGTA’s main clubhouse is in Sai Kung, alongside a golf course, while the Town Club is on the 24th floor of New World Tower in Central.
Both clubs are operated by tycoon Henry Cheng Kar-shun’s family-owned Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, which also controls New World Development.
His daughter, Sonia Cheng Chi-man, oversees Rosewood, while his eldest son, Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, previously led HKGTA before stepping down as New World CEO amid a debt crisis in 2024.
Some HKGTA patrons objected to the access for non-HKGTA members on the grounds of differing clientele, accusing Rosewood of diluting the Town Club’s exclusivity, the value of their memberships and potentially service quality.
One patron said the Town Club had traditionally attracted professionals, while Carlyle & Co catered to younger members, including key opinion leaders, entrepreneurs, and those in the insurance and service sectors.
Despite the opposition, Rosewood will press ahead with the takeover on August 8 after postponing it for two months when the dispute became public.
Chui said a majority of HKGTA’s roughly 700 patrons had joined the group after learning of the proposed takeover. Complaints were lodged with the Consumer Council following meetings with Rosewood and club management that, he said, failed to address their concerns.
The watchdog told the SCMP on Friday that it had received relevant complaints and was liaising with the complainants to follow up.
Concerned HKGTA patrons are seeking transparency over the legal and financial basis for the changes, questioning whether patron-funded resources are being used to subsidise a venue now repurposed to also serve a separate entity.
A person familiar with the matter said that despite Carlyle & Co taking over operations of the Town Club, HKGTA and Carlyle & Co would remain separate brands owned by different legal entities.
The person said Rosewood was not legally required to disclose confidential financial information publicly as a private enterprise.
Rosewood’s spokesman pointed to the Town Club’s challenging financial performance, saying the group believed the revised arrangements would put the facility on a “more resilient and sustainable footing”.
“This is not about personalities or internal politics; it is about the commercial realities of the Town Club’s operations,” the person familiar with the matter said.
“We wanted to make sure the Town Club venue remains commercially viable while maintaining HKGTA patrons’ access and protecting the parts of the experience they value most.”
A Carlyle & Co patron told the SCMP that the private club would raise membership fees.
According to an internal memo seen by the SCMP, regular membership fees will increase by up to HK$50,000, or 36 per cent, to HK$188,000 from August 1, while monthly fees will rise by 5.67 per cent to HK$2,980.
Although the Carlyle & Co patron stands to benefit from access to the Town Club, he said the arrangement was unfair.
“Monetising a club venue twice is not acceptable to me, with exclusivity promised and value in exchange of up to HK$2.68 million,” he said, referring to the Town Club.
Chui said he initially bought a 10-year HKGTA membership before upgrading to a HK$2.2 million perpetual tier to secure access to the Central clubhouse for business meetings.
He added that the Town Club’s exclusivity had already been compromised by undisclosed external access arrangements.
Under an American Express Centurion Card programme, seen by the SCMP, cardholders are granted complimentary access to the Town Club’s food and drink outlets with up to four guests or up to 11 guests for private rooms per day.
The person with knowledge of the matter defended partnerships as carefully controlled, limited-scope arrangements that supported commercial sustainability without altering patrons’ core access rights.
Chui also cited a misalignment of interests in the secondary market.
The primary price of patronship remains HK$2.68 million, with a 25 per cent transfer fee calculated on that amount. However, secondary market offers have fallen to as low as HK$1.1 million, according to a message from an agent to a patron on May 12.
The insider said secondary market prices were beyond HKGTA’s control and defended the transfer fee as an appropriate, long-standing policy.
Chui said HKGTA management had offered compensation – including HK$200,000 in credits and fee waivers – to some Town Club founding members, without disclosing it to perpetual patrons during a meeting in April.
The source said such tailored arrangements reflected differences in membership contracts and rights, declining to comment publicly on confidential discussions.
Chui said: “We trusted the New World, the NWD brand, [and the] Chow Tai Fook brand, because they’ve been an established pillar in the community for many years.”