Unlike other organisations in Hong Kong that had been granted a royal charter, the club retained the "Royal" prefix in its title after the handover to China in 1997, although a majority of its members supported a motion to remove it, this fell two votes short of the 75 percent majority required.

[5] The club operates from three sites:[6] The main buildings of the club are located by Victoria Harbour on the former Kellett Island, now part of Causeway Bay following land reclamation, and forming the western boundary of the Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter.

The club moved there in 1938, and the clubhouse was built in International Modern style in 1939[7] on the foundations of the old Naval Powder Magazine.

[12] The former headquarters and clubhouse in Oil Street, built in the Arts and Crafts style, was officially opened on 21 March 1908 by the then Governor, Sir Frederick Lugard.

The building was subsequently used as a garage, government staff quarters until 1998, as a storehouse of the Antiquities and Monuments Office until late 2007.

[14] The Former Clubhouse of Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club has been listed as a Grade II historic building since 1995.