A great hotel comes back to life

I'm a history buff, I'm afraid, and I always enjoy reading about places with particular historical or cultural significance. I'm therefore happy to learn that one of London's icons, the Savoy Hotel (or, as its proprietors prefer, The Savoy - can't ignore the capital letters, you know!) is about to re-open after a three-year, £220 million (about US $351 million) renovation and restoration.




The history of The Savoy is a remarkable encapsulation of high society over more than a century. The hotel describes it as follows (link is to an Adobe Acrobat document in .PDF format).

Back in 1246, a stretch of land between the Strand and the Thames was presented by Henry III to Peter, Count of Savoy, uncle and consort to the King’s wife. That same year, Peter built his Savoy Palace on the river, and the name has been associated with the place ever since.

Over 600 years later, impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte chose the location for a new theatre to stage the famous operettas written by his friends Gilbert and Sullivan. He decided to call his new building the Savoy Theatre, and the productions were known henceforth as the Savoy Operas.

Gilbert and Sullivan were huge on both sides of the Atlantic, and D’Oyly Carte spent a lot of time producing their shows in America. This meant he could stay in some of the newest and best hotels, which impressed him so much with their amazing new technologies that he decided to build his own hotel back in London.

The new Savoy on the river took five years to build and opened on August 6, 1889. It caused a sensation.




This, the first true luxury hotel in Britain, was also the first to be lit by electricity. It had the first electric lifts, known as ‘ascending rooms’. Guest rooms were connected by speaking tube to the valet, maid and floor waiter – and to other parts of the hotel including the American Bar.

The Savoy later became the first hotel to provide most of its rooms with private bathrooms en suite. The ‘Savoy bathroom’ became famous for its cascading shower and quick filling bath.

D’Oyly Carte tempted the well-known hotel manager César Ritz to join his new wonder hotel. Ritz was delighted by the perfectly-appointed facilities and great potential at The Savoy. He brought in Auguste Escoffier, leading ‘celebrity chef ’ of his day, to run the kitchens.

Ritz and Escoffier simply revolutionised the face of the British hotel business. Ritz knew many society women from the fashionable Continental hotels he managed and persuaded them to come to The Savoy for dinner. In the early years, Savoy guests included Sarah Bernhardt and Dame Nellie Melba, for whom Escoffier famously created Melba Toast when she was on a diet, and Pêches Melba when she was not.




Artists Whistler and Monet both used views from Savoy windows in their work. Oscar Wilde stayed, with his friend Lord Alfred Douglas. The Prince of Wales himself and his coterie were frequent visitors. By 1904 the hotel was such a hit that the blocks on the Strand were added, designed by Thomas Collcutt, and the American Bar and Savoy Grill moved into this new part of the hotel.

After the sobering interlude of the Great War, The Savoy gradually began to find itself again, always looking for the latest styles and fashions that would draw the feted and famous. The likes of Noel Coward, George Gershwin, George Bernard Shaw and H G Wells frequented the restaurants and American Bar.

Art deco, jazz and The Savoy were made for each other. The new style was introduced, and the iconic stainless steel sign over Savoy Court erected in 1929. Top jazz musicians from America came to play, and a hydraulic system installed to raise the dance-floor and turn it into a stage for cabaret acts. Epitomising all the fun and flamboyance of the art deco jazz age, the famous Savoy Cocktail Book was published in 1930.

The stars loved The Savoy. England’s own Vivien Leigh was first introduced to her future husband Laurence Olivier in the hotel’s front hall. From America came Hollywood greats such as Al Jolson, Errol Flynn and Katharine Hepburn. From France, Josephine Baker and Coco Chanel. Winston Churchill frequently lunched with his cabinet at the hotel during the Second World War, and he attended his dining club dinners at The Savoy as often as possible, until his death in 1965.

Once peace was declared, The Savoy quickly regained its air of glamour and luxury. Princess Elizabeth was first seen with Prince Philip of Greece in public at a Savoy reception. When the Princess became the Queen a few years later, The Savoy threw quite the largest and most lavish Coronation Ball in London.

The new Elizabethan age saw a new generation of actors, film stars and politicians at The Savoy. Among the most glamorous: Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren and Marilyn Monroe. The Savoy swung into the 1960s with guests ranging from the Beatles and Bob Dylan to Louis Armstrong, Marlon Brando and Jane Fonda.




A number of refurbishments were undertaken as the century came to a close, the last completed just in time for the great Savoy party that celebrated the new Millennium. On December 2007 began the most extensive of restorations, which would re-launch The Savoy ... with all the flair and opulence of old.

The Savoy is famous for having no check-in or check-out requirements in the way of other hotels. Representatives meet travelers at the airport and arrange their transport to the hotels; personal butlers attend to their every need; and routine administration is discreetly handled behind the scenes. Needless to say, such comfort and discretion aren't cheap, but then, The Savoy's clients usually don't have to worry about such mundane considerations as money!

I've had the pleasure of dining at the Savoy once, in the 1990's . . . a very nice gesture of hospitality from my hosts while in London. I'm afraid it would have been far out of my price range if I'd had to pay! Still, I have happy memories of the occasion. It's nice to see so grand an institution return to life.

Peter